Eligible Submitters
Alumni of California Baptist University are eligible to enter. Submissions are accepted in two categories: Poetry and Prose (fiction and creative nonfiction).
Types of Submissions
PROSE (Including Short Stories, Flash Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction): Maximum of 20 double-spaced pages (but those 20 pages may include multiple pieces).
POETRY: Maximum of 5 poems
Submissions should be grouped by category, but please submit each entry as an individual file.
Submission Process
For example, if you would like to submit 5 poems and 2 short stories:
- Save each work as its own Word/RTF file with no personal information in the file.
- Upload the 5 poetry files all at once and select Poetry as the category.
- Upload the 2 short story files together and select as Prose as the category.
Each alum may submit to each of the categories once, so prep all of your files before submitting. NO identifying personal information should be on the submission file--only the title and the work itself should be included in the Word/RTF document.
Awards
The judges will determine the top three pieces in each category and award prizes. Judges' decisions are final. (If you experience a technical issue, etc., let us know.)
About the Dazed Starling: Ubound
The Dazed Starling: Unbound is an online publication of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program at California Baptist University. It extends the mission of CBU’s Dazed Starling student literary journal by offering an additional publication opportunity open to current CBU students, faculty, alumni, and friends of the university.
Each edition is organized around a theme, which the editorial staff invites contributors to interpret expansively. The editors consider submissions in a wide variety of genres, including poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as other forms of writing, such as creative, critical, devotional, or hybrid work that may fall outside traditional categories.
Winter Theme: “Advent”
The theme for this winter edition of The Dazed Starling: Unbound is “Advent.” We welcome a wide range of interpretations of the theme, particularly those engaging with faith, hope, peace, and joy. Submissions need not be Christmas stories, and we encourage writers and artists to think broadly and creatively about what it means to wait, anticipate, prepare, hope, or celebrate.
Visual Art
The Dazed Starling: Unbound also seeks to extend the creative voice of The Dazed Starling through an increased emphasis on visual art.
Artists should submit their work as JPEG or PNG image files. We welcome a wide variety of forms, including photography, digital art, painting, drawing, line art, black-and-white or monochromatic work, and full-color pieces. Work engaging with the Advent theme is especially encouraged.
Submission Limits
Multiple pieces may be included in a single submission.
- Poetry: Up to 3 poems
- Prose: Up to 500 words total, with individual fiction or nonfiction pieces of up to 250 words each
- Visual Art: Up to 5 pieces
Submission Requirements
All written and visual submissions must be previously unpublished, and all rights to the work must be held by the submitter. Submissions created with AI assistance are not permitted, with the exception of basic mechanical editing tools such as spellcheck or Grammarly.
All submissions should be consistent with the mission and spirit of California Baptist University.