Humans Find Meaning Through Tech

“The need for unity of people trying to resist worldwide intensification of domination has never been more acute. But a slightly perverse shift of perspective might better enable us to contest for meanings, as well as for other forms of power and pleasure in technologically-mediated societies.” –– Donna Harraway, A Manifesto for Cyborgs 

Issue 5 of Kanstellation is interested in your “slightly perverse shift[s] of perspective” on how humanity and tech think, work, and co-exist with each other to produce meaning. 

How is our human instinct to make sense of the world around us sharpened through technology? How do “technologically-mediated societies” produce meaning –– love, kindness, connection? And in what ways do these technologies ease or exacerbate our societal challenges? As rhetorician Kenneth Burke wrote, humans are “symbol-making animals” and we want to know what you make of this techno-symbolic world.

Our Mission

Kanstellation is committed to publishing the work of both emerging and experienced writers and poets. We strongly encourage work by writers from all walks of life, and from all over the world. Kanstellation does not consider pieces that feature graphic sexual and/or violent content, that are plagiarized, or that are discriminatory in nature.

We are not accepting manuscript submissions at this time. If Kanstellation has previously published your work, please wait until two issues have gone live before submitting to us again (i.e.: if we published you in issue two, wait until issue four has passed to submit).

We look forward to reading your work! In the meantime, please follow us on Twitter @kanstellation and Instagram @kanstellationmag for news, updates, calls for submission, and anything in between, and help spread the word about us to your family and friends. Thank you so much for your support!

Prose Guidelines

Fiction & Creative Nonfiction - Flash & Short

Flash fiction & CNF: 350-1000 words

● Rate: $30

Short fiction & CNF: 1200-1800 words

● Rate: $45

You may submit multiple flash pieces in one document (.doc/.docx), up to 1800 words total. If we publish multiple of your flash pieces totaling more than 1200 words, we will pay you the rate of a short piece.

Speculative fiction encouraged: We like unique, weird, odd, unsettling, and uncomfortable. Sci-fi is okay, but make it literary and find a way to build your world for us without leaning too heavily on traditional sci-fi tropes

● i.e. “These Foolish Things” by J.A. Pak: https://www.kanstellation.com/html3/pak.html

Hybrid Essays & Articles encouraged:

● i.e. Rhiannon Conley’s “Me, My Mother, Your Mother, You, and Our Photos” https://www.kanstellation.com/html3/conley.html

● i.e. Avital Balwit’s “The Hyperreal: Fake Influencers and our Commodified Future” https://www.kanstellation.com/html3/avitalbalwit.html

Poetry Guidelines

We are accepting the following forms of poetry: experimental/hybrid, prose poetry, found poetry, cycles of micropoetry, and poetry written in a non-English language, with the requirement that an English translation accompany the original. We are not currently considering long form, haiku, erasure, or visual poetry for publication.

● Rate: $30

● Send up to 4 poems in one Word document (.doc/.docx).