PULSE
OCAD U’s Creative Writing Program’s journal,
is officially open for submissions!

THEME - NOSTALGIA

We are currently accepting submissions for:

■    Print: Including but not limited to: poetry, prose, screenplay, excerpts, lyrics, hybrid/experimental
writings, personal essays, opinion pieces, book/movie/art reviews, multilingual works, interdisciplinary
works, typography, comics, graphic novels, and collaborative works.

■    Digital: All as listed above, and: video & audio works, spoken word, slam, music and original lyrics,
video essays, animation, podcasts.

Personal projects and school assignments are encouraged and welcome. You should do your best to polish your work. However, Pulse believes in the importance of experimentation, roughness, or imperfect work, and our team of editors is here to support the potential in your piece. If you are unsure whether a work would be right for Pulse, submit it anyways! We’d love to hear from you!

Please note that all submissions will be considered at Pulse’s discretion.

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Guidelines:

■    Maximum of 5 original and unpublished works per submission across any accepted medium of work.

■    Poetry: 1-5 poems. (Maximum 3 pages)

■    Prose: Maximum 2000 words. (up to 2 works).

■    Other written works (not limited to but including: interviews, book reviews, movie
reviews, opinion pieces, personal essays, etc):
- Maximum 2,000 words. Screenplays up to 5 pages, (up to 2 works).

■    Visual submissions (not limited to but including: art, comics, prints, collages, etc).
- Must be in black & white.
- Maximum 5 pages (up to 2 works).

■    Audio/Video Submissions (not limited to but including:
- Music, original songs, podcasts, spoken word, collaborative works, etc).
- No more than 5 minutes.

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Format:

• Text: Double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt. font. [.pdf or .doc / .docx] 

• If submitting multiple text-based works, please put them in the same document

• Audio: [.wav or .mp3]

• Video: [.mp4 or link to unlisted youtube / vimeo upload]

• Images: [.png or .pdf or .jpg /.jpeg or .psi] [CMYK / 300 dpi]
  

Excerpts of longer works can be accepted as long as they can stand alone.
- Maximum 6,000 words

Please include a short (2-3 sentence) author's biography (written in third person) in your submission, with your name and/or pen name, program name, preferred pronouns, the genre of your work(s), and all appropriate trigger warnings. Please also provide contact information, preferably your OCAD email address, so you can be alerted if your piece is accepted and finalize your piece with the editors prior to publication. We ask that contributors treat members of Pulse 2026 with respect and be courteous of deadlines that may arise while their piece is in the editing stage (if accepted).

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Pulse’s Rating: Mature

Okay: 

■    use of foul language

■    non-explicit references to adult themes and activities (drugs, sex, sexual violence, etc)

Not okay:

■    unnecessary discriminatory / hateful language

■    unexamined bigotry / violence

■    gratuitous descriptions of traumatic events

■    works that intend to cause harm or relive trauma

■    porn and explicit sexual content

■    instructional depictions of violence, sex, drug use, etc.  

If you need clarification, please contact us at ocadupulse@gmail.com
 

Please note the following list of works that Pulse is not accepting:

■    Fanfiction

■    AI Generated Works

■    Works that are already published elsewhere.
Not limited to but including: social media, personal websites, other journals.

■    Any audio and/or video submissions with copyrighted music, and/or visuals.

■    Plagiarized submissions will be automatically rejected

Our team does not offer editing of video or audio pieces, however, please be open to any feedback or suggestions. Exercise your best judgment as to what work reflects both you as a writer and the community you write within.

We ask for first-time North American rights for accepted pieces. Following publication, all rights revert to the author. Please note that your work first appeared in Pulse if it is reprinted elsewhere.

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As an extension of the OCAD-U student body, Pulse 2026 acts in accordance with the professional codes of conduct while fulfilling the educational standards put forth by the University Board. We, as an integral part of representing a part of the larger student body at OCAD-U, align ourselves with OCAD-U's core values and ethics, and make the effort to accurately reflect such in our work.

OCAD University acknowledges the ancestral territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabeg and the Huron-Wendat, who are the original owners and custodians of the land on which we live, work and create.