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Intima | SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
© Healing by Wesley Usher. Spring 2020 Intima A Journal of Narrative Medicine
General Information Intima publishes original contributions of literary and artistic merit that relate to the theory and practice of narrative medicine. Please see specific guidelines on the genres and submit your piece(s) in the most appropriate category. Intellectual property rights are retained by the author. All work submitted becomes the property of Intima and may be reproduced in part or whole at the discretion of the Editors in future publications either online or in print. We do not welcome simultaneous submissions. Please do not submit previously published work or work that has appeared on a blog. The best way to know what we are looking for is to read past issues of the Intima.
Patient Privacy Notice
Intima adheres to legal and ethical guidelines in accordance with academic and health community publication standards. As clinicians, patients, and family members, we feel strongly that patient privacy and confidentiality should be maintained at all times. We simultaneously recognize that narrative power depends on intimate, singular encounters and the sharing of personal accounts in a respectful and safe environment. To maintain these standards, contributors should review the confidentiality guidelines in the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), with particular attention to the 18 commonly accepted "unique identifiers." We also encourage contributors to seek permission before submitting patient stories, and to fictionalize or change identifiable information whenever possible and appropriate to maintain patient confidentiality and privacy. Please contact editor@theintima.org with any further questions or concerns.
NOTE: In order to cover our website and Submittable costs, a $7.50 per submission fee will be charged for each work submitted. All money earned will go to the monthly fee to keep our website up and running and to our submission platform, Submittable, that allows us to efficiently read, comment, connect and respond to the writers, academics, artists and multimedia artists who submit and contribute work. We appreciate your support and interest in our journal.
How to Submit
Any quotations or citations should follow MLA style formatting. Manuscripts and media should be submitted online via Submittable (see Submittable buttons above and below). The comments section of the submission form should contain your name, contact information, word count, and any contextual information you'd like us to know or that you'd like published alongside the piece. The manuscript itself should not include the author's name or other identifying information.
Please submit as a Microsoft Word (.docx or .doc) file; media should be submitted in JPEG, PNG, or MP3/MP4 format. We accept poetry and prose works (genre specific word count and page limits apply), as well as artwork and multimedia. No more than two (2) submissions per genre per review period will be considered, except in the Poetry category where up to three (3) submissions (submitted separately, as each piece is reviewed on its own) are allowed. Review the detailed submission guidelines for each category described below, then click the SUBMIT button on the top left hand corner of our guidelines page to enter your work.
NOTE: The manuscript and file should not include the author's name or other identifying information. Before you submit your entry, make sure all identifying signatures have been removed from the document. Do not use your name when naming/creating the file or your submissions will be disqualified. When filling out the form on Submittable when submitting, please feel free to use your name and affiliations in the biography section.
Academic
Academic papers should describe, discuss or explore the study and practice of narrative medicine, its methodology and technique and should include properly cited academic references. A bibliography is required. Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine is an open-access medical humanities journal with various submission categories for publication. The academic section publishes a variety of scholarly studies from different academic disciplines and using different methodologies. Submissions from social science, humanities, and the arts are welcomed as they adhere to rigorous academic standards for research and stand up to the peer-review process. Submission types include but are not necessarily limited to
State of the Art Literature Reviews
Empirical Studies in the Social Sciences
Cultural, Historical, Literary, and Media Analyses
Autoethnographies
Submissions should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words including tables, figures, and references set in plain font, sized 12, with 1-inch margins. Academic papers should include a title, an abstract, the body of the paper, and a MLA bibliography. The abstract should follow the title. Abstracts should be between 150-250 words and describe the key argument and methods of the article. Following the abstract, the body of the paper should begin with the heading ‘Introduction.’ All citations should use MLA Style Manual 8th edition for formatting, in-text citation rules, and works cited page. Do not use end notes. Footnotes are discouraged. For assistance with MLA style, we recommend Purdue Owl’s MLA resource. Use current US American spelling. Authors may reference the free download of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary.
Ethical Commitments Research and author ethics are paramount concerns. All submissions should be original and not under review at any other journal or published elsewhere. Empirical studies should be approved by the author’s Institutional Review Board and protect the privacy of all participants. Patient privacy as outlined on the journal’s submission guidelines page must be followed.
Peer Review and Publishing Process Submissions go through an identity-hidden, peer-review process. Therefore, all identifying markers, including file names, should be removed from the submission prior to logging in, paying the $7.50 submission fee through Submittable (the submission platform). The nominal fee secures open-access status by covering costs associated with journal like the website and Submittable. Intima is committed to a quick turn-around for decisions on acceptance, revise and resubmit, and reject. Typically, the timing between the deadline for submissions and decisions is 3-5 weeks and another 2-3 weeks before publication in the online, open-access journal. Authors must secure permission form the reproduction of any copyrighted image (e.g. image from book, image of a model from a journal article, etc…). NOTE: Remove all identifying signatures from your submission (name of author, affiliations) and do not include your name in the file name.
Fiction
We seek captivating fictional stories with unique literary voices that incorporate themes related to health, illness, medicine and patient-provider experiences. Submissions may be excerpts of a longer work and should be no more than 2,500 words. NOTE: Remove all identifying signatures from your submission (name of author, affiliations) and do not include your name in the file name.
Field Notes
Field Notes will include descriptive and narrative essays that highlight first person accounts from clinicians, patients, healthcare professionals and caregivers. These works should be of an anecdotal nature, which describes self-reflection and experiential knowledge or changed perspective acquired through the practice of narrative medicine and/or participation in narrative medicine based workshops. Submissions should be no more than 1,500 words. NOTE: Remove all identifying signatures from your submission (name of author, affiliations) and do not include your name in the file name.
Non-Fiction
Non-Fiction submissions should demonstrate clinical resonance from a personal, familial, or professional perspective and be written in a strong literary voice. While non-fiction pieces may likely contain a personal opinion or anecdote, or be written as an essay, they should highlight a particular event, time period or sequence of events experienced with a clear narrative arc. Submissions may be excerpts of a longer work, and should be no more than 2,500 words. NOTE: Remove all identifying signatures from your submission (name of author, affiliations) and do not include your name in the file name.
Poetry
Intima welcomes poetry that deals with any aspect along the illness/healing/caregiving continuum. Poems should preferably be no longer than one page in length. Please submit each poem individually--do not submit poems together in one submission or we will decline them immediately. You can submit up to three (3) poems per submission period, but we must repeat again, each poem must be submitted separately via Submittable. NOTE: Remove all identifying signatures from your submission (name of author, affiliations) and do not include your name in the file name.
Multimedia
Intima features audio or visual recordings that explore themes in Narrative Medicine. Please use the submissions form to upload audio recordings as MP3 files. For video submissions, use the MP4 file format. Please contact theintima@gmail.com with questions. NOTE: Remove all identifying signatures from your submission (name of author, affiliations) and do not include your name in the file name.
Studio Art
Intima welcomes painting, photography or other visual representations of narratives as opportunities to explore boundaries of health, wellness, and the power of telling. Please send images in .jpg, .gif, or .png format only, as.pdf, .psd, .tff, and .doc files aren't web-compatible. File name: Only use letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens in file names. Other characters (like question marks, percent signs, and ampersands) may upload incorrectly or cause unexpected behavior in galleries. File size: When it comes to image size, bigger isn't always better. There is a 20 MB limit on all images, but we recommend you use image files of less than 500 KB for best results.
We allow submissions of more than one image if you are submitting a series of images that belong together under a single title, in a series or connected by a theme. Otherwise: Please do not submit separate works together. No. of images: For a narrative series, we will accept up to 6 images. Color mode: Save images in RGB color mode. Print mode (CMYK) won't render in most browsers. Color profile: Save images in the sRGB color profile. Image width: We recommend uploading images at a width of 1500 pixels. NOTE: Remove all identifying signatures from your submission (name of author, affiliations) and do not include your name in the file name.
If you have any additional questions, please email theintima@gmail.com.