Foreword
Welcome to the first issue of Samjoko Magazine published from America. We’re midway to our 5th year of publishing, which is both incredible and exciting.
Just as our location has changed, some of our submission guidelines have been tweaked going into our Spring Issue V 2025 release.
First and foremost, we have switched from submissions being opened seasonally to simply having reading periods. This means that content creators can submit to us 365 days a year, but the material will be perused during the specific time listed in the guidelines. The reading period will last two months during each season. We hope this will encourage those interested to submit whenever they’re ready instead of having to wait for the submission’s window to open again.
Secondly, we’re now accepting reprints. Please make sure to state in the email Subject that the submission is a reprint. In the cover letter, say where it was first or most recently published, as well as the year of publication. Of course, make sure that all rights have returned back to you before you send it to us.
We’ve been considering accepting reprints for a while, as too much of what’s published in indie venues receive a very small readership. We’re happy to do what we can to encourage a few more eyeballs on a work accepted by us.
Finally, we have been toying with the idea of having the magazine come out in print. This would be an expensive endeavor, particularly if we’re trying to make sure the magazine appears professional. On that end, please consider being a patreon or Buying Us Coffee. As always, we would like to thank our sole continuing benefactor over the past several years, LowKey Worlde, who has donated $3 every month, which amounts to $36 a year. This is the cost of five venti cups of coffee at Starbucks or a full rack of baby back ribs and appetizer from Jim ‘N Nicks.
As of today, we have released 14 issues, publishing more than 130 content creators at $20 a contributor, which amounts to an estimated $2400 in four and a half years. This does not include maintaining the website at $33 a month, which comes to about $1500 during the lifetime of the magazine.
Writers often express sadness when a magazine closes. In social media, you’ll see much lamenting when another publication goes down. But in almost every case that a magazine, publisher, or digital zine calls it quits, the #1 cause is a lack of financial support from the writing and reading community.
Samjoko Magazine is doing its part to give a voice to those who yearn to be heard. We are non-genre specific, so we’ve lent a stage to a wide variety of creatives, from fiction writers, to poets, to essayists, to dramatic writers, to photographers, to graphic artists, and more. Help us help others by supporting our cause and joining our $3/month Patreon tier, or Buying Us a Coffee.
And with that, welcome to the Spring Issue V 2025 of Samjoko Magazine.
