Journal Submission Guidelines

• Submit writing only if you are an undergraduate or graduate member of an active Sigma Tau Delta chapter. Chapter Advisors, faculty members, alumni (including members of the Alumni Epsilon Chapter), and honorary members are not eligible to submit.
• Submissions are limited to one total for both journals. You may choose either a critical or creative submission. That is, you may submit one critical essay for the Sigma Tau Delta Review, OR you may submit one work of fiction, one work of non-fiction, or a group of up to three poems to the Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle.
• Previously published materials are ineligible for submission. Previously published materials includes work published in on-campus publications. 
• Contributors must not identify themselves in any way on any page of text.
• Because of the high volume of submissions, it is the author's responsibility to make sure that all online submission form fields are filled out and the document is submitted properly.

Document Formatting

Sigma Tau Delta Review

Times New Roman font, 12-point, double-spaced, and 1 inch margins on all sides, free of typographical and grammatical errors. Essays must follow the Modern Language Association style guidelines as defined in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (latest edition). Titles should be no more than four spaces down from the top of the page and centered (avoid fancy fonts, bold letters, or underlining). Submissions should not exceed 3,000 words.

Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle

Prose (fiction and nonfiction):  Format submissions using Times New Roman font, 12-point, and 1 inch margins on all sides, free of typographical and grammatical errors.  As much as is possible, double-space creative work. Titles should be no more than four spaces down from the top of the page and centered (avoid fancy fonts, bold letters, or underlining). Submissions should not exceed 2,500 words.

Poetry: The submission may consist of 1-3 poems. All poems must be contained in one Word document file (doc or docx). If you are submitting a collection of poems, create a new page for each poem within the Word document file. Format submissions using Times New Roman font,12-point, free of typographical and grammatical errors. Titles for the individual poem(s) should be no more than four spaces down from the top of the page and centered (avoid fancy fonts, bold letters, or underlining).

Submission Dates

Submissions will only be accepted through May 9, 2022, 11:59 p.m. CDT.

Remember, because of the high volume of submissions, it is the author's responsibility to make sure that all online submission form fields are filled out, and the document is submitted properly.

Questions regarding the online submission process should be addressed to sigmatdapply@niu.edu.

Acceptance Notification

Contributors will receive email notification by August 15, 2022, of acceptance or denial. Only following acceptance will authors of accepted submissions be asked to submit a biography to be included in the publication. Keep your Sigma Tau Delta contact information updated through the website in order to receive these emails. The journals are published the following spring. Contributors selected for publication will receive a copy of the journal they are published in.

Contributors who win overall awards will also receive a monetary prize as well as publication; contributors whose writing has been accepted will be invited to read at the Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle reading held during the Sigma Tau Delta 2023 International Convention, March 29 - April 1, 2023, Sheraton Denver Downtown, Denver, CO .