DEFUNKT

WELCOME TO
DEFUNKT MAGAZINE

A magazine which showcases compelling, accessible, and culturally relevant work--anything the mainstream is ignoring or marginalizing. This magazine seeks to feature the voiceless in a fascinating and honest way-bring us your pain, your strength, your passions.

NOW OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK!

TAMARA AL-QAISI-COLEMAN

MANAGING EDITOR

Creator and former Editor of Shards through the University of Houston, Tamara Al-Qaisi-Coleman is a bi-racial Muslim writer and artist. She holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Creative Writing and History. She is the Administrative Coordinator at Writers in the Schools, the Marketing and Development Director of Defunkt Magazine. Her interests are Middle Eastern History, culture, linguistics, and biracial identity. She primarily writes from the Arab-American perspective. She as a featured performer at The Museum of Fine Arts and Houston Grand Opera’s event “The Art of Intimacy” January 2020.Her fiction, poetry, essays, and translation publications can be found or are forthcoming in: Crack the Spine Literary magazine, Scintilla Magazine, Paper Trains Journal, The Bayou Review: The Women's Issue, and Glass Mountain, Volume 21, Dead Eyes Literary Magazine. Her visual Artistry can be found in Cosumnes River Journal, Sonder Midwest Review, and Wordpeace Magazine.  

CHRISTOPHER MIGUEL FLAKUS

Founder/C0-EDITOR

Christopher Miguel Flakus is a poet and writer living in Houston, Texas. He has published work in The Huffington Post, Akashic Books: Mondays are Murder Noir Series, Indietronica, Outlaw Poetry, In Recovery Magazine, Glass Poetry, Black Heart Magazine, and elsewhere. In 2017, he was awarded the Fabian Worsham Prize for fiction. In addition, he was one of the editors responsible for The University of Houston-Downtown’s literary magazine, The Bayou Review during their special prison issue which focused on the writings of authors serving sentences in Texas prisons. He is the author of the chapbooks Bear Down Into Hell With Me (As Only a True Friend Would), and Thirst, and Other  Poems  through Iron Lung Press, and the chapbook Christiana, from Analog Submission Press. He grew up in Mexico City and writes in both English and Spanish. He is currently working on his first novel.

DEAN FORD

PROSE EDITOR.

   What we know of Dean Ford so far: he is a tall, heavyweight, bipolar, educated, white, homosexual from Suburbia, Texas. Our sources say he’s a Navy veteran, but it’s hard to believe. We can confirm his editing experience started with Glass Mountain before joining ‘the Defunkt’ as an assistant prose editor. He then accepted a promotion to his current station if only to secure a charming photo/bio on the webpage. We found notes on him in a Dr. Hall’s office: Slightly sweet and unapologetically sweaty… Single and ready to have a caffeine-induced manic episode. When he’s not spending every brain cell reading prose submissions or googling where to put the, comma, he’s pondering this world and writing craft while playing World of – Wait. There he is. He’s on his squeaky chair. One to two dogs in his lap. Three dimensions. Blinding.
 

JONATHON HINOJOSA

CHIEF OF DESIGN.

Jonathon Hinojosa is a multidisciplinary artist. He was born in Edinburg, TX, but spent most of his childhood and adolescence in Latin America. He earned his bachelor's degree in drama from Trinity University. He has had poems published in the San Antonio Express News and an anthology. Jonathon has focused on a wide range of arts through the years, but lately has been concentrating on printmaking techniques, alternative photographic processes, and some woodworking. He draws most of his inspiration from nature, emotion, and the blending of cultures he grew up in. He currently lives in San Antonio, TX with his wife and children. Photo credit @sarahbrookelyons 

SAMANTHA FOWLER

ART DIRECTOR.

Samantha Fowler is a visual artist, photographer, and creative sequential storyteller from Houston, Texas. She has pursued the arts her entire life; earning an Art Associates from Galveston college, as well as a BFA in Graphic Design and a minor in Art History from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. From a young age, she sought out ways to enhance her talents, such as participating in the Galveston art walk, managing community organizations, and creating commissions for hire.

Through her work, Samantha strives to convey struggles with mental illness and stories of womanhood. Through these mediums, she seeks to build connections with others with similar experiences.

ELAINE NAONG

MARKETING DIRECTOR.

Elaine Caalim Naong is a poet and creative nonfiction writer from the greater Houston area. She is the PR Director for Defunkt Magazine, where she has also served as Social Media Coordinator. She has poems published in Variant Literature Journal and In Parentheses Literary Magazine, and her work in creative nonfiction is forthcoming in pacificREVIEW. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Houston, where she served as PR Manager and Associate Editor for Glass Mountain and Shards.

MIRANDA RAMIREZ

FOUNDER/C0-EDITOR.

Miranda Ramirez is a writer and artist residing in Houston, Texas. You may find her publications in Ripples in Space: Science Fiction Short Stories for Fall 2018, Glass Mountain, Shards, The Bayou Review: The Women's Issue, Coffin Bell, Cutthroat--A Journal of the Arts a collaborative project with Black Earth Institute: Puro Chicanx Writers of the 21st Century. Her visual works have exhibited at Williams Tower Gallery, Tea+Art Gallery, and Insomnia Gallery.  

Keagan Wheat

POETRY EDITOR.

Keagan began his love of writing as a musician, but as he moved through the UH Creative Writing Department, he became more interested in poetry. His poetry often focuses on transgender identity and how others, especially family, interact with that identity, though his more recent poetry starts thinking through how congenital heart disease impacts his identity.
AT UH, he worked on Volumes 20, 21, and 22 of Glass Mountain. He has been published by Z Publishing in Texas’s Best Emerging Poets, the Fall 2018 issue of The Tulane Review, and Shards Issue 4. . 

VOLUME FIVE

VIDEO CONTENT

Alexis Ivy Interview

6.2020 via virtual interview on Zoom

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Co-Editor in Chief and Houston-based writer Christopher Miguel Flakus interviews poet Alexis Ivy from her home in Boston via Zoom.

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DEFUNKT'S MENTORS NIGHT 2020

5.2020 via virtual event on Zoom

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Take a peek at one of our most recent events. This was an especially meaningful night for the Defunkt crew--we had the joy and honor of featuring our mentors from the fields of literature, music, history, and the visual arts. The evening was capitulated by a roundtable discussion regarding the act of creation under the duress of a global pandemic.

Readers/Artists Include: Roberto Tejada, Guiseppe Taurino, Katherine Rhodes-Fields, Daniel Peña, Ann Christensen, & Michael Fares

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DONATIONS & ARCHIVES

Do you share our passion for the arts? Do you want to hear and see the works of more marginalized voices? Do you want to see Defunkt doing more cool stuff in the community? If you answered yes to any of these questions please consider donating to our cause.

 WANT TO CHECKOUT SOME OLD CONTENT?

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You can check out all of our previous publications here via PDF. Many of our past events and interviews are still avilable via our YouTube Channel.

Vol 1 - art

Vol 2

Vol 1 - LITERATURE

Vol 3

SUBMIT TO US AT:

defunktmag.editors@gmail.com

MEDIUMS WE ARE LOOKING TO PUBLISH & PROMOTE

Poetry & Prose

Music,Visual, & Performance Art

We are currently accepting submissions for all sections of the magazine, as well as considerations for events and requests for reviews. Requests for reviews, interviews, and event collaborations as well as any questions regarding the guidelines should be sent via email. 

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ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST CONTAIN THE SECTION IN THE SUBJECT LINE

ALONG WITH AN ARTIST BIO IN THE BODY.

SEPARATE EMAILS ARE REQUIRED FOR SEPARATE SECTIONS

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ALL VIDEO SUBMISSIONS MUST BE VIA YOUTUBE LINK

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Please note that Defunkt Magazine requires First Serial Rights on all submissions /all mediums and that all published works may be considered for our annually printed anthology.

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SECTION GUIDELINES

PROSE

Fiction & Non-Fiction 

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• 4,000 word maximum. No minimum.

• Double-spaced. 12 pt. font size. Times New Roman or similar font style.

• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable.

• Submit using a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file attached to the email.

• Specify in the email’s subject line the title of story and genre i.e. fiction or nonfiction.

• Wait for a response before resubmitting. One submission per author.

• We do not accept unsolicited re-submissions of work that we have rejected even if it has been revised.

 Check out this interview with our prose editor for tips on what we’re looking for in a story

ART

Visual, Performance, & Music

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• Please utilize JPEG/PNG with a minimum resolution of 300 PSI via attachment.

• Bios should be no more than 300 words and written in third-person. They must be in the submission email body.

• 5 piece maximum per entry.

• Different mediums should be submitted separately: i.e. visual submissions should not be submitted alongside a musical or video submission--but in their own email.

• The non-poetic performance or short film videos should be 10 minutes or less.

• Music submissions accepted via Soundcloud, Spotify, or via an attached MP3 or MP4 file.

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POETRY

Written or Performance Videos 

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• 3-6 poems not exceeding 10 pages

• 12pt Times New Roman font

• We are interested in all types of poetry, so please send whatever you feel is your best. 

• Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please notify us immediately when a piece from your submission is accepted elsewhere.

• Please include a third-person biography or artist’s statement that is a maximum of 150 words.

• We do not accept multiple submissions within one section, but you may submit to different sections.

• Please utilize Word or PDF via attachment.

• No minimum.

• Performance videos should be 10 minutes or less.

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FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE ABOVE GUIDELINES WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE REJECTION​

ROLLING SUBMISSION

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However, to be considered for publication in Volume Six you must submit by:

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MIDNIGHT on OCTOBER 30, 2020

OFFERING ONE ON ONE CONSULTATIONS IN

Poetry & Prose

We know that sometimes all you need is someone to read it and tell you what's missing and we're here to help! Defunkt is proud to offer our site as a platform for you to connect with a professional in your medium. We want this to be a very thorough and intimate experience for everyone so there are a few ground rules for manuscript evaluations:

PROSE​

20 page limit, Double-Spaced, 12 pt. font, if an excerpt, please include an outline of the work and a letter of intention.

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POETRY

5 poem limit per Consulting Session, not to exceed 10 pages.

ALL CONSULTANTS MAY CHOOSE TO REVIEW LONGER WORKS AT THEIR DISCRETION. PLEASE EMAIL DEFUNKTMAG.EDITORS@GMAIL.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO CHECK AVAILABILITY. STANDARD SESSION RATE IS $55 PER MANUSCRIPT.

Things to include in this email: Author/Consultant you want to work with if specific, manuscript details: genre & page count, also please let us know if there is a timetable you are trying to maintain.

CONSULTANTS

Offering Consultations for:​

Poetry, Micro Memoir, Flash Non Fiction and the Personal Essay.

CAIT WEISS ORCUTT’s work has appeared in Boston Review, Chautauqua, FIELD, The Academy of American Poets and more. Her poems have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best New Poets and Best of the Net, and her manuscript VALLEYSPEAK (Zone 3, 2017) won Zone 3 Press’ First Book Award, judged by Douglas Kearney, and an Independent Publisher's Book Award for Poetry. Her CNF has appeared in The Pinch, Bust Magazine, and The Fem. Cait has an MFA from The Ohio State and is currently getting her Ph.D. in Poetry from the University of Houston while working on a Creative Non Fiction side project. She teaches creative writing at UH, Grackle and Grackle, Inprint, WITS, the Salvation Army, the Menil Collection, and the Jewish Community Center. She is the recipient of an Inprint C. Glenn Cambor/MD Anderson Foundation Fellowship.

Offering Consultations for:​

Any genre of creative writing.

Justin Jannise studied creative writing at Yale and the Iowa Writers' Workshop and is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Houston. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Copper Nickel, New Ohio Review, Columbia Journal, Yale Review, The Awl and Zócalo Public Square. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Gulf Coast and the recipient of an Inprint Marion Barthelme Prize. 

Offering Consultations for:​

Fiction, Flash Fiction, Mixed Genre, Nonfiction, Poetry, & Graphic Narrative.

Brendan Stephens is a writer and musician from Maryland. His work has appeared in Epoch, Southeast Review, Notre Dame Review, Carolina Quarterly, SmokeLong Quarterly, and elsewhere. He has won an Inprint Donald Barthelme Prize and Backbone Mountain Review Prize and was second place in the Into the Void Fiction Prize. He has received an MFA from the University of Central Florida and an MAT from Frostburg State University. Currently, he is in the PhD program at the University of Houston where he is the assistant online fiction editor for Gulf Coast.

Offering Consultations for:​

Literary Fiction, Genre Fiction, and Nonfiction.

Obi Umeozor received his B.A. in English from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria and taught English Literature before moving to the States in 2015, where he obtained an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida State University. His work has appeared and is forthcoming in the New Orleans Review, Shift, adda and others. He has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and is currently a PhD (Fiction) candidate at the University of Houston’s Creative Writing Program.