Smashing Times Centre for the Arts and Equality would like to invite submissions to the January 2024 edition of the Smashing Times Newsletter. The theme this month is ‘Rebirth and Renewal’, tying in with the brand new year we find ourselves in.

More than any other fixture on the calendar, the New Year is seen as offering a chance for fresh starts and renewed commitment. In winter’s chilly depths, we offer up pledges to ourselves with a view to the betterment of our lives, be that emotionally, socially, physically, or otherwise. We realign ourselves with the values and goals we hold dearest, while working towards them in new and reinvigorating ways. The latter part is essential: the longevity and vitality of our lives hinge on our capacity for imaginative reinvention; very few of us exist on a consistently linear even keel, unrocked by change, challenge, loss, or hardship.

Interestingly, we assign ourselves these resolutions half-believing that we will fail. But we do it anyway – content, perhaps, to ‘fail better’, in the words of Samuel Beckett. To fall short, but still make ground. Maybe New Year’s resolutions should be viewed as Leonardo da Vinci viewed art: ‘never finished, only abandoned’. And no matter – there is a completion of sorts to the incomplete: it is flawed and human, vulnerable and endearing, more relatable and true to life than its overwhelming, faultless, god-like sibling.

So let us fail, and let us learn, and grow, and gain, and fail better again.

Artist Submissions

Artist submissions are welcome in any genre or form. A few notes:

• If submitting poetry, please send a maximum of two poems (of any length).
• If submitting a short story, a non-fiction essay, or an extract from a novel or play, please send no more than two, each being no longer than 2,000 words.
• Up to two articles may be submitted, so long as neither exceeds 1,000 words.
• If sending a photograph, or an image of a painting, sculpture, or architectural work, please submit no more than two. Please also ensure that the images are of a high quality.
• In the case of videos, or video excerpts, of plays, please submit one piece only, of no longer than 20 minutes. Please ensure that the video is of a high audiovisual calibre.
• If submitting a song, a short film, a video artwork, a feature-film excerpt, or a dance piece, please send no more than two, and ensure neither runs over 20 minutes. Likewise, please make sure that they are of a high audiovisual calibre.
• You may submit in a maximum of two artforms (up to two submissions in each of two artforms, so a maximum of four submissions overall).
• Submissions may have appeared elsewhere before, though new work is especially welcome.
• Translated works are acceptable, once they are submitted alongside the original, and all relevant permissions are obtained beforehand.
• Themes are always flexible; any subjective response is considered valid.
• Please submit to communications@smashingtimes.ie by midnight on Thursday, 18 January, 2024. Written pieces should be sent in a Word document. Please include a max two-line biography to accompany your piece, making reference to your previous publications (if applicable), as well as a headshot or photograph.
• If we accept a written piece, the editor will contact you with at least one round of suggested edits, so please monitor your email closely.
• Furthermore, if your work is accepted, it will appear not only in the newsletter but on the Smashing Times website and possibly across our social media channels.
• Not all submissions will be accepted, unfortunately.
• The newsletter goes out on Thursday, 25 January, 2024.
• Publication is unpaid, regrettably, as we are a small charity with limited resources. The newsletter reaches around 1,200 people, however, including a range of major arts organisations, and many members of Ireland’s arts and human rights communities. Previous newsletter contributors include poet Jessica Traynor, Senator Lynn Ruane, 2023 Nobel Peace Prize-winner Narges Mohammadi, Irish language writer Áine Ní Ghlinn, Colombian visual artist Erika Diettes, and many more.
• Submissions are especially welcome from individuals who have been underrepresented historically, such as ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, members of the Traveller community, the LGBTQI+ community, and women. Please let us know when submitting if you belong to any of these or suchlike minorities.

News Item Submissions

News item submissions are welcome from any organisation or individual either working in the arts, or in human rights, equality, or similar areas. Some notes:

• News items should be 150 words or less. They do not need to have any relevance to the theme.
• We welcome any news item based on you or your organisation’s recent work, event, or activity in the areas of the arts, human rights, equality, or social justice.
• Please include a photo to go with your news item and ensure it is of reasonably high quality. If there is no relevant photo, please send on your organisation’s logo.
• Any links should be included as hyperlinks.
• Please double-check for spelling, grammar, accuracy, and clarity.
• We will endeavour to include as many submissions as possible – though this of course depends on the number we receive. (In the event of a surplus, we will hold onto any items which would still be relevant in the following month’s edition, with your permission.) We will prioritise submissions from Smashing Times members. Sign you or your organisation up here.
• The newsletter reaches around 1,200 people, including a range of major arts organisations, and many members of Ireland’s arts and human rights communities.
• Please submit in a word document to communications@smashingtimes.ie by midnight on Thursday, 18 January, 2024.
• The newsletter goes out on Thursday, 25 January, 2024.
• Submissions are especially welcome from individuals who have been underrepresented historically, such as ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, members of the Traveller community, the LGBTQI+ community, and women. Please let us know when submitting if you belong to any of these or suchlike minorities. Likewise, we welcome submissions from organisations that advocate for any of these, or similar, causes.

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