LeoBird Magazine is an intelligent online journal about Science, Art and The Passionate Life, inspired by the example of the Renaissance hero Leonardo da Vinci.
In particular, the magazine is named in honor of the story of “Leonardo’s Birds.” According to his original biographer Giorgio Vasari, Leonardo wasn't only noted in his era for his scientific and artistic interests, but also for his compassion for animals: Leonardo became a vegetarian for ethical reasons, and would often buy the birds that were sold in the market square so that he could free them from their cages. LeoBird Magazine will follow Leonardo da Vinci's example by exploring the latest developments in science and art while taking a compassionate stance in support of animal liberation.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
LeoBird Magazine is a labor of love, and unlikely to ever generate much revenue for anyone. So we are unable to offer any fees to our contributing writers and artists. But we can offer you exposure in an excellent online journal, and will give you a prominent byline, copyright notice, a short bio including any books published, and a link to your website. Our "post-a-comment" feature on the website will also allow you to view readers' feedback commentary on your work.
We accept original material and reprints, and as author you retain all rights to your work. If your article is accepted for publication we will send you a Letter of Agreement acknowledging your copyright ownership etc.
Although LBM is edited by a “dead white male” in New York, we want the magazine to feature an array of perspectives from across the globe, and we encourage international submissions from people of all backgrounds, circumstances, and shoe-sizes.
CATEGORIES
-Science and Technology
LBM is interested in original science reporting, whether it be interviews with scientists, articles about new discoveries, book reviews, or essays about the wider consequences of genetic engineering and other technologies on our future.
(We are only interested in “real science” articles, not pseudoscience or X-files stories about UFO’s, Bigfoot, or antigravity engines, except from a skeptical perspective.)
Note also that in accordance with the ethical standards of Leonardo da Vinci, LBM’s editorial position condemns all experiments on animals. In the interest of presenting the facts, LBM is willing to publish uncensored science reports which are based upon animal-experimentation research, but LBM will usually preface a critical editorial note to such articles.
-Arts
LBM is interested in original arts reporting, whether it be interviews with artists, reviews of new artworks, or general essays about art and culture. We encourage articles on subjects from every form of media: opera, videogames, puppetry, etc.
We prefer the innovative fringes, and are more likely to publish a review of the new Bjork album than the latest opus of Britney Spears. (But if you can write a stunning essay on The Existential Importance of Britney, hey, we'll gladly print it.)
-The Passionate Life
LBM is interested in original nonfiction personal essays in the tradition of Annie Dillard, James Baldwin, and Joan Didion.
We are looking for pieces of genuine literary quality, not Reader's Digest stories about the quirky taxi-driver you met in Toronto last summer.
The tone of the essays can be cool and logical, or passionate and opinionated; the narrative style can be Bloomsbury or hip-hop; if they’re well-written and powerful, we'll print them.
-Animal Liberation
LeoBird Magazine will take a firm editorial stance on one particular issue: advocating an end to the legal status of animals as human property. LBM will encourage the recognition of animals as our fellow sentient beings worthy of respect and compassion, and campaign for an end to all forms of animal exploitation by humans.
Taking the compassionate scientist Leonardo da Vinci as our inspiration, LBM especially hopes to open a dialog with scientists about the serious problem of animal-experimentation. Please note that LBM only supports animal-rights activities conducted using strict Gandhian methods of peaceful and loving persuasion, and condemns any group that advocates violent, abusive or intimidating tactics.
Opposing views are invited, and debate is welcomed in LBM, provided that all arguments are conducted in a civil tone (commentators who indulge in ad hominem personal attacks will be censored and/or barred from the magazine).
Note that contributors to LBM need not be supporters of animal rights. (And if you’re submitting a film review or an astronomy article to LBM, it obviously isn’t relevant whether or not you’re a vegetarian!)
LBM welcomes articles on all aspects of the animal liberation movement and hopes to develop a "safe forum" where people of all opinions can discuss difficult issues in a respectful manner.
-Public Affairs
LBM is interested in original stories about Big Picture social issues, whether it be interviews with environmentalists or articles about imprisoned dissidents in China. LBM will publish thoughtful articles and opinions from all perspectives, and its editorial policy will refrain from any partisan political agenda (except for the special case of animal-liberation mentioned above).
Note however that LBM is not primarily a political or current-affairs magazine, and will probably not publish topical stories about national elections or tax policies. Rather, LBM is most interested in articles that explore long-term issues facing humanity and the future of the earth itself.
To encourage a spirited debate in the magazine we will publish well-written articles and opinion pieces from across the political spectrum. The articles submitted should be thoughtful, well-researched, and informative, rather than partisan rants or diatribes. Submissions from across the globe are welcomed.
-Comix
LBM loves comix! We will publish articles on all aspects of the alternative-comix scene (Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Julie Doucet, etc) and will be glad to print comix strips by talented new cartoonists.
-Photos and Visual Artworks
LBM welcomes submissions of photos and images by artists who would like more public exposure for their work. We would also appreciate a few lines of text from the artist describing the inspiration for the particular work, or the process by which they created it, etc.
-Consciousness
LBM is fascinated by the phenomenon of consciousness, and is interested in publishing articles that explore the mystery from different angles, whether scientific, philosophical, or contemplative. We invite stories on topics such as the latest neuroscience research developments, philosophical essays on the “mind-body problem," or book reviews of meditation teachings. LBM wants to explore consciousness from both the objective perspective of the brain sciences, and the subjective perspective exemplified by wisdom-traditions such as Zen and Advaita.
-Fiction & Poetry: Submit Book Reviews ONLY!
LeoBird Magazine would love to print original short fiction & poetry. Unfortunately, the LBM editor has learned from the experience of other magazines that their in-boxes are clogged by hundreds of submissions of trashy love-poems, Star Trek fan-fiction, and 800-page novels-in-progress. The overwhelming deluge of crap they receive each week makes it effectively impossible for them to ever find the few shining gems.
Yet LBM would still like to discover and publish terrific new literature. Our solution is to set up a Gatekeeper system to narrow the number of submissions that will be considered. Our Gatekeeper requirement is that LBM will only publish fiction or poetry by contributors who have previously published a literary book review for LeoBird.
So the process will work this way: if you'd like to get your poem or story published in LeoBird you must first submit a well-written review of a new book of fiction or poetry to the Literary Review department. If your book review is published by LBM, you will then be asked whether you'd like to submit your own story or poem for consideration. (There's still no guarantee that your piece will be selected for publication.) Fiction authors should also note that we will only publish "short-short" stories, bite-size fiction of less than 300 words.
Remember, LeoBird Magazine will NOT read or publish unsolicited fiction or poetry. Please do not submit any stories or poems - they will be immediately discarded, unread.
As for our book reviews, LBM will publish reviews of new fiction/poetry in the Literary Review section of the magazine. Most reviews published will be of so-called “literary” fiction, though we may print occasional reviews from genre categories such as crime and science-fiction.
SUBMISSION DETAILS
-Article Length
Flexible, depending on whether you're submitting a short review or a long essay. Try to stay in the range of 300-1500 words. Articles may be edited for length and clarity.
-Rights
If your article is accepted for publication we will send you a Letter of Agreement acknowledging your copyright etc. (Basically LBM simply asks the right to publish your work on our website and in our online archives. You retain full ownership of your work and can still sell the article again elsewhere online or in print.)
-How to Submit
Send a query letter or complete manuscript to the Editor at LeoBirdSubmit@yahoo.com with the email's subject-heading identifying the article's category (Science, Consciousness, Literary Review, etc) so that it can be forwarded to the appropriate department editor.
Please send manuscripts as a Microsoft Word attachment or as text within the body of your email. If submitting a photo or image, please do not send large files. (Instead of sending a big image file, a link to your album or website is preferable.)
-Response Time
If we are interested in your article we'll let you know within three weeks (but probably much sooner). We cannot respond to every submission we receive - if you do not hear from us within three weeks you can assume that we have decided that the article or image was not quite suitable for LBM.
-Pay
The fee for all articles or images published in LeoBird Magazine is zero. (Plus the satisfaction of seeing your work included in a great magazine!) LBM will give your work a prominent byline, copyright notice, a short biographical note, and a link to your website.
* The Killing Fields of Montana - The sad true story of the Yellowstone Buffalo, written by Priscilla Cohn. 
* An interview with Jonathan Rosenberg, the founder and president of the cat sanctuary, Tabby's Place.
* The Templar Tarot created by Allen Chester
* The Gaian Tarot created by Joanna Powell Colbert
* The Stone Tarot created by Alison Stone.
* Reviews of two books about America's new imperial foreign policy.
* We review the latest album from R.E.M.
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