The Autoethnographer

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The Autoethnographer is an award-winning, non-profit, open-access, peer-reviewed, digital literary and arts magazine open for submissions. Our independent editorial team of international artists, performers, writers, and scholars invites unpublished, unsolicited, evocative stories – sometimes textual, audio, visual, or multimodal – crafted in conjunction with autoethnography that celebrate the intersection of personal expression and cultural inquiry. Simultaneous submissions to other outlets are permissible so long as you notify us immediately should you decide to publish elsewhere.

We strongly encourage all contributors to review current articles at our magazine before submitting their work to us.

WHAT IS AUTOETHNOGRAPHY?

Autoethnography is a qualitative research method that utilizes lived experience as evidence with which to explore cultural phenomena. It is often described as a hybrid form of ethnography & autobiography in that autoethnographers use lived experience to explore cultural issues. Autoethnography then can be a purposeful short story, a video monologue, a gallery of images, a quilt, a song, a poem, a dinner menu, artwork, and even a live performance when such expressions also celebrate or investigate cultural experiences. The following may be of assistance:

• What Do Editors Look for When Reviewing Evocative Autoethnographies?

We also recommend the following article as a user-friendly primer on the basics of autoethnography:

• Autoethnography: An Overview (Adams, Ellis, & Bochner, 2011)

Consider the following discussions of autoethnography from the article above:

Autoethnographers recognize the innumerable ways personal experience influences the research process… Consequently, autoethnography is one of the approaches that acknowledges and accommodates subjectivity, emotionality, and the researcher’s influence on research, rather than hiding from these matters or assuming they don’t exist. [3] When researchers write autoethnographies, they seek to produce aesthetic and evocative thick descriptions of personal and interpersonal experience. They accomplish this by first discerning  patterns of cultural experience evidenced by field notes, interviews, and/or artifacts, and then describing these patterns using facets of storytelling (e.g., character and plot development), showing and telling, and alterations of authorial voice. Thus, the autoethnographer not only tries to make personal experience meaningful and cultural experience engaging, but also, by producing accessible texts, she or he may be able to reach wider and more diverse mass audiences that traditional research usually disregards, a move that can make personal and social change possible for more people (BOCHNER, 1997; ELLIS, 1995;  GOODALL, 2006; HOOKS, 1994). [14]

Adams, T., Ellis, C., & Bochner, A. (2011). Autoethnography: An overview. FQS, 12(1).

ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION

• The Autoethnographer is primarily an English language publication. However, we do welcome trans-languaging, multilingualism, and code-swithcing. If mutlilingual, the artist’s memo should provide useful context and translations that can help the reader embrace the work. If translated, we encourage  submission of both the original language work and the English translation to highlight and celebrate the author’s linguistic choices.
• Each year we also invite thematic submissions in addition to our general submissions.
• Contributors may be at any stage of their creative journeys and need not have previously published work.
• Submissions are accepted 365 days of the year.
• Because our focus is literary and expressive, works that are theoretical, academic, and/or philosophical are recommended for submission to The Journal of Autoethnography (unaffiliated).
• We strongly encourage all contributors to review current articles at our magazine before submitting their work to us.
• Please review the Contract and Publication Rights at our website prior to submission; publication implies consent with this policy.

EVOCATIVE EXPRESSIONS ($25 USD/article)

Expressive works of any medium that have been created as, or in conjunction with, autoethnography. Author’s/Artist’s memos are required for submissions in this category; see below. Contact the [editor at theautoethnographer dot com] to explore alternatives. For longer works, we welcome pitches for columns and ongoing features. Likewise, we may request to post your work over a number of articles over time in order to create a more suitable audience experience. We pay $25 USD per article and request a $5 donation submission fee. Your tax deductible donation helps sustain the future of our magazine; thank you!! Response time is generally within 14 days or sooner.

• WRITING – No length requirement; for longer works, we may request serialization. Please submit .doc/.docx files. Please follow APA 7 for general formatting of citations and references when applicable. Click me for more info.
• POETRY – Single poems are appreciated and welcomed. We tend to give preference to a collection of poems (3-10 works), however, due to their tendency for breadth and depth. Please submit .doc/.docx files. For longer collections, we may request serialization.
• MULTIMEDIA – No  length requirement; for longer works or groups of images we may request serialization. Work should be presented in .wav/.mp4/.mp3/.mov or .jpeg/.png and may be externally hosted at the time of submission (send the link). HD images and video should be readily available if work is accepted. Contact the [editor at theautoethnographer dot com] if using another file format.
• VISUAL ARTS – creative arts such as photography, quilting, weaving, sculpting, dancing, potting, painting, drawing, cooking, metalwork, landscaping, make-up, tattooing, jewelry-making, fashion or home decor design, etc. should be represented visually or multimodally. HD images and video should be readily available if work is accepted. Work should be presented in .wav/.mp4/.mp3/.mov or .jpeg/.png and may be externally hosted at the time of submission (send the link). Contact the [editor at theautoethnographer dot com] if using another file format.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURES

1. REVIEW EXAMPLES: We strongly encourage all contributors to review current articles and memos at our magazine before submitting their work to us.
2. REMOVE IDENTIFYING INFO: In order to preserve a fair and impartial vetting process, submissions are refereed anonymously; please ensure that where possible, no identifying information accompanies your submission. You are encouraged to use an alias if necessary for submission purposes; this can later be changed for publication.
3. INCLUDE DETAILED AUTHOR’S/ARTIST’S MEMO (500-1000 words): An artist’s memo is your opportunity to contextualize or explain your submission in relation to autoethnography; it answers the questions “How is this work autoethnographic, and what cultural issue(s) is/are being addressed?” Evocative expressions submissions that do not include a clear, detailed memo will not be considered for publication.

PAYMENT

We pay $25 USD per article and request a $5 donation submission fee. Your tax deductible donation helps sustain the future of our magazine; thank  you!!

SUBMIT

Please see our Submissions page for more information about publishing at The AutoEthnographer. Please see our Work with Us page to learn about volunteering at The AutoEthnographer. Please see our editor’s introduction The Birth of an Idea, and editorial board’s What Do Editors Look for When Reviewing Evocative Autoethnographies? to learn about the rationale behind The AutoEthnographer and what we’re looking for. View Our Team to learn about our editorial board. Visit our Community to interact with others.