specs is now accepting critical and/or creative work for the 3rd volume on the theme of "Toys." For those who wish to submit work to specs, please read the following guidelines.

We seek works of fiction, non-fiction, cultural criticism, artwork, poetry, and pieces that blur genre boundaries. The editorial board consists of writers and academics from various fields. Critical articles are peer-reviewed. We are excited by specialty, an excess of detail, fragments, narratives, meta-narratives, and more. We are particularly interested in works that examine contemporary culture and/or cross the critical/creative divide while riffing on the theme of "Toys" in multiple ways (philosophy, anthropology, mythology):

* Misfit toys
* Dioramas
* Lilliputia
* The multicultural body in toys
* Technophilia/ Techno-animism
* Automata & Clockworks
* Bobbleheads, Marytoshkyas, & Dashboard figurines
* Barbie Dolls / Action Figures / Gendered toys
* Neverlands/Wonderlands/Child Stars
* Toy as Totem: Models, Simulations, and Miniatures
* Marionettes
* Kawaii/Japanese toy culture
* Animals as accessories / Furries
* Prize in the box / Tchotchkes / Kitsch / Nostalgia
* Toy Mediums
* Sex toys
* Taxidermy / Living Dolls / Mannequins/ Replicants
* Commodified icons
* Pageantry

Online submissions are preferred (editors@specsjournal.org). For initial submissions we accept .jpegs or html links. Higher resolution images may be requested, if work is chosen for the print edition.

Deadline: March 15, 2010.