Published by Les éditions Esse, Esse arts + opinions is a bilingual magazine focused mainly on contemporary art and multidisciplinary practices. Specializing in essays on issues in art today, the magazine publishes critical analyses that address art in relation to its context. Each issue contains a thematic section, portfolios of artworks, articles critiquing the international culture scene, and reviews of exhibitions, events, and publications. The esse.ca platform also offers articles on contemporary art and an archive of previous issues of Esse.
Submissions are accepted three times a year: January 10, April 1, and September 1. The texts can be submitted for one of the following 3 sections:
Thematic Section: essays between 1,500 and 2,000 words. The guideline regarding the theme is available online 4 to 6 months prior to the deadline: http://esse.ca/en/callforpapers
Abstracts for the thematic section are requested 3 months before the issue deadline: January 10 (for the April 1 deadline), June 1 (for the September 1 deadline), and October 1 (for the January 10 deadline). Please note that no submissions will be read after these dates; however, authors who have not submitted a note of intent may submit a full text by the deadline date for the issue.
Articles: essays or in-depth articles, between 1,250 and 2,000 words (notes included). Abstracts for the Articles section are requested 3 months before the issue deadline: January 10 (for the April 1 deadline), June 1 (for the September 1 deadline), and October 1 (for the January 10 deadline). Authors who have not submitted a note of intent may submit a full text by the deadline date for the issue.
Reviews: reviews of exhibitions, events or publications (maximum 500 words, without footnotes, or 950–1,100 words, with one or two footnotes maximum). Given the short format, final texts are requested for this section.
Editorial Policy
1. Unless otherwise agreed with Les éditions Esse, the author agrees to submit a previously unpublished, original text.
2. All articles are reviewed by the editorial board, which reserves the right to accept or reject a submitted article. Selection criteria are based on the quality of the analysis and the writing, the relevance of the text to the issue’s theme, and the relevance of the chosen artworks and artists to the magazine’s mandate. Selection of articles may take up to 6 weeks after submission. The editorial board’s decision is final. A rejected text will not be re-evaluated.
3. Unless otherwise agreed, the editorial board does not consider articles that may represent a potential conflict of interest between the author and the content of the article (e.g., a text written by the curator of an exhibition).
4. Authors whose pieces are selected agree to format their text according to the typographic standards of Esse, following the guidelines sent to them with the publishing contract.
5. With respect to the author’s vision and style, the editorial board reserves the right to ask for corrections and modifications to be made to ensure an article’s overall clarity and coherence.
6. Conditionally accepted articles will be up for discussion between the author and the editorial board. If changes are requested by the board, the writer will have 15 (fifteen) days to carry these out.
7. All costs of typographical correction of the author’s text shall be borne by Les éditions Esse except the author’s corrections, if applicable, which shall be borne by the author.