What is Agora?
Agora Magazine is a public place for articulating literary, audible, and visual arts to consider the humanistic elements of medicine and healthcare; to develop empathy for people with different experiences and perspectives; to reflect on experiences caring for others; and to evolve our personal and professional identities as they intersect with our time, place, and community.

Who can submit pieces to Agora? 
Anyone is welcome to submit pieces! This includes students, staff, faculty at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, other NYU undergraduate and graduate programs, and community members. We will ask you to identify your affiliation on the submission form. 

What types of pieces are accepted? 
We accept all types of work and art. This includes, but is not limited to, writing, visual art, music, and video. Be creative with mediums. 

We welcome submissions that represent all forms of artistic expression. However, we will not accept pieces that are produced solely through Artificial Intelligence (AI). If you are interested in using AI in your submission, please reach out to us (jordan.reif@nyulangone.org) so we can work with you to make sure the final product is within the scope of our magazine.

Do I have to submit new work? What if I have submitted my piece to another publication? 
We accept any original work, including pieces that have been submitted and/or published in other journals. If you have previously published work or are considering publishing work elsewhere—in addition to Agora—be sure to check the requirements of your desired publication as standards vary. 

What topic should the pieces address? What is the theme of Agora? 
In May 2023, Dr. Vivek Murthy—US Surgeon General and renowned physician-researcher—released a new advisory declaring loneliness a new public health epidemic and calling for a nationwide effort to strengthen the social fabric of our lives.

In the next issue of Agora, we hope to respond to this “connection” by reflecting on and examining the lived experiences of loneliness among students, patients, caregivers, healthcare systems, communities, and institutions.

Understanding that “connection” is a complex, multifaceted experience, we chose to focus on isolation and aloneness in the Fall 2023 issue and focus on companionship and community in Spring 2024 to more fully explore what "connection” might mean to our community.

Of note, our chosen theme and focus are starting points and should not limit you. We will review all submissions exploring any facet of connection or any other theme within the realm of the medical humanities.

Read the full theme statement here.

Where do I submit my work? What do I have to answer to submit pieces? 
Please submit your pieces online here (or accessed at https://bit.ly/agoraspring2024). The submission form requires your name, contact information, institution affiliation (if applicable), the submission, information about your submission (title, year created, medium, artist’s note), and options to leave additional comments or request to be published anonymously.

Can I submit pieces in other languages?
We welcome submissions entirely in Spanish. If your piece is not translated, we will ask that you submit your piece with an artist statement in both Spanish and English. Due to the capacity of our editorial board, we may contact you about a change in the timeline for review and publishing.

We welcome submissions in other languages as long as it is accompanied by a translation in English or Spanish due to the language limitations of the Editorial Board.

Can multiple people collaborate on a piece?

Yes! We are excited to have multiple people work on pieces together. In the spirit of our theme, we are also helping foster connections for co-creation. If you are interested in being paired up with someone to create a piece for submission to Agora, please fill out this form.

What is the deadline for submissions? 
Submissions for the spring 2024 edition will be reviewed on a rolling basis until Friday, April 12.

How should I format my submission? Is there a word count? 
Written work (poetry, short story, reflection, etc.) should use single-spacing, Times New Roman, font 12 in a Google Docs or Word document file. Do not submit written pieces in PDF format. Please try to limit your submissions to 1000 words. We do accept excerpts from longer original pieces. An Agora member is happy to help you condense or choose an excerpt upon request.  

Visual art work can be submitted in any format. Scan quality will not be a factor for evaluation. If you need help scanning or uploading your submissions, please contact Jordan Reif (jordan.reif@nyulangone.org). You may include an artist statement with your submission. 

Audio and visual work should be submitted in mp3 and mp4 formats, respectively.

If you intentionally wish to use different formatting, please leave a note in the comments section of the submission form.

How will submissions be reviewed? 
At least two members of the Agora Editorial Board will review each submission. All pieces will be evaluated anonymously. The Editorial Board members include Emily Bi, Corinne Rabbin-Birnbaum, Noor Abi Rached, Chidera Ubah, Christina Woo, Reagan Menz, Daniel Alber, Diego Laboy Morales, Rebecca Lisk, Camila Hernández Blanco, Liz Markowitz, Spencer Frome, Isabella Cuan.

When will I find out whether my piece has been accepted?
Please expect to hear from the Editorial Board within five to seven weeks of submission. At this point, they will inform you of the status of your submission or if they will need more time for evaluation. An Agora staff member will confirm any changes before final publication. If you have any concerns about whether your submission has been received, please reach out to Jordan Reif (jordan.reif@nyulangone.org).

Where will Agora be published? 
Publication will predominantly occur online at www.agoramagazine.org. We will also publish one physical magazine at the end of each semester which will be available to pick up in the NYUGSOM Office of Student Affairs. 

Do I retain the rights to my work? How is Agora licensing submissions? 
Authors will maintain the copyright of their work.The author grants Agora non-exclusive license to print, publish, reproduce, and/or distribute the work in print and/or online, and to market the work. 

For more information, Agora Magazine uses a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial - ShareAlike license (CC-BY-NC-SA). This licensing permits other people to use, distribute, modify, and build on work published by Agora; however, others must credit the author and license any derivative work under identical conditions. The author grants Agora non-exclusive license to print, publish, reproduce, and/or distribute the work in print and/or online, and to market the work. For example, after a work is published in Agora, the author may revise it and submit it to another journal for consideration.

Who do I contact if I have additional questions? 
Please reach out to the Agora Magazine advisor, Jordan Reif (she/hers) at jordan.reif@nyulangone.org or via phone at 212-263-2671.