Call for Entries for ZEKE Magazine
Incarceration Nation
ZEKE Magazine is seeking documentary photography portfolios exploring the theme of incarceration in the United States.
Selected portfolios and text to be published in the fall 2023 issue of ZEKE.
Photo by Isadora Kosofsky from Vinny & David: Life and Incarceration of a Family featured in the fall 2016 issue of ZEKE magazine
The United States, with just 5% of the world’s population, has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, exceeded only by Rwanda and Turkmenistan and nearly five times the average rate of EU countries. With more than two million people in prison in the U.S., this is just under 1% of the entire population and it comes at a high cost in dollars and lives.
What is it about the United States that causes such high rates of incarceration? Is it because of the harsh policies of the criminal justice system that chooses to send people behind bars? Are higher rates of crime than in other countries causing this? And if so why? What is life like inside prison for people serving time for anything from minor crimes to felonies? What is life like during and after solitary confinement and especially for minors? What is it like for the incarcerated when they regain their freedom? What is it like for family members and loved ones? What is the psychological toll on the incarcerated and how does this effect the remaining 99.3% of the U.S. population?
These are just some of the themes we want to explore in this issue of ZEKE magazine.
Guest Editor
The Guest Editor for this issue is Christopher Blackwell, an award-winning journalist currently incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Center Shelton, WA. He is serving a 45-year prison sentence for taking another human’s life during a drug robbery--something he takes full accountability for. He was raised in a mixed Native American/white family in the Hilltop Area of Tacoma, Washington, one of the roughest places to live in the country– ravaged by over-policing, gangs, violence, and drugs.
Christopher and his wife, Dr. Chelsea Moore, co-founded Look2Justice, a grassroots organization led by criminal legal system-impacted people that works to transform the legal system by providing civic education and empowerment programs for incarcerated people and their loved ones.
His writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, HuffPost, Marshall Project, Insider, Jewish Currents, BuzzFeed, The Appeal, and many more. He is currently in the process of working on a book manuscript about solitary confinement.
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Deadline for submissions: July 24
No entry fee required
Up to 30 images can be submitted and all submissions include a free exhibit on the SDN website for one year.
Scholarships available. See below for details
Entry Requirements
All entries must have between 6 and 30 photographs related to the theme of incarceration in the U.S. Submissions must have an abstract to provide context (180 words maximum) and captions to accompany the photographs.
Additional text about the situation being documented may also be entered, as well as a bio of the photographer, information on organizations working with affected communities, and other relevant information. Photographs must have been taken after January 1, 2014 unless the work is part of a long-term project that began prior to 2014 and continues to the present.
All work must be submitted via the Social Documentary Network website. For specific image specifications, click here. Images must be a minimum of 1500 pixels in one dimension.
All entries are automatically and simultaneously submitted for exhibition on the Social Documentary Network website and must follow all rules and regulations regarding exhibits on SDN.
Exhibits on the SDN website need to be approved before going live. In the event that an entry to the Call for Entries is not accepted for the SDN website, the photographer may make changes to their exhibit and re-submit, at no additional cost, up until the entry deadline. Greater than 90% of all exhibits submitted to SDN are approved. The most common reason that an exhibit is not accepted is because it is not documentary.
All submissions will be viewable to the public on the SDN website. Once your exhibit is accepted, it will remain live on the SDN website for one year.
Converting Existing SDN Exhibits to a Submission
Existing exhibits on SDN can easily be converted to a call for entry by logging into your account, going to the exhibit you want to convert, and clicking the blue button at the top of the page. You will be prompted to pay the entry fee at that time.
Eligibility
The ZEKE Award is open to professional and amateur US and international photographers.
Entry Fees
All fees must be paid using a credit or debit card on the SDN website. International credit cards are accepted. All entry submissions and fees are final and non-refundable.
Important Dates
Use Rights
All entrants retain copyright of their work. By submitting to this call for entries, photographers grant SDN a royalty-free license to use their images for the purpose of subsequent display on the SDN site, in SDN & ZEKE promotional materials, and in ZEKE magazine. Entries grant SDN the right to use their name for promotion in any medium including radio, newspapers, publications, television, videotape, and/or distribution over the internet. Samples of the work will be released to the press for promotional purposes. Photographers grant use of their images as stated without further contact or compensation from SDN. Photographer’s credit will be provided with all use.
Release
Before submitting work to this Call for Entries, entrant acknowledges they have legal rights to submit images for publication on the SDN website, in ZEKE magazine, in SDN/ZEKE social media, and in exhibitions.
Entrant acknowledges that SDN may not be held liable for any loss, damages, or injury associated with this call for entries. Entrant agrees to indemnify SDN for all costs, damages and attorney fees resulting from any third party claims, including copyright infringement, arising from entrant’s participation.
SDN reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant that fails to comply with call for entry rules and guidelines.
