The Queer Writer: March 2024

Queer Writing Essentials

• Saturday, March 9th, 2024 from 10:30am to 1:30pm ET
• Virtual via Zoom
• $85, scholarships available
• 12 students maximum

Writing authentic marginalized work can come with some unique problems, especially if/when we engage with the mainstream publishing industry or its readers. This 3-hour class was designed to help queer writers navigate some of the less-discussed aspects of marginalized writing, including how to introduce your characters as queer, creating effective social justice themes within your storytelling, handling “relatability,” and how to invite in outside readers without compromising your story’s authenticity. Peppered with writing exercises, this class will engage with works from such authors as Gabby Rivera, Andrea Lawlor, Rajiv Mohabir, Kacen Callender, Akwaeke Emezi, Carmen Maria Machado, Jordy Rosenberg, and more.

*While this class is designed with queer writers in mind, cisgender/heterosexual writers are welcome to attend and learn. However, please know we won’t be discussing introductory levels of queer representation or community, nor the do’s and don’ts of writing outside of one’s lane.

**FREE!** Transcestors Series: Pirates of the 1600s Atlantic

• Saturday, March 23rd, 2024 from 11:00am to 12:00pm ET
• Virtual via Zoom
• Free!

How do modern-day portrayals of queer and trans pirates stack up to the real thing? Were there any pirates who we'd today define as trans? How did pirates view queer sexual orientations and gender presentations? What about other so-called political topics, such as slavery and disability? Take a look at queerness during The Golden Age of Piracy (1650-1730), centered around the Atlantic Ocean, with opportunity for Q&A. Note: This session includes mentions of queer/transphobia, racism/slavery, murder, sexual assault, misgendering/deadnaming, and appropriation.

Transcestors is a series of free 1-hour sessions focused on trans and queer (but mostly trans) history based on Milo Todd's research for his historical fiction. Those interested must have any subscription tier of The Queer Writer, paid or free, and must use their subscriber email to register for sessions. For safety reasons, sessions will NOT be recorded. Donations are not expected, but the opportunity to donate will be available during sessions. A Zoom link will be sent to registered attendees ~15 minutes before a session starts.

*Sessions are open to all identities, but please know Transcestors centers trans and/or nonbinary attendees.

Writing Outside of Your Lane

• Friday, June 21st, 2024 from 10:30am to 1:30pm ET
• Virtual via Zoom
• $85, scholarships available
• 12 students maximum

Over the past several years, the publishing world (and its readers) have thankfully demanded more diversity within stories. But as welcoming as this change is, it can leave many non-marginalized writers with anxiety. How are you supposed to go about it? What if you mess up? Are you allowed to write about marginalized people at all? This 3-hour course provides mainstream writers with the basics of how to write a marginalized character with which they don’t have a lived experience, breaking the process down into the bare bones of Self-Reflection, Research, Craft, Editing, and How to Handle Backlash. With pragmatic and clear-cut information—as well as the wisdom from such writers as Alexander Chee, Peter Ho Davies, and Stella Young—writers will leave this course with significantly more insight, awareness, and confidence to produce the most accurate and empathetic work they can.

*This class is open to all identities.

Disclosure: I'm an affiliate of Bookshop.org. Any purchase through my storefront supports local bookstores and earns me a commission. Win-win!

Icarus by K. Ancrum

Icarus Gallagher is a thief. He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father's impeccable forgeries. For years, one man--the wealthy Mr. Black--has been their target in revenge for his role in the death of Icarus's mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at bay: Don't let anyone close. Don't let anyone touch you. And, above all, don't get caught. Until one night, he does. Not by Mr. Black but by his mysterious son, Helios, now living under house arrest in the Black mansion. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios bargains for something even more dangerous--a friendship that breaks every single one of Icarus's rules. As reluctance and distrust become closeness and something more, they uncover the gilded cage that has trapped both their families for years. One Icarus is determined to escape. But his father's thirst for revenge shows no sign of fading, and soon it may force Icarus to choose: the escape he's dreamed of, or the boy he's come to love. Reaching for both could be his greatest triumph--or it could be his downfall.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school after being home-schooled all her life. Misfortune has been a constant companion all her life, but even Sade doesn't expect her new roommate, Elizabeth, to disappear after Sade's first night. Or for people to think she had something to do with it. With rumors swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the girls collectively known as the 'Unholy Trinity' and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them--especially Persephone, who Sade is inexplicably drawn to--and playing catchup in class, Sade already has so much on her plate. But when it seems people don't care enough about what happened to Elizabeth to really investigate, it's up to she and Elizabeth's best friend to solve it. And then a student is found dead. As they keep trying to figure out what's going on, Sade realizes there's more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she thought. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface...secrets that rival even her own.

These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein

Security expert Dora left her anarchist commune over safety concerns. But when her ex-girlfriend Kay is killed, everyone at the commune is suddenly a potential suspect. In the remains of Kansas City, which the government has all but abandoned, Dora knows there will be no justice unless she solves the murder herself. But Kay's death is only one of several shocking incidents. A strange new drug is circulating, people are disappearing, and a war between two nefarious corporations is looming. As Dora untangles a terrible conspiracy, she must also come face-to-face with assailants from her pre-transition past.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor--but quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue. In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash an otherworldly terror instead. And in present-day Los Angeles, a college student meets a beautiful stranger and cannot shake the feeling they've met before. Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them. As their many lives intertwine, they begin to realize the power of their undying love--a power that transcends time itself...but one that might consume them both.

Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis

Temple Baker knows that evil runs in her blood. Her father is the North Point Killer, an infamous serial killer known for how he marked each of his victims with a brand. He was convicted for murdering 20 people and was the talk of countless true crime blogs for years. Some say he was possessed by a demon. Some say that they never found all his victims. Some say that even though he's now behind bars, people are still dying in the woods. Despite everything though, Temple never believed that her dad killed her mom. But when he confesses to that crime while on death row, she has no choice but to return to his old hunting grounds to try see if she can find a body and prove it. Turns out, the farm that was once her father's hunting grounds and her home has been turned into an overnight camp for queer, horror-obsessed girls. So Temple poses as a camp counselor to go digging in the woods. While she's not used to hanging out with girls her own age and feels ambivalent at best about these true crime enthusiasts, she tries her best to fit in and keep her true identity hidden. But when a girl turns up dead in the woods, she fears that one of her father's "fans" might be mimicking his crimes. As Temple tries to uncover the truth and keep the campers safe, she comes to realize that there may be something stranger and more sinister at work--and that her father may not have been the only monster in these woods.

The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall

Hollis Beckwith isn't trying to get a girl--she's just trying to get by. For a fat, broke girl with anxiety, the start of senior year brings enough to worry about. And besides, she already has a boyfriend: Chris. Their relationship isn't particularly exciting, but it's comfortable and familiar, and Hollis wants it to survive beyond senior year. To prove she's a girlfriend worth keeping, Hollis decides to learn Chris's favorite tabletop roleplaying game, Secrets & Sorcery--but his unfortunate "No Girlfriends at the Table" rule means she'll need to find her own group if she wants in. Enter: Gloria Castañeda and her all-girls game of S&S! Crowded at the table in Gloria's cozy Ohio apartment, the six girls battle twisted magic in-game and become fast friends outside it. With her character as armor, Hollis starts to believe that maybe she can be more than just fat, anxious, and a little lost. But then an in-game crush develops between Hollis's character and the bard played by charismatic Aini Amin-Shaw, whose wide, cocky grin makes Hollis's stomach flutter. As their gentle flirting sparks into something deeper, Hollis is no longer sure what she wants...or if she's content to just play pretend.

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist by Sophie Gonzales

Ivy Winslow has the house to herself for a week while her parents are away. She's planning to use this newfound freedom to binge-watch her favorite fantasy TV show, H-MAD, and hang out with her best friend, Henry. She'll also have to avoid her former best friend-turned enemy (and neighbor), Mack. But things quickly go awry when Ivy wakes up to find Weston, the gorgeous, very fictional main character of H-MAD in her bedroom, claiming to be her soul mate. Ivy realizes that her fanfic writing has somehow brought Weston as she's imagined him to life. But it turns out that the tropes she swoons over in her stories are slightly less romantic in reality, and her not-so-fictional crush is causing some real-world problems. To figure out why Weston is here and what to do with him, Ivy decides to team up with Henry and (against her better judgment) Mack. But with Mack back in her life, Ivy starts to wonder if Weston, her "perfect guy", is the one who's truly perfect for her...or if that was someone else all along.

The Marble Queen by Anna Kopp (Author) and Gabrielle Kari (Illustrator)

Princess Amelia's kingdom, Marion, is in shambles after months of their trade routes being ravaged by pirates. Now, it seems the only option left for her to save it is through a marriage alliance. When she gets an exorbitant offer from the royalty of Iliad--a country shrouded in mystery--Amelia accepts without question and leaves her home to begin a new life. But she lands on Iliad's shores to find that her betrothed isn't the country's prince, but the recently coronated Queen Salira. Shocked, Amelia tries to make sense of her situation and her confused heart: Salira has awakened strange new feelings inside her, but something dark hides behind the Queen's sorrowful eyes. Amelia must fight the demons of her own anxiety disorder before she can tackle her wife's, all while war looms on the horizon.

Ariel Crashes a Train by Olivia A. Cole

Ariel is afraid of her own mind. She already feels like she is too big, too queer, too rough to live up to her parents' exacting expectations, or to fit into what the world expects of a "good girl." And as violent fantasies she can't control take over every aspect of her life, she is convinced something much deeper is wrong with her. Ever since her older sister escaped to college, Ariel isn't sure if her careful rituals and practiced distance will be enough to keep those around her safe anymore. Then a summer job at a carnival brings new friends into Ariel's fractured world, and she finds herself questioning her desire to keep everyone out--of her head and her heart. But if they knew what she was really thinking, they would run in the other direction--right? Instead, with help and support, Ariel discovers a future where she can be at home in her mind and body, and for the first time learns there's a name for what she struggles with--Obsessive Compulsive Disorder--and that she's not broken, and not alone.

Just Another Epic Love Poem by Parisa Akhbari

Over the past five years, Mitra Esfahani has known two constants: her best friend Bea Ortega and The Book--a dogeared moleskin she and Bea have been filling with the stanzas of an epic, never-ending poem since they were 13. For introverted Mitra, The Book is one of the few places she can open herself completely and where she gets to see all sides of brilliant and ebullient Bea. There, they can share everything--Mitra's complicated feelings about her absent mother, Bea's heartache over her most recent breakup--nothing too messy or complicated for The Book. Nothing except the one thing with the power to change their entire friendship: the fact that Mitra is helplessly in love with Bea.

Chrysalis and Requiem by Quinton Li

At Adraredon Academy, fervent passion, contemporary companionship, and forbidden desires intertwine with tall gothic spires, ancient halls, and centuries of history. Veaer Rosell can't imagine a better place to satiate her craving for beauty, knowledge, and art. Yet senior year shatters her illusion of tranquillity and civil intellect when she witnesses the headmaster's daughter murder another student and is confronted by an unthinkable choice: avenging her fallen peer or taking this secret to the grave, one way or another. But fate laughs at Veaer's expense when the headmaster's daughter requests her aid. Driven by an all-consuming thirst for answers, Veaer becomes an untimely partner in solving a murder they both know the answer to, unaware of the intricacies that come with learning the bigger picture and playing with death.

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

Leslie Bruin is assigned to the backwoods township of Spar Creek by the Frontier Nursing Service, under its usual mandate: vaccinate the flock, birth babies, and weather the judgements of churchy locals who look at him and see a failed woman. Forged in the fires of the Western Front and reborn in the cafes of Paris, Leslie believes he can handle whatever is thrown at him--but Spar Creek holds a darkness beyond his nightmares. Something ugly festers within the local congregation, and its malice has focused on a young person they insist is an unruly tomboy who must be brought to heel. Violence is bubbling when Leslie arrives, ready to spill over, and he'll have to act fast if he intends to be of use. But the hills enfolding Spar Creek have a mind of their own, and the woods are haunted in ways Leslie does not understand.

Cover Story by Rachel Lacey

Natalie Keane is one of Hollywood's top leading ladies, but she's paid a steep price for her fame. After she was stalked eight years ago, the ensuing media frenzy almost broke her. So when a new threat arises, Natalie agrees to extra security, but she wants to keep it under wraps. The last thing she needs is another tabloid spectacle, especially during awards season. Taylor Vaughn has made a career as a bodyguard to the stars, but an injury has kept her sidelined for the past three months, jeopardizing her future in the job she loves. When an opportunity arises to work for Natalie Keane, Taylor jumps at the chance--even before knowing the details of the assignment. From the moment they meet, Natalie knows this could work: Taylor, the bodyguard, masquerading as her girlfriend. The perfect cover story. But as circumstances push the two women closer, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur.

All the World Beside by Garrard Conley

Cana, Massachusetts: a utopian vision of 18th-century Puritan New England. To the outside world, Reverend Nathaniel Whitfield and his family stand as godly pillars of their small-town community, drawing Christians from across the New World into their fold. One such Christian, physician Arthur Lyman, discovers in the minister's words a love so captivating it transcends language. As the bond between these two men grows more and more passionate, their families must contend with a tangled web of secrets, lies, and judgments which threaten to destroy them in this world and the next. And when the religious ecstasies of the Great Awakening begin to take hold, igniting a new era of zealotry, Nathaniel and Arthur search for a path out of an impossible situation, imagining a future for themselves which has no name. Their wives and children must do the same, looking beyond the known world for a new kind of wilderness, both physical and spiritual.

Alien Magazine: Fiction

• What: "Alien Magazine is a publication with the goal of creating an archive of work, as well as an innovative and supportive literary community, for outsiders. We look to expand the literary journal community and its readership by publishing nontraditional work. As we believe that all great art takes risks, we encourage you to do so as well."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $20
• Deadline: March 1st, 2024

2024 Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize

• What: "The Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize is a writing competition sponsored by the stage and radio series Selected Shorts. This long-running series at Symphony Space in New York City celebrates the art of the short story by having stars of stage and screen read aloud the works of established and emerging writers. Selected Shorts is recorded for Public Radio and heard nationally on both the radio and its weekly podcast. The 2024 Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize will be judged by Carmen Maria Machado. The winning work will be performed by an actor in spring 2024, and published on Electric Literature.
• Fee: $25
• Pay: $1,000 and a free 10-week course with Gotham Writers
• Deadline: March 1st, 2024

Start A Riot! Poetry Chapbook Prize

• What: "In response to rapid gentrification and displacement of QTBIPOC+ literary artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in celebration of these communities’ revolutionary history, Foglifter Press, RADAR Productions, and Still Here San Francisco joined forces to create a poetry chapbook prize for local emerging queer and trans Black writers, indigenous writers, and writers of color."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: Publication, a $1,500 prize, and $1,000 to support their book tour/promotion
• Deadline: March 2nd, 2024

new words { press }: Issue Three

• What: "nw{p} is a trans and gender-expansive poetry and hybrid journal, but that doesn’t mean work must be related to those topics. We publish work from emerging and established trans poets all over the world. We want polished work that makes us stop mid-poem to catch our breath and linger on words; words that surprise us; words that make us catch fire. Besides more traditional forms of poetry (which we welcome), nw{p} is a place for experimentation and hybrid process– work that mainstream journals won’t publish. Ultimately we want nw{p} to reside in the spectrum of life."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $15
• Deadline: March 4th, 2024

GrubStreet Emerging Writer Fellowship

• What: "The Emerging Writer Fellowship aims to develop new, exciting voices by providing three writers per year tuition-free access to GrubStreet’s classes and two Muse & the Marketplace summits. Over the course of one year, each Emerging Writer Fellow will attend a combination of seminars and multi-week courses of their choosing, along with a wide selection of Muse & The Marketplace programming, in order to enhance their understanding of craft and the publishing industry. This fellowship is open to anyone 18 and older with a passion for writing. The fellowship specifically aims to assist writers in need of financial assistance in reaching their writing goals. We particularly encourage writers of color, ethnic minorities, those who identify as LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and other members of communities historically underrepresented by the literary community to apply. Priority will be given to applicants who will be able to join us in Boston."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: Free classes and conferences
• Deadline: March 11th, 2024

New Plains Review: Prose (Fiction & Nonfiction) - Central Dissent 2024

• What: "Being the first and only academic journal focused on gender and sexuality in Oklahoma, our mission is to gather and disseminate quality research, poetry, and academic reviews that explore gender theory, gender identity, as well as how race, class, and ethnicity shape society’s expectations of the individual both currently and historically. We are interested in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) that is thoughtful and compelling regarding issues related to gender and/or sexuality, but otherwise, we do not have any specific guidelines for style or subject matter."
• Fee: N/A
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: March 18th, 2024

LGBT Chamber of Commerce 2024-2025 Scholarship Application

• What: "The LGBT Chamber of Commerce Foundation awards scholarships to build leadership and promote diversity in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied communities. Scholarships may be used for any postsecondary education, including nontraditional/alternative programs and vocational training. Applicants must provide proof they are a resident of Texas."
• Fee: N/A
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: March 31st, 2024

Crooked Fagazine: Issue 10

• What: "Crooked Fagazine is a disreputable creative writing journal for confessional storytelling, written by and for gaylords, bad lovers, degenerates and tattle-talers. It’s a home for rejects of the cautious and tasteful literary world, a cabal of perverts and trouble-makers. If your writing is too obscene to be published elsewhere, we want to hear from you! Crooked has a pretty loose definition of what it takes to be a gaylord and anyone with limp wrists is welcome to submit a story."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $30 CDN
• Deadline: March 31st, 2024

The Ana: Issue #15

• What: "The Ana is a quarterly arts magazine. We are a collection and celebration of humanity. Founded and run by QBIPOC. All are welcome. Hate speech not tolerated. (We mean it.)"
• Fee: $0
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: April 1st, 2024

Stonecoast Review Summer 2024 Issue: Ethical Storytelling

• What: "The Stonecoast Review celebrates inclusive and ethical storytelling. The diversity of voices amplified here intend to represent all races, ethnicities, cultures, gender and sexual identities, and abilities. We seek and promote the work of emerging writers from underrepresented groups. In the spirit of ethical storytelling, the fiction editors are searching for stories that invite the reader into radical empathy and exploration. We are looking for stories that push the boundaries of traditional fiction with regard to form and content. We are seeking poems that speak truth but do not exploit pain, acknowledge conflict while holding on to hope, and call out oppression through celebrations of love. We are looking for a diverse array of Creative Nonfiction works that engage with our mission and challenge the boundaries of conventional storytelling."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: April 1st, 2024

Creative Capital Awards 2025 Open Call

• What: "For our 25th Anniversary in 2025, Creative Capital welcomes innovative and original new project proposals in visual arts, performing arts, film/moving image, technology, literature, multidisciplinary, and socially engaged forms."
• Fee: N/A
• Pay: $50,000
• Deadline: April 4th, 2024

new words { press } Young Poets Issue (Ages 14-19)

• What: "nw{p} is a trans and gender-expansive poetry and hybrid journal, but that doesn’t mean work must be related to those topics. Our Spring goal is to create a sibling journal of only young poets. As such, we'll continue to keep submissions open until we receive enough submissions. So, get your submission in early. Send us your most polished work for consideration. Besides more traditional forms of poetry (which we welcome), nw{p} is a place for experimentation and hybrid process. Ultimately we want nw{p} to reside in the spectrum of life."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $15 per poem
• Deadline: April 5th, 2024

Meet Me There, Another Time: Letters To Places Queer and Trans People Left Behind

• What: "Queer and trans people are invited to share a letter to a place you had to leave behind to preserve your own safety or parts of yourself. Nobody's pieces will be turned away....Meet Me There, Another Time responds to the rise of fascist thinking and forced alienation of our community members while centering on our voices and healing process as we seek to belong where we can. Queer and trans people always have a way of making our world bigger while others try to make our world smaller. These reconnections with the places we’ve left offer a reminder that we are always here and, in a way, always there."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $0
• Deadline: April 15th, 2024

Foglifter Journal: Issue 9, Volume 2

• What: "Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you're working on now that's keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $50
• Deadline: May 1st, 2024

Bi Women Quarterly Summer 2024: More Than One Letter

• What: "'B' isn’t the only identity in our yummy alphabet soup. To those of you who identify as bi+ and also as asexual, trans, intersex, or anything else under the rainbow: tell us what it’s like to be you! We want to hear about how your identities intersect, what challenges you’ve faced, or what opportunities you’ve been given. And most importantly, we want to know what it would take to be able to bring your whole self comfortably and proudly into these bi+ spaces."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $0
• Deadline: May 1st, 2024

Joy! A Celebration of Queer Happiness: A National Juried Exhibition

• What: "We don’t want to candy coat anything, or be toxically positive, but it seems like everything that everyone is working toward with Pride is about the basic right to be safe and happy. But while that’s simple in concept, it’s not so simple to achieve with all the hate that still poisons the well. That’s what makes Pride so moving for us. It’s an expression of effervescent joy; the kind of joy that only comes from emerging or being released from oppression. Joy in the face of oppression is defiant. It is protest. And we feel like that’s the core of contemporary Pride. We invite you to show us your art that celebrates that defiant JOY, be it in the smallest moments of domesticity or the larger expressions of breaking free. All mediums are welcome."
• Fee: $25
• Pay: $400 (1st Place); $200 (2nd Place); $100 (3rd Place)
• Deadline: May 20th, 2024

GrubStreet Teaching Fellowship for Black Writers

• What: "GrubStreet’s Teaching Fellowship for Black Writers provides financial and professional development support to two self-identified Black writers interested in teaching classes, participating in events, and working with our instructors and staff to deepen our curriculum. The fellowship includes compensation of $25,000, artistic mentorship, a showcase of the Fellows’ work, and access to the GrubStreet community and the Muse and the Marketplace conference. In time, the program aims to offer sustainable support to Black Writers and create a cohort of fellows who have direct access to GrubStreet resources, classes, and events. We also hope the fellows can influence GrubStreet’s pedagogy and cultural vision based on their experience and feedback."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $25,000
• Deadline: May 30th, 2024

Wayfarer Books: Radical Authenticity Prize for Trans & Non-binary Writers

• What: "At Wayfarer Books, we believe poetry is the language of the earth. We believe words, shaped like rivers through wild places, can change the shape of the world. We publish poets and writers and renegades who stand outside of mainstream culture—poets, essayists, and storytellers whose work might withstand the scrutiny of crows and coyotes, those who are cryptic and floral, the crepuscular, and the queer-at-heart. We are more than just a publisher but a community of writers. Our mission is to produce books that can serve as a compass and map to all wayfarers through wild terrain. This prize is open to works of poetry, creative nonfiction, memoirs, and essay collections. (No fiction, please.)"
• Fee: $15
• Pay: Hybrid publisher; please see website
• Deadline: June 30th, 2024

Let's Say Gay!: A Queer Youth Literary Journal

• What: "Let’s Say Gay is open to queer artists between the ages of 13 and 18, and is currently accepting short fiction, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. We only accept one entry per category, but welcome submissions in multiple genres (you may submit one entry for both poetry and visual arts). Selections are broken into two age-based categories: 13-15 and 16-18. Proof of age will be required for applicants whose work is chosen. Your piece will be published with your age and your first name, or the penname you choose. Your submission can be printed with full anonymity. Safety is paramount."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: July 1st, 2024

LittlePuss Press: General Submissions

• What: "LittlePuss Press is a feminist press run by two trans women, Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett. We believe in printing on paper, intensive editing, and throwing lots of parties. We are currently accepting book-length submissions of fiction and creative non-fiction. At this time (Spring 2024) we are particularly excited to receive novels, including verse novels. First-time authors are encouraged to submit. Genre fiction such as sci-fi, mysteries, romance, horror, fantasy, and alternative history are all extremely welcome. We are unfortunately unable to consider graphic novels, comics, or YA/kidlit. There are no restrictions on the identities of authors we consider—LittlePuss Press submissions are open to all."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: rolling

LittlePuss Press: The Trans Reprint Project

• What: "LittlePuss Press is a feminist press run by two trans women, Cat Fitzpatrick and Casey Plett. We believe in printing on paper, intensive editing, and throwing lots of parties. We are currently considering proposals to reprint historically significant literary works, of any genre, specifically by transgender* authors that have gone out of print or are otherwise no longer available. Please submit to us only if you control the rights to such a work."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: rolling

Bella Books Call for Submissions

• What: "At Bella Books, we believe stories about women-loving-women are essential to our lives—and so do our readers. We are interested in acquiring manuscripts that tell captivating and unique stories across all genres—including romance, mystery, thriller, paranormal, etc. We want our books to reflect and celebrate the diversity of our lesbian, sapphic, queer, bisexual, and gender non-conforming community—in all our glorious shapes, sizes and colors. Our desire to publish diverse voices is perennial. We don’t want to tell your stories for you—we want to amplify your voices....We publish romance, mystery, action/thriller, science-fiction, fantasy, erotica and general fiction. At this time, we are particularly interested in acquiring romance manuscripts."
• Fee: N/A
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: rolling

Rebel Satori Press: LGBTQIA+ Speculative Fiction, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy Manuscripts

• What: "Rebel Satori Press is pleased to announce the start of our new imprint for LGBTQ+ speculative fiction, Queer Space. The new imprint is now open to submissions of queer positive science fiction right on the bleeding edge of what is possible. We’re looking for all subgenres of speculative fiction involving LGBTQ+ characters written by LGBTQ+ authors, including but not limited to: sci-fi, interstitial, slipstream, horror, and supernatural fictional manuscripts."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: N/A
• Deadline: rolling

Homebound Publications: LGBTQIA+ Writers (Poetry & Creative Nonfiction)

• What: "Homebound Publications is a Trans/Queer Owned publishing house based in the Berkshire Mountains. Across all our imprints, we are deeply invested in reading and publishing diverse voices spanning across different religions, ethnicities, and marginalized communities. We strongly welcome submissions from of writers within the BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities, writers living with a disability, writers living with refugee status. . . to name a few. Writers from all backgrounds and communities should consider our press a safe space."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: Hybrid publisher; please see website
• Deadline: rolling

Prismatica: Spring 2024

• What: "Prismatica Magazine is a quarterly LGBTQ fantasy & science fiction magazine. Prismatica features short fiction and poetry from emerging and established LGBTQ authors. In the magazine’s stories and poems, readers can find fantasy and science-fiction of all sub-genres and cross-genres. We happily include magical realism, contemporary science-fiction, urban fantasy, and more."
• Fee: $0
• Pay: $0
• Deadline: rolling

The Afterpast Review

• What: "The Afterpast Review is a feminist literary magazine dedicated to uplifting underrepresented voices. We accept poetry, prose, and dramatic writing from all writers. ​Submissions do not have to fit into a specific category nor do they have to be about feminism. All accepted submissions will be published in the magazine."
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• Deadline: rolling

Baest Journal

• What: Baest Journal, "a journal of queer forms and affects," seeks to publish work by queer writers and artists.
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• Deadline: rolling

Everyone’s a sellout now

by Rebecca Jennings

When Rachael Kay Albers was shopping around her book proposal, the editors at a Big Five publishing house loved the idea. The problem came from the marketing department, which had an issue: She didn’t have a big enough following. With any book, but especially nonfiction ones, publishers want a guarantee that a writer comes with a built-in audience of people who already read and support their work and, crucially, will fork over $27 — a typical price for a new hardcover book — when it debuts.

It was ironic, considering her proposal was about what the age of the “personal brand” is doing to our humanity.

…Take publishing, where there are only five major companies who control roughly 80 percent of the book trade. Fewer publishers means heavier competition for well-paying advances, and fewer booksellers thanks to consolidation by Amazon and big box stores means that authors aren’t making what they used to on royalties, despite the fact that book sales are relatively strong. The problem isn’t that people aren’t buying books, it’s that less of the money is going to writers.

…You’ve got to do it even though the people rewarded for “putting themselves out there” are most often the same people society already rewards. You’ve got to do it even though algorithms are biased against poor people, against people of color, against people who don’t conform to patriarchal societal norms. “We all have access to these platforms that don’t cost anything, but that’s often mistaken for ‘there are no socioeconomic barriers,’” explains Christina Scharff, a gender and media studies scholar at King’s College of London who has studied expectations of self-promotion among women in classical music. “The barriers are much more hidden: You have to know how to present yourself and how to create visuals that are appealing.” Not only that, but by doing so, you’re exposing yourself to harassment and ridicule. “It’s harder for racial minorities, women, trans people, or other minoritized groups, because if you’re already vulnerable in one way or another, that can backfire,” she adds.

The Ghost Did What?! Translation Exposing Providentialist Thinking

by Ada Palmer

The logics of such Japanese haunting stories are not Providential in the individual judgment sense as the American (Christian-influenced) ones are. People who did everything right still die, and not through human betrayal or epic acts of self-sacrifice to save another, but because personal purity does not protect you from the wrath of what has been unleashed. Humanity as a whole has transgressed, disrupted something, like making a hole in a dike or kicking a hornet’s nest, so humanity as a whole is attacked. If any part of humanity is to be spared it is not because they are pure and therefore chance makes the bad guy trip and the good guy reach safety, it is because they are wise enough to take the threat seriously and take the correct survival steps (smoke the wasps to sleep, patch the dike right away, chant the sutras correctly, fulfil the ghost’s command).

Transitive guilt—suffering because of something someone else did, or something all humanity did—is not a common narrative in modern Western literature. Even in stories which focus on the idea of humanity transgressing and disturbing forces man was not meant to touch, the suffering still usually falls mainly on the guilty: either actual villains or characters tainted by culturally-criticized impurities, such as sexual impurity, selfishness, greed, smoking, etc. Stepping beyond ghost stories, when the magical-realism-esque anime Mawaru Penguindrum establishes our young teen protagonists living alone, shunned by society because their parents were guilty of an atrocity, the Western viewer expects a solution of forgiveness and welcome, in which either those who did the shunning realize they were wrong to punish innocent children for their parents’ crime, or the innocent children find a new community: we are surprised when the solution is that the kids must take personal responsibility for their parents’ guilt and let themselves be destroyed by it in an act of self-sacrifice. This different logic of purity and culpability, in which individual personal purity in the Western sense does not help you in the face of collective and transitive guilt, on the family scale or human-species scale, operates in all sorts of genres, from space opera to romance, and can often make Japanese stories feel surprising, fresh, and different—sometimes dismaying, often compelling—to those who come to them from a Western media consumption background. This too is part of the appeal of anime and manga, and indeed of Japanese live action works like J-horror.