Issue 08 Submission Wish List
/Our Issue 08 submissions are OPEN and we couldn’t be more excited! This is one of our absolute favorite parts of the process: reading so many incredible stories, essays, and poems, seeing so much gorgeous art, and figuring out how they might fit together.
We also know that it can be pretty intimidating to submit to a themed submissions call - or an unthemed one, for that matter - because there’s just so many things you could write, but what are they really looking for? Besides reading & following submission guidelines, we mean it when we say we want whatever you can come up with… but in case you’re stuck, we’ve put together a handy list of things that we’d love to see more of in our queue.
So without further ado, here are our hopes, wishes, and unashamed favorites that we need more of in our lives:
OLIVIA | Editor in Chief, poetry
An actual magic 8 ball
A story told in 8 parts (but not too long)
A story told in 4 parts forward and 4 parts backwards
Poems about food (ate)
Poems about the weather, always
LIS | Managing Editor, poetry/fiction/nonfiction
Speculative fiction about organized labor
Work from queer elders, especially nonfiction
Submissions from Lebanon and Palestine
Anything with public transit, especially subways, busses and trains
HEISTS
Translated works and works that incorporate multiple languages, especially Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish or ASL (dreaming of getting comics that use ASL or other signed languages!!)
Joyful work from trans women
Anything that talks about the POWER of the MAIL
Submissions from Indigenous creators
Works about fiction and fandom and connection
Poetry about being first or second generation and how it affects your connection to your culture
Anything that’s a little bit sly and salty with a core of kindness
ALEX | Editor, poetry/fiction
Stories that show not just the achieving of empowerment, but the journey
The joys and pains of obtaining happiness
Unadulterated JOY
Stories of hobbies, projects, and missions
Love confessions (happily-ever-after or not!)
The struggle to do a good deed, take advice, or change one’s mind
Friendships, therapists, mentors
RILEY | Art Director, visual art
This issue’s theme of personal triumph and power is perfect for personal comics
Art that explores joy despite the world being on fire
It's easy to think of joy and triumph as big and loud. What does quiet joy look like? small joys in life? the little victories that win the war
Art that uses screen tones
ARI | Digital Media Manager, nonfiction/poetry/fiction
More nonfiction that…
is bold and brash and unapologetic
involves sensory memory with tangible tenderness
is ambiguous in time/space
plays with form & structure, leaning into weirdness
More fiction that...
includes characters with unusual jobs
has speculative or magical-realism elements
ends in joy rather than fear
takes place in unique physical landscapes
More poetry that...
isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself
includes gardens and libraries
uses the title as the first line
is narrated by someone other than the writer
CAMERON | Editor, fiction/nonfiction
Stories about holding on, holding back, and letting go.
I would love to see a prose or comic ghost story, bonus points if it incorporates a haunted magic 8 ball. I just think there’s some potential to emotionally devastate me, and I want that for me.
Not all growth is good; some prosperity comes with poisoned gold, or: a dragon’s dilemma
Inversely, the ethical dragon: on nonstandard hoards, community, and distributed ownership
Tricksters and fey, subversions of fate
Characters that play with hubris, discovering new ways to thrive
Perfect moments and small magics
Of course, as always, this is inspiration rather than requirements - we encourage you to send us work that matters to you, above all else. Whatever you have to say, we’ll welcome it with open arms, and we’re excited by every single piece that comes through. But if you do happen to have a four-part postal service ghost story full of joy, magical realism, and small victories, you know where to find us!