An investigation into reader preferences for queer stories and their endings.
hi everyone! i'm writing a research based essay on the popularity of queer tragedies in the market today for my creative writing masters and it would be a huge help if you could fill this out! it's very quick, shouldn't take more than five minutes to complete the eight multiple choice questions and it's all based on preference/opinion, so nothing too taxing to think about. every response is a huge help for me, so signal boosts would be really appreciated! thank you <3
the world is so big and so full of things and people but we still manage to make it personal. like when i see a year i think "wow i wasn't even born yet" and when i hear a song i think about how it's my best friend's favourite and when i see an actor's name i think of them in the media i've seen them in and when i read a certain word there's a memory all of my own attached to it and when i lie in bed i think about how this world is monumental and the galaxy it is in is just one tiny part of an infinite puzzle and how it's so easy to feel lost and insignificant but every day we find our little familiarities on this planet and we cling onto them as a way to cope with the magnitude of it all.
it's intimidating thinking about submitting your precious work to judgement, but all the rejections are worth it when you finally get that one glowing acceptance email that puts your anxieties and impostor syndrome to bed. but where do you submit? it can be incredibly overwhelming trying to find the right sites/journals/zines to submit to so i thought i'd create a little collection of places i have found to submit to and i will update it whenever i find new discoveries.
PROSE ONLY
The Fiction Desk
They consider stories between 1k words and 10k words, paying 25 GBP per thousand words for stories they publish and contributors receive two complimentary paperback copies of the anthology. (A submission fee of 5 GBP for stories which sucks)
Extra Teeth
Works of fiction and creative nonfiction between 800 and 4,000 words receive a 140 GBP payment upon publication in the magazine as well as two copies that feature your work. If your work is selected to published online, you get 100 GBP instead. A Scottish based publication that also offers mentorships to budding writers. (Free)
Clarkesworld
Fantasy and sci-fi magazine accepting submissions of fiction from 1k to 22k words, paying 14 cent per word. Make sure you read their submissions page carefully, it gives you a good idea of what they're looking for and what will get you one of those disheartening rejection emails. (Free)
Granta
Open to unsolicited submissions of fiction and non-fiction. Unfortunately they do charge a 3.50 GBP fee for prose submissions, but they do offer 200 free submissions during every opening period (1 March - 31 March, 1 June - 30 June, 1 September - 30 September, 1 December - 31 December) to low income authors. No set minimum or maximum length, but most accepted works fall within 3,000 and 6,000 words.
Indie Bites
A fantasy short fiction publisher looking for clever hooks, strong characters and interesting takes on their issues' themes. Submissions should be no longer than 7,500 words. You get an honorarium of 5 GBP for each piece of yours that they publish - it's not much, but yay money! (Free)
Big Fiction
Novella publishers (7,500-20,000 words) looking for self-contained works of fiction that play with things like the linearity of narratives, perspective, structure and language. (Free)
Strange Horizons
Employing a broad definition of speculative fiction, they offer 10 cents a word for spec fiction up to 10,000 words but preferably around 5,000. (Free)
Fantasy and Science Fiction
They publish fiction up to 25,000 words in length, offering 8-12 cents per word upon publishing. (Free)
Fictive Dream
Short stories from 500 words to 2,500. They want writing with a contemporary feel that explores the human condition. (Free)
POETRY AND PROSE
eunoia review
Up to 10 poems in a single attachment, up to 15,000 words of fiction and creative non-fiction (can be multiple submissions amounting to that or a single piece). It's free to submit to, and they respond in 24 hours (I can vouch for that).
Confingo Magazine
Stories up to 5,000 words of any genre and poems (a max of three) up to 50 lines. Free to submit to and offer a 30 GBP payment to authors whose work is accepted.
Grain Magazine
Another Canadian based publication also supportive of marginalised identities. They accept poems (max. of six pages), fiction (max. of 3,500 words) or three flash fiction works that total 3.5k, literary nonfiction (3,500 words) and queries for works of other forms. All contributors are paid 50 CAD per page to a max of 250. Authors outside of Canada will need to pay a 5 CAD reading fee but they do offer a limited number of fee waivers if this impacts your ability to submit.
BTWN
An up-and-coming lit mag looking for diverse works that play with genres, breaks the rules and is a little weird. They want what typical lit mags reject. Stories up to 7,000 words, non-fiction up to 7,000 words and up to 4 poems totalling no more than 10 pages, hybrid work, comics/graphics up to 5 pages, original periodicals up to 14,000 words of prose or 20 pages of poetry. (Free)
Gutter
Accepting submission in spring and autumn work that challenges, re-imagines or undermines the status quo and pushes at the boundaries of form and function. If your contribution is chosen, you get 30 GBP for your work as well as a complimentary copy of the issue. Up to three poems (no more than 100 lines), fiction and essays (up to 2,500 words)
Whisk(e)y Tit
This one's worth checking out just for their logo. They're looking for fiction whether it's short stories, flash fiction or novel excerpts up to 7,000 words, up to 5 poems, up to 7,000 word essays, screenplays and stage plays (can be full works or excerpts up to 20 pages). (Free)
FOR QUEER AND MARGINALISED WRITERS
Plenitude magazine
A queer-focused Canadian literary magazine accepting poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction. They define queer literature as create by queer people. (Free)
Lavender Review
Poetry written by and for lesbians. An annual Sappho's Prize in Poetry takes place every October. (Free)
AC|DC
"A journal for the bent", always open for submissions from queer writers of all experience levels. They lean towards dark and raw writing but are open to everything as long as it's not over 3,000 words. (Free)
Sinister Wisdom
A literary and art journal for lesbians of every background. They accept poetry (up to 5), two short stories or essays OR one longer piece (not exceeding 5,000 words), as well as book reviews (these must be pitched before they are submitted, (Free)
Queerlings
Open annually from Jan 1st to March 31st they publish short stories of any genre (up to 2,000 words), flash fiction/hybrid work (500 words), poetry (up to 3 poems per submission with a 20 line maximum on each) and creative non-fiction (2,000 words) written by queer writers. (Free)
underdog lit mag
Based in the UK, they focus on amplifying emerging and underrepresented writers. If you're female, POC, LGBTQ+, working-class or all of the above with a story of 100-3,500 words that fits their flavour of the month (the last flavour was Magical Realism) send it their way! (Free)
fourteen poems
London-based poetry publishers looking for the most exciting queer poets. You can send up to five emails to them within their deadlines and you get 25 GBP for every poem published.
Froglifter Journal
A press publishing the most dynamic and urgent queer writing. Poets send in 3 to 5 poems (max. 5 pages), writers send in up to 7,500 words of fiction or non-fiction or three flash fiction pieces, and cross-genre creators send in up to 20 pages within the submission windows March 1 to May 1 and September 1 to November 1. (Free)
my first ever author copy of my prose in print!!! you can read the story here or order a copy here! opening paragraph below the cut:
There was an idea forming in her fingertip. Just above the third knuckle of her ring finger on her left hand. An itch. The scratch of inspiration trapped squirming like a worm between flesh and skin. She watched it wriggle for a long moment. Felt nothing but the itch. Normally, there was something else. A spark in the pit of her stomach or a light behind her breastbone. Then, there was nothing besides a dull ache in her jaw from the grit of her teeth.
this poem was inspired by a collection of short stories i wrote for my undergraduate degree about a queer bar in the 50's especially adapted for queer by gum's queer eutopia edition. this is a wonderful zine run by a welcoming queer collective in lancaster and you can support them by purchasing a copy here for only £5
hey there! i'm sami (22, she/they) and i'm an aspiring author who just graduated with distinction from a creative writing MA, and i will be posting writing (poetry, short stories, novel excerpts) for you to read!!
genres i write: fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, some crime and horror
i am queer (don't ask me about my gender, that's nobody's business, not even mine, so i just identify as a lesbian) and this is inherent in all my work. so if you're looking for some wlw pirates, genderqueer cowboys or gay knights you're in the right place!! (i'm also very partial to cannibalism and dogs as metaphors for love)
my goodreads | my letterboxd | my serializd | my spotify
[previously @/sjlwrites (which i will continue to use for tagging) but i gave the blog a makeover as i made that one when i was 15 and my poems were terrible. but you know writing's all about growing and learning and heaps of impostor syndrome]
this is me! i get overwhelmed in bookshops but i LOVE to read and will probably be posting book reviews from time to me so watch out for that!!!
[watch this space for a website and an instagram ... maybe, probably, possibly, hopefully]
