When Backlit by Love Zine

header from "how many of us have them?" by danez smith. view our Carrd here.

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

When Backlit by Love is a zine about trans people loving and being loved. Our hope is that this collection of art, poetry, and creative nonfiction can begin to encompass the breadth and depth of love so many people, cis and trans alike, have for the trans folks in their lives.

We are seeking stories and artwork that centers a love for a trans person or people in the creator's life, including yourself! We especially want to highlight work by trans and nonbinary creators, but cis people are also encouraged to submit. A great part of the purpose of this zine is that love for trans people comes not just from the trans (and queer) community, but across many identities and in many ways.

How to Participate:

If you'd like to submit your work, follow the submission guidelines under the cut. Send your work to [email protected]. We plan to accept 30-40 original pieces; if there's a huge response, we may consider future editions. Submissions are now being accepted on a rolling basis, so get yours in before spots fill up!

Please share this call for submissions with any creators you think might be interested!

If you'd like to support the zine, please follow us at whenbacklitbylovezine and share our posts! When Backlit by Love will be completely free when released.

Submission Guidelines:

We are seeking written and visual art pieces exploring and centering love for trans people. While conflict is fine in a creative piece, this zine takes a positive tone, so we ask that your submissions be consistent with that tone. Also, please note that we are looking for pieces about specific relationships; poems or essays that reflect on the concept of trans people, rather than a particular trans person or people, will not be considered.

Please submit no more than 3 poems, 1 creative essay, or up to 3 visual art pieces.

In the body of your email, please include:

Your name and personal gender pronouns

Title of the piece(s)

Medium (poetry, visual art, or creative essay)

Word count (if applicable)

Please attach written works as a Word document or other word processing format, not a .pdf. Images can be submitted either in a document or as separate image attachments. Please submit images in the form you prefer (scans or photos of traditional art, for example).

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

so uhm do we know when this is publishing? I submitted my entry ages ago and we don't appear to have a date of publish? :O

We don't currently have a date of publish because as of today (11/03/21) we've only received six submissions. The rolling deadline has been put in place to give folks more time to submit!

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

So bummed I only saw this on the last day for submissions- any idea if you guys will be doing another edition?

Good news! Because of a low response rate, we've decided to keep submissions open on a rolling basis until we have enough material for a complete zine. We would love to see you submit a piece!

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

Just a few days remaining!

Please submit to [email protected] if you haven’t done so already. 

If you aren’t interesting in submitting your own work, please send our call for submissions to any artists and writers in your circle who you think may be interested! We are still seeking a diverse group of voices and experiences.

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

Deadline Approaching

With only about 3 weeks left until the deadline for submissions to When Backlit by Love, we have a long way to go before we hit our minimum number of pieces.

If you have not already submitted a piece, please consider contributing! We want to represent a diverse array of experiences and relationships, so the more voices in this zine, the better!

Even if you aren’t planning to submit a piece, please consider boosting our call for submissions so we can reach more potential creators.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

question! i’m an afab nonbinary individual (she/they pronouns, leaning more towards they/them) & am wondering whether or not i am considered as trans. && additionally, whether dating/being in a relationship with a trans person would be t4t

answer!

a.) sure, if you consider yourself trans! or not, if you don't.

b.) sure, if you want it to be t4t! or not, if you don't.

listen, my good she/they - identity labels aren't litmus tests. trans isn't something you become when you've checked a certain number of boxes and had someone stamp the paperwork. it's a thing you are when you decide that it's the right word for you at this particular moment in the glorious configuration of moments that will be your life.

nobody is qualified to decide that but you - certainly not me! but I wish you the best, whatever you decide.

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

When Backlit by Love is a zine about trans people loving and being loved. Our hope is that this collection of art, poetry, and creative nonfiction can begin to encompass the breadth and depth of love so many people, cis and trans alike, have for the trans folks in their lives.

We are seeking stories and artwork that centers a love for a trans person or people in the creator’s life, including yourself! We especially want to highlight work by trans and nonbinary creators, but cis people are also encouraged to submit. A great part of the purpose of this zine is that love for trans people comes not just from the trans (and queer) community, but across many identities and in many ways.

How to Participate:

If you’d like to submit your work, follow the submission guidelines under the cut. Send your work to [email protected]. We plan to accept 30-40 original pieces; if there’s a huge response, we may consider future editions. Submissions are due by June 30th, 2021.

Please share this call for submissions with any creators you think might be interested!

If you’d like to support the zine, please follow us at whenbacklitbylovezine and share our posts! When Backlit by Love will be completely free when released.

Keep reading

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

DEADLINE EXTENDED

We are extending the submission deadline through JULY 31st, 2021.

Thanks to everyone who has already submitted their work!

[ormrinn-a]

Oxford, 25.01.20

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

Two Month Countdown!

When Backlit by Love will be accepting submissions through June 30, 2021. 

If you have a beloved friend, family member, or nemesis you think might be interested in submitting, direct them here to our blog and call for submissions!

If they’re not on Tumblr, we do have a Carrd page where they can find our blog, reach out via email, and read the zine once it’s finished!

[powerfultulips]

Is this what a "curriculum vitae" looks like?

So this is going to be a live, pinned post to keep track of my writing when it gets published. I'll link to as many pieces as I can, along with appropriate content warnings when applicable.

Currently, I've been published in:

Issue Nine of The /tƐmz/ Review ("dermatillomania")

Issue #002 of My Anarcho Pop Zine

My work is forthcoming in:

Issue 25 of the Santa Fe Writers Project

Winter 2022 issue of The Bitchin' Kitsch (or The B'K)

@whenbacklitbylovezine

Thank you so much for reading and sharing these pieces!

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

Elliot is a talented nonbinary poet whose work will be featured in When Backlit by Love! You can follow them and view some of their other work above!

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

Support for Our Creators

As When Backlit by Love begins to take shape, we would like to promote the work of our creators whenever possible.

Since the zine is completely free, we’re taking an alternate route: if your work is accepted to When Backlit by Love, you can opt-in to including your ko-fi, patreon, or whatever suits you on a special page dedicated to directing support to our creators. If you aren’t interested in listing such information, you can instead opt to include the name of a trans-focused foundation or charity organization that you would like readers to support.

Furthermore, if you indicate your blog, twitter handle, or other locations where your work has been published when you submit to us, we will gladly signal boost your work on this blog, whether or not we accept your submission. [If you’ve already submitted, we will reach out to you directly to ask about it.]

[junewild]

hello! i am running a zine about love ppl have for trans folks, called When Backlit by Love (can be found at whenbacklitbylovezine on tumblr), and i was wondering if u would be interested in signal boosting and/or submitting any work? we're accepting visual art which could include photography of your fiber crafts for example or a written piece if you so desire! i'd be really stoked if you did choose to submit but even boosting the call for submissions post would be very meaningful. thanks for your time!

hey friends, take a look at this opportunity to submit art about loving trans people to a zine!

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

If folks are interested, come check out this blog! we have a detailed call for submissions post and an FAQ!

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

Would a short comic would qualify as visual art? If so, should they be kept to 3 or less pages? Thanks!

Yes! A short comic would be excellent. 3 pages is a soft max, so if you find you’re going over, don’t let that stop you from submitting.

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

are there any guidelines for the art submission? minimum/maximum canvas size, etc? also, can a participant submit both art and poetry, and if so, is there an upper limit on how many they can submit?

The main content guidelines are the same as those for written work. In terms of formatting, we prefer high-resolution .png or .jpg files, but there aren’t exactly min or max canvas size expectations. More important is the ratio, which should be between 3:2 and 9:7, to ensure the image fits comfortably on the page without stretching.

If you want to submit pieces from multiple mediums (any combination of poetry, visual art, or prose), the overall maximum is five pieces, with no more than one prose work.

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

Do stories submitted to this zine have to be exclusive or can the author use theirs elsewhere as well?

We do not expect you to grant exclusive rights to works we include in the zine. However, keep in mind that this may mean your work counts as being previously published if you choose to submit the same piece elsewhere.

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

  @nainakh replied:

Does the story have to end happily? I have one but it involves a breakup, not due to transphobia or anything bad, just conflicting goals for a relationship

Short answer: no, you don’t have to end a story happily to be considered.

Long answer: Happy Endings look different to different people. Ending a romantic relationship is hard, but is there still love there, of the platonic variety? That’s a worthwhile story to tell in our zine! We don’t require romance to be a component, because there are many forms of love.

That being said, we do want to share stories that end on a positive note. Bittersweet is still sweet, and even if you aren’t romantically compatible but you still care for the person, that’s enough! If the breakup involved was really painful, or there’s no sustained love of any kind by the end of the narrative, this zine is likely not the best place for that story. If you’re unsure, you can still submit, but be aware that your piece may not be accepted.

[whenbacklitbylovezine]

When Backlit by Love FAQ

A handful of questions we can already answer. If your question isn’t here, send us an ask!

Can I submit NSFW art or writing to this zine?

Yes, but not right now. For the time being, we want this zine to be accessible to everyone, including minors, so we’re temporarily choosing not to accept NSFW works. However, if there’s a lot of interest in this edition, we might consider opening a future volume up as an Adult Version, so never say never!

Can I submit fiction?

We’re not accepting fiction at this time, because our focus is on highlighting real bonds and relationships that exist. That being said, writing sci-fi or fantasy-flavored creative nonfiction is awesome, and you’re welcome to submit works that explore the boundaries of genre. We just want our authors to be talking about real people in their lives.

Why is this zine open to cis writers and artists?

Because our zine is about the many kinds of love trans people receive! That includes love from cis friends, partners, and family. Many trans people, especially teens, have a hard time believing that they can be loved unconditionally, and a major driving force for this zine is compiling examples that prove yes, trans people are loved. We didn’t want to create a restriction that suggests that only trans people can love trans people.