Now accepting submissions for Issue 38: POP!
What we publish
We publish fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, hybrid works, translations, book reviews & visual art. We are a biannual online publication. We love a wide range of genres and styles, especially writing that is innovative in form and progressive in content.
Issue 38 Theme Description:
You got us wet for our last issue. Now, for Issue 38, we want you to evoke pop. Subvert our expectations. If your bubble burst, if the world ended, if everything you knew came to an end, where would you run to? Think of pop culture, pop stars, iconography, bubblegum. Think of sharp points and rough edges. Think of popsicles. Think loud, obnoxious. Take big swings. Surprise us. Send us poetry that pops out of its form to shift into something messy and new. Send us stories that take us places we never thought of going, but we’re oh so happy to be. Send us lyric essays, contrapuntals, prosimetrums. Send us work that doesn’t fit into any one bubble. Memoir that unravels in all directions until, pop, the words just splatter all over the page. Think of more sex. Think of sticky. Think about gum stuck to the bottom of your desk. Think about your fingers poking at that gum, mushing it around, digging in its center. Think of burst blood vessels and popping pimples. What makes your eyes bulge out of your head? Better yet, show us how you pop those eyes back into their sockets. Send us whatever you want – just make it POP!
More important than any theme, we welcome all submissions as long as they’re honest and authentic – what we want most of all is your best work. Work must be original, created without the use of AI, and previously unpublished (with the exception of translations – see genre guidelines). Not sure if your work is suited to our magazine? Find out what we like by reading our current issue.
We acknowledge that literary spaces traditionally have centered the white, heterosexual, cisgender male experience at the expense of other voices. We want to break from that tradition and are therefore especially interested in reading work from those who are often marginalized in literary spaces, including Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); all women, including but not limited to, trans and cis women; LGBTQIA+ people; agender, gender non-conforming, and nonbinary people; people with disabilities; and people who live at the intersections of identities.
CONTESTS ARE NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSION!
Theme: POP!
Poetry Contest ($12 entry fee):
Judge: Richard Blanco
Guidelines: Submit up to five poems to be judged blindly
Prize: $125 and publication in Issue 38
Two runners-up will be reimbursed their entry fee and published in Issue 38
Flash Prose Contest ($12 entry fee):
Judge: Julie Marie Wade
Guidelines: Fiction, creative nonfiction, and hybrid submissions of up to 1,000 words max. You may submit a maximum of two flash prose pieces per submission.
Prize: $125 and publication in Issue 38
Two runners-up will be reimbursed their entry fee and published in Issue 38
Limits (General Submissions)
Fiction: 5,000 words (or 3 pieces of up to 1,000 words)
Creative Nonfiction: 5,000 words
Poetry: 3 poems per submission
Hybrid: 5,000 words (may include up to 5 images, B&W only)
Translations: 3 poems or 5,000 words of prose (must include original piece)
Book Reviews: 500-750 words (books must have been published within the past year)
Visual Art: up to 5 pieces
How to submit
Please submit your work through submittable.
No submissions through email or mail unless you have an invite to do so from the editors. (For example, incarcerated writers may request to do this.)
Include a bio of up to fifty words along with your cover letter.
We do our very best to respond within 6 months, but due to the volume of submissions, it can sometimes take longer.
Guidelines
-Reading fee of $3. (For a fee waiver, reach out to the editors).
-International submissions are welcomed, but English only this year.
-Multiple submissions are welcome at $3 per submission, but please, no more than one submission per genre at a time.
-Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you notify us if it’s accepted elsewhere.
-No submissions from current FIU students.
–If we have published your work, please wait one year after your publication to submit again. For example, if you were published in Issue 37, please do not submit for Issue 38, but feel free to submit for Issue 39 (visual art and contest submissions are exempt and can submit for every issue).
-Submissions accepted from FIU alums two or more years after graduation.
Copyright Info
We hold first serial rights for the material we publish, with the copyright reverting back to the author upon publication.
Reviews & interviews
No unsolicited submissions or requests, please.
Contact
Copyright Info
We hold first serial rights for the material we publish, with the copyright reverting back to the author upon publication.
Interviews and Book Reviews
No unsolicited enquiries, submissions or requests please.
Questions or comments?
Email gulfstreamlitmag@gmail.com
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