This list of publishers meet our guiding principles, but are only open to free submissions from historically underrepresented writers or focus on publishing content produced by historically underrepresented writers. Some of these publications are open to a wide range of writers including writers of color, gender non-conforming and LGBTQ+ writers, and those living with disabilities. Some have limited definitions and are only interested in work by Black authors. Some are open to submissions from all authors for a fee, but allow free submissions from limited demographics.
We try to make it as clear as possible who the publisher is seeking work from. Sometimes the focus of the press is limited, even though there are no limitations on who can submit. A few of the opportunities are also limited by geography, again, we try to make this clear. There are always additional submission details at the site we link to, but we try to cover the basics as best we can as part of this list.
If you belong to a limited demographic that is not listed here, this list might be helpful to you.
As long as a press/opportunity/journal is open to submissions we will continue to list it, so some of the content on the list is new, some overlaps with previous issues. This article is an ongoing collaborative effort by Emily Harstone and S. Kalekar. Please send us an email at support@authorspublish.com if you have any feedback or an opportunity/journal/publisher, to recommend.
Literary Journals/Magazines
Inner Worlds Zine
They publish “Speculative stories about our inner lives”. They want “Science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror prose with a strong emotional or psychological focus. We are mainly interested in fiction, but we’re open to speculative memoir or creative non fiction, as long as it has speculative elements.” They have detailed guidelines. They also accept reprints. Submission is via a form. They will open from October 1st to 14th for members of marginalised groups only (primarily BIPOC, members of the LGBTQ+ community, women and other marginalised genders, neurodivergent authors, Deaf and disabled authors, and authors with lived experience of mental health challenges or who identify as Mad) and from October 15th to 31st for general submissions (from all writers). They pay £0.02/word for stories of 500-2,500 words.
Chestnut Review
They accept fee-free submissions of flash prose, poetry, and art from all writers. Black and Indigenous authors can also submit longer fiction and nonfiction, of 1,000-5,000 words, without a fee (other writers are charged for this category). “We are drawn to beautiful language, resonant images, and we crave narrative.” Send up to 1,000 words for flash prose, up to 3 poems. They pay $120. The deadline for their Winter issue is 30 September 2025; they read throughout the year, with cut-off dates for issues. Details here and here.
Midnight & Indigo
They publish works by Black women writers only – literary as well as speculative fiction, as well as narrative & personal essays. They have detailed guidelines for each section, please read them carefully.
Length guidelines are 1,500-7,000 words for fiction, 2,000-7,000 words for speculative fiction, at least 1,200 words for essays; they pay $0.07/word for fiction, $150 for essays. The deadline is 30 September 2025. Details here and here.
Strange Horizons: Indigenous Author Submissions
They will open for speculative fiction from Indigenous authors on 3rd November, and will close when they reach a submission cap. “On November 3rd, we will be opening for speculative fiction stories written by Indigenous authors. … When we say Indigenous authors, some examples include:
- Polynesian
- Inuit
- Indigenous People of North and South America
- African
- Greenlandic
- Jamaican
- Aboriginal people
This list is not comprehensive and we encourage and ask that authors submitting to this open call tell us in their cover letters the specificities of your identity(ies). The stories submitted do not have to be stories about or set within an Indigenous culture or feature characters from that culture, but they do have to be speculative fiction and written by Indigenous authors.
Once we reach the submission cap, we’ll close our portal while we work through the submissions.” They pay $0.10/word for fiction; they prefer works up to 5,000 words, and can accept submissions up to 10,000 words. See the announcement here and their fiction guidelines are here.
Consequence Forum
They address the human consequences of war and geopolitical violence through literature and art. They accept nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and art. For this issue, their translation feature is The Congo, for which they have detailed guidelines. “For our Volume 18.1 Translations feature, Consequence invites literary translations from the languages of the Congo into English—especially from Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba, Kikongo, Kinyarwanda, and French—that engage with the lived realities and long shadows of war, colonialism, extraction, and displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the broader Congo Basin.
We welcome poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, oral histories, personal essays—whether historical or ongoing, collective or deeply personal.”
They pay $20-50 for writing. The submission deadline is 15th October 2025. Details here and here.
Speculative Insight
Speculative Insight is a feminist Australian journal “that explores the breadth and depth of the themes, ideas, and issues of science fiction and fantasy.” They are currently looking for 150-200 word pitches (not submissions):
- essays from authors of Indigenous, Asian, Maori, Pacific Islander, Latinx and Black heritage;
- essays about specific books, authors, or themes across a number of books;
- thoughtful, rigorous, and analytical essays (footnotes not compulsory but welcomed); and
- essays that focus on science fiction and/ or fantasy
- including a personal response is welcomed, within an analytical framework.
The completed essays will be 2,000-3,000 words, and they pay AUD150.
Rough Cut Press: Silence
They publish work from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose of up to 650 words on the Silence theme. Pay is $25. The deadline is 27 September 2025.
Translunar Travelers Lounge
They want fun speculative fiction; stories must have elements of science fiction or fantasy. “A fun story, at its core, is one that works on the premise that things aren’t all bad; that ultimately, good wins out. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be silly or lighthearted (though it certainly can be). Joy can be made all the more powerful when juxtaposed against tragedy. In the end, though, there should be hope, and we want stories that are truly fun for as many different kinds of people as possible.
Swashbuckling adventure, deadly intrigue, and gleeful romance are some of the most obvious examples of what we’re looking for, but we won’t say no to more subtle or complicated topics, as long as they fit under the wider “fun” umbrella.” The first week of their month-long reading period, i.e. 15th to 21st September 2025, is for writers of color only; the deadline for general submissions (from all writers) is 15th October 2025. They pay $0.03/word for stories up to 5,000 words.
Lucky Jefferson: Bond
Lucky Jefferson publishes social change. For their upcoming print issue, they want submissions on the Bond theme. “In collaboration with currently incarcerated artist Juan Hernandez, Bond invites currently and previously incarcerated individuals, as well as those connected to them, to share creative works that explore the unconventional relationships shaped by incarceration. This could include connections to objects, communal ties, or bonds formed within the carceral system.
Participants—including friends, family, and pen pals—are encouraged to submit poetry, essays, comics, graphic art, and more to share stories that reveal the human need for connection.” Send prose up to 1,000 words. They pay $30. They are open until filled, for this theme. Details here and here (see the relevant category on Submittable).
Foglifter
Foglifter is a magazine created by and for LGBTQ writers and readers. They are currently reading for their Online Exclusive Issue dedicated to showcasing queer voices across a wide spectrum of creative forms. For this issue the theme is Body Politics. This is what they say about the theme: “Bodies are sites of power, protest, pleasure, oppression, transformation, and resistance. They are legislated, labeled, liberated, and loved. In a world where bodies are constantly scrutinized, marginalized, and controlled—especially queer, trans, fat, disabled, racialized, and reproductive bodies—we want to create a space for work that responds, reclaims, and reimagines. Please submit work that engages with themes that may include gender expression and transition, reproductive justice, disability and chronic illness, surveillance and censorship, body modification culture, fat liberation and anti-ableism, queer desire and sexuality, the racialized body, and performance and protest. We invite works that grapple with the political, personal, and cultural dimensions of the queer body.” Their submission deadline for this theme is October 16th. You can learn more about this call here. They are also reading for their print issue which closes for submissions on November 2nd and has different guidelines and editors for each genre. Learn more about that here.
Girl Dinner Digest
This new publication is interested in publishing a wide range of work including poetry, flash fiction, flash nonfiction, micro-reviews. Everything they publish is on the shorter side of things. They say: “Our online magazine aims to highlight the voices of women, nonbinary, queer, and any other creators who resonate with girlhood. If you fall into that realm of identity, you can submit to our mag.”
Reckoning
They publish work on environmental justice, and for their 10th issue, they’re reading submissions broadly around the Communication theme. “What brought us to this? How do those of us who grasp the direness of our situation—as a species, as a global community—convey or fail to convey that to others? These are dauntingly complex questions, and it’s clear the familiar solutions fall catastrophically short. Show us new answers, new framings. Reach for the weird tools, the neglected ones. Show us how journalism should work. Tell us stories about stories. Illuminate the economic structures behind our educational institutions and the walls against understanding that dog our international borders. Interpret the data for us, then interpret the interpreters. Let’s crack open the ways knowledge is produced and spread amid late-stage capitalism.
We’re seeking art, poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction … in particular from Indigenous, Black, Brown, queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent and/or otherwise marginalized writers and artists from everywhere.” Length guidelines are: up to 15,000 words for prose, up to 10 pages for poetry; pay is $0.10/word for prose, $50/poem. The deadline is 22 September 2025. Details here and here.
My Galvanized Friend
This literary magazine is published biannually (summer/winter) and is focused on highlighting works from those identifying as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. They publish fiction, nonfiction, and essays between 500 and 3,500 words as well as works of poetry and original works of art by queer artists across the United States. They accept submissions year round but typically review and consider work in the month prior to each publication. It is part of a non-profit focused on the LGBTQIA+ community. They want submissions on the theme, Centering Joy, and they pay $10-25. The deadline is 31 October 2025.
Room Magazine: Science
This Canadian magazine accepts work by persons of marginalized genders only, including but not limited to women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. They want submissions on the Science theme. They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry and art. They want work on the Science theme. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Science is both a lexicon for what we know and a field of exploration for what we don’t know yet. In Room Magazine’s Science, as in science, we will savour curiosity, question orthodoxy, dig into hidden histories and understudied areas, and titrate, examine, hypothesize, collaborate, queer, and dream our way to wilder futures. How do we come about and decide what is knowledge? What knowledge is accessible, credible/sanctioned, or forbidden? What pseudo-sciences shaped society in the past, and are doing so now? What does it mean to have nonhuman teachers during the Anthropocene?”
Send up to 3,500 words for prose, up to 5 poems. They pay CAD50-200 for writing. At the time of writing, they are open to art by all artists and for fiction and creative nonfiction by Canadian writers only; other categories are closed. Details here and here.
CVNT
A new journal that declares they exist “for the solicitation, exhibition, advancement, & support of transfeminine writers”. Submissions are restricted to transfeminine people, binary trans women, & genderqueer folks. They accept submissions of poetry, fiction, & creative nonfiction on a rolling basis.
Meridians
The journal is a venture of Smith College and is published by Duke University Press. Their mission is to make scholarship by and about women of color central to contemporary definitions of feminisms in the explorations of women’s economic conditions, cultures, and sexualities, as well as of the forms and meanings of resistance and activist strategies. Alongside scholarly work they also accept poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. They close to submissions for this reading period on September 30th.
Gasp Magazine
I’m not linking to this publication in the title, because their website is not safe for work as they are a publisher of adult work. Please do not click on this link unless you are 18+/ They focus on sharing a multifaceted discussions on sexuality, eroticism, and queerness. They are interested in essays, interviews, research articles, creative writing, poetry, artistic illustrations, and photography (with additional rules) that reflect upon sex or the absence thereof in one way or another.
The Saartjie Journal
This new journal is only open to writing and visual art by Black women artists and writers. They accept submissions of previously unpublished original poems, short stories, and visual art.
Mande
This is a journal of bipolar talent. “Mande is always open to submissions from bipolar creatives on any topic. While I appreciate the long shadows bipolar throws, I’m particularly interested at the moment in its high points, in any joy or positive elements you find in bipolar. We also publish work by people familiar with bipolar, as long as it’s directly related to manic depression.” They pay for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art. They pay $50-250.
Midwest Weird
This is an audio literary magazine, seeking submissions of weird fiction or nonfiction from Midwestern authors, with a particular interest in underrepresented communities.
Cripple Punk Mag
This Substack publishes “essays, criticism, news and reviews, literary nonfiction, fiction, rants and raves, comics, and hybrid works on the subject of disability and live music, especially within the context of punk, alternative, and DIY music.” They also have an annual print anthology. Payment starts at $10 and is dependent on length and sliding scale based on need. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. Previously published work is allowed, and work should be between 300 and 1000 words in length.
The West Trestle Review
This respected journal is only open to submissions previously unpublished poetry and art by creators around the globe who self-identify as women or as non-binary. They are always open to free submissions by BIPOC writers who self-identify as women or as non-binary, and you can see those guidelines here.
Woodsqueer
This new literary journal describes their focus by stating “At Woodsqueer, we view nature as inherently “queer.” It’s queer to care about the fate of our natural world, to possess this liminal space, and to make a dwelling of your own there. While we are especially interested in the voices of underrepresented artists, we are looking for any writer who thinks their work to be queer within our natural world.” They accept poetry, fiction, and essays as well as art and photography. They are open to previously published work as long as the author is upfront about the work being a reprint.
Decolonial Passage
According to their website they “publish writing from writers of all backgrounds regardless of race, origin, or gender while simultaneously centering African, African American, and Black Diaspora writing.” Their mission statement goes into more details about this. They are open on a rolling basis to essays, creative nonfiction, short stories, and flash fiction. They are open to poetry only during the months of January, March, May, July, September or November.
AC|DC
They publish short stories and creative nonfiction by LGBTQIA+ authors. They are currently open to submissions.
Magnets and Ladders
They publish the work of disabled writers in two issues a year.
DisLit Youth Magazine
They only publish work by writers 14-22, and they primarily publish disabled writers.
AURORE
This publications tagline is “a curated collection of erotic stories written by and for women and LGBTQ+ based on their own experiences”. Because it is a NSFW site, the link to get to it is here, instead of the title, please only click on it if you are 18+ They publish nonfiction erotica and their website is NSFW, please do not visit it if you are under 18.
Heaven Magazine
They are interested in publishing fiction, creative non fiction, flash, and poetry by all underrepresented creators.
Sinister Wisdom
A multicultural lesbian literary & art journal. Founded in 1976, this literary journal is always open to submissions.
Saffron City Press
Saffron City Press is an online literary journal dedicated to amplifying the voices of Middle Eastern and Middle Eastern-American writers.
Plentitude
They want submissions from LGBTQ2S+ writers only; their Submittable has separate submission slots for Canadian and international writers (international submissions will reopen on 1st September for poetry, and on 1st October for fiction and creative nonfiction). Every genre has a monthly submission cap. Pay is CAD60 per poem, CAD125 per prose contribution (fiction and creative nonfiction), CAD100 for book reviews and Genre Bender (hybrid) submissions. Details here and here.
Arcanum Magazine
Arcanum Magazine is a digital and print magazine for creative writing, visual art, cultural criticism, and journalism by and for the Black diaspora. They are a paying market that is open on a rolling basis to creative writing, cultural criticism, news, and journalism, as well as visual art.
Bookish Brews
They describe themselves as a “book blog and a celebration of diverse books and authors (with a side of your favorite brew)”. They prioritize BIPOC writers but are open to submissions from other historically underrepresented groups also. They publish nonfiction, craft, and lifestyle essays as well as book reviews.
The Kalahari Review
A weekly African literary magazine interested in material exploring modern Africa and Africans in unique and avant-garde ways. They publish their work on Medium.
Transition
Born in Africa and bred in the diaspora, Transition is a publication of the Hutchins Center at Harvard University, published three times annually. Transition publishes writing by and about Africa and the African diaspora, with an eye towards a global perspective. They accept submissions year-round on a rolling basis, and generally respond to submissions within four months.
Lavender Review
An international, biannual e-zine published in June and December, they are open to submissions of poetry and art by, about, and for lesbians (including whatever LGBTQ might appeal to a lesbian readership). Submissions are open year round.
Ricepaper
This publication offers Asian Canadian context to ongoing arts and cultural issues, new perspectives on emerging and established Asian Canadian artists, and challenges mainstream media perspectives, little-known facts of interest, or critical stories that haven’t been told elsewhere. They are open to submissions from Asian writers around the globe as long as the editors can see a link between the content and some aspect of the Asian Canadian experience.
Raising Mothers
Raising Mothers celebrates and centers the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and Brown parents. Some sections have reading periods; columns are open year-round. Guidelines are here.
African Writer
They are open to all genres of literature from Africa and the African Diaspora. They do not allow simultaneous submissions.
Afritondo
According to their website, “Afritondo is a media and publishing platform that aims to connect with and tell the stories of Africans and black minority populations across the globe.” They accept a wide range of work, including manuscript-length work.
Brittle Paper
Brittle Paper is an online literary magazine for readers of African Literature. They accept the following: “fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, book reviews, essays, literary commentaries, fun listicles, and any writing with a literary bent”.
Torch Literary Arts
Torch Literary Arts is a nonprofit organization. They publish and promote creative writing by Black women only; you can read more about them here. They publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers. “We are interested in work that challenges and disrupts preconceived notions of what Black women’s contemporary writing should be.” General submissions are accepted for Friday Features only, in which they publish fiction, hybrid works, poetry, and drama (including that accompanied by video or dramatic audio). Send up to 2,500 for fiction/hybrid works, up to 10 pages for drama, or up to 5 poems. Pay is $150. Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis; you can submit here.
Tagg Magazine
Tagg is a US-based queer women’s publication. Their website has several themes they accept articles on, including personal essays, listicles, dating advice and fashion-related content. Articles are 350-1,000 words long and pay $75-175. They welcome pitches for article ideas. See the pitch guide for contributors here.
Bi Women Quarterly
BWQ features the voices of women “with bi+ sexualities (i.e., bi, pan, fluid, and other non-binary sexualities)” and they see “woman” as a broad category and welcome contributions those who identify as trans, non-binary, cis, etc. They publish articles, creative writing, musings, and more.
KOENING ZINE
They publish art, fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction submissions primarily by Asians, but they are open to submissions from non-Asians. Their uniting theme is Asian Folklore. Submitters must be over 18.
POETRY SANGO-OTA
We only usually include journals currently open to submissions, but this list is always published on the third Thursday of a given month, and this journal is only open to submissions through the 1st to the 10th of each month, so we are listing it and encouraging you to set a calendar alert for when it reopens on the 1st of the next month. “We are interested in poems with a keen connection to a sense of place, nature, or otherworldly geographies.” They only publish African poets, and pay N2,500 per poem.
The Gay & Lesbian Review
The Gay & Lesbian Review is a bimonthly magazine of history, culture, and politics targeting an educated readership of LGBT people, and their allies that publishes themed features (2,000-4,000 words), reviews, interviews, and departments. They have announced a couple of themed calls, and they also invite suggestions for future themes.
- Forgotten History: From a Civil War bromance to a lesbian prison riot
- The Kink Issue: Alternative sexualities
- Ethnographic Journeys: LGBT lives in premodern cultures
Writers can send proposals or complete pieces. They pay for features ($250) and full-length book reviews ($100).
The Acentos Review
The Acentos Review publishes writing, art, music and multigenre work by Latinx writers. They are open to submissions all year long. Details here.
Craft
This respected literary journal is open to creative work from authors of all backgrounds, but they offer free submissions + fast response times to BIPOC and other mis- and underrepresented writers, here. Craft pays $100 for flash and $200 for short fiction and creative nonfiction.
Aloka
They want work by non-native English speakers only – poetry, translations, fiction, and hybrid work. Send up to 5 poems, or up to 2 prose pieces, up to 2,500 words each.
The Lighthouse / Black Girl Times
The tagline of The Lighthouse is, “Cultivating spaces of solidarity and safety for southern Black girls to shine through focused programming and research.” They have an extensive guide for pitching articles, including “We … are always looking for thought-provoking stories and other content from marginalized communities, Black girls, (in particular, but not exclusively) and gender non-conforming people. In addition to story and long-form story pitches and op-eds, they accept photography and original artwork for their online blogging platform, The Black Girl Times, and their monthly newsletter, The Black Girl Times Redux. Also, “Each month, we have an editorial theme board (kind of like the mood boards interior designers use) we post on our social media accounts (@luvblkgrls). The theme board is intended to be an inspiration and provocation of thoughts, ideas and feelings. Your response(s) can be literal or abstract and loose. And again, it might not have anything to do with anything we’ve seen.” Pay is $0.25-$1/word. Pay for art (graphic design, cartoons and photo essays) is $150-1,000.
Screen Door Review
They only publish work by individuals who are Southern and queer. You can learn more about how they define Southern here. They publish flash fiction and poetry.
Emergent Literary
An exciting new literary journal that accepts a wide range of submissions from Black and Brown authors.
Presses/Anthologies
Eldredge Books: Fashionably Late 2 Anthology
They are accepting nonfiction submissions for the second volume of Fashionably Late, a nonfiction anthology featuring LQBTQIA+ people who came out later in life. “We want to hear about the challenges and joys you faced as part of your journey.” Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): Coming out during the pandemic; Breaking free of gender norms; Finding your place in the LGBTQIA+ community; Coming out in a conservative environment; Redefining relationships with your family; and more. Submissions are open to all LGBTQIA+ writers who came out later in life (generally defined as after the age of thirty). They pay $50 for works up to 5,000 words. The deadline is 28 November 2025.
Tenebrous Press
Tenebrous Press is a publisher of “New Weird Horror, and New weird SF&F, and other dark and strange genre mashups.” Tenebrous is currently open to submissions of novellas, novels, collections, gamebooks, graphic novels, mixed projects, nonfiction, and “weird unknown other things” only from people of color during September and October. In November and December they will be open to submissions from all authors.
Inlandia Institute: Minding Our Business – A Blacklandia Anthology on Mental Health and Healing
They are open to submissions from Black authors only. They are open to poems, short stories, creative nonfiction, essays, one act plays and art. They are seeking “well-written work that describes the impact of mental conditions, the inner and outer conflicts they create, and the need for healing.” They close to submissions on October 31, 2025.
Moonstone Arts Center: S/He Speaks 4: Voices of Women, Trans, & Nonbinary Folx
They are open to essays, poems, and stories from Women, Trans and Nonbinary Folx. They go on to say “Because so much negative policy change has occurred on these issues in recent months, we are especially interested this year in poems and essays that pertain to writers’ personal response to current gender politics.” They include specific information about those policy changes that they hope might inspire or affect an authors writing. It’s not a requirement, but an invitation to write about these topics. You can read more about the specific policies mentioned here. They close to submissions on January 5th, 2026. Most of their other opportunities for publication have a fee attached.
Abode Press
This anti-racist Texas based press is open to submissions through November 30th. They are seeking poetry chapbooks up to 30 pages in length and hybrid and prose chapbooks up to 60 pages in length. They are currently only open to US-based authors and they offer a $200 advance for accepted works. They charge fees for all authors except for Black and Indigenous authors who can submit for free via this submission portal.
Noisy Streetss: Love in Detty December (Volume 3)
For the third edition of Love in Detty December, Noisy Streetss is asking “young Nigerians and African writers to share stories about love during the enchanting December season”. The editor goes on to say “We’re seeking stories that explore the full spectrum of romance, from deep, transformative connections to fleeting infatuations, from traditional relationships to unconventional expressions of love. We want to know: what does it mean to be young, and in love in December in Africa? We welcome submissions across fiction, non-fiction, as long as they align with the theme and follow our submission guidelines. We’re looking for stories that speak true to our experience as Africans.” They close to submissions on October 10th, 2025. They are offering payment, but do not disclose how much.
Flame Tree: Africanfuturism Anthology
This is part of their Gothic Fantasy series. Their guidelines say, “we open submissions for Africanfuturism Short Stories.
This is Africa, based in Kenya, defines Africanfuturism as located in “the African point of view, experience, culture, themes, and history with technology based in Africa”. So, we’re expecting stories from Black African, African-diaspora, African–descent writers. And please note the difference between this Africanfuturism title and Afrofuturism. The latter typically includes stories centred on the Black experience in the West. Whereas, for this open submission call, the stories should be set in and about Africa – whether that’s a future Africa, an alternative Africa or a parallel Africa, the choice is yours. The genre implies a lean towards science fiction rather than fantasy, and towards positive scenarios and concepts, but of course is open to interpretation: the publication of these two books offers a dialogue that explores tradition and influence, and fresh insights both about our past, and visions of our future.” They want stories of 2,000-4,000 words. They also accept reprints. They pay $0.08/word for originals. The deadline is 2 November 2025.
(Flame Tree also has other anthologies open for submissions, with varying the themes, requirements, and deadlines; they usually announce all their anthology calls on this page.)
Rebel Satori Press: Queer Space
Rebel Satori Press is open to submissions for their new imprint Queer Space from now through October 31st. The new imprint is 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.” They are not interested in erotica. They will only consider book-length work.
Small Harbor Publishing: Chapbooks
They are hosting their annual open reading period through the 30th of September. They waive all fees for BIPOC writers to submit.
aunt lute
A multicultural women’s press. Their priority is to publish work by women, both transgender and cisgender, particularly women of color. We have reviewed them here.
Balestier Press
They are committed to promoting diversity in publishing, with a particular focus on Asia. They accept submissions of a wide variety of creative works including fiction, poetry, short stories, graphic novels, creative nonfiction, memoirs. They are also open to works in translation. Assume rejection if you have not heard from them after three months.
Little Puss Press
A feminist press run by trans women. They are open to general submissions of fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. They are also open to reprint proposals of literary/historical works of significance by transgender authors. They have good distribution, excellent press, and have already published work that has won a major award.
Palimpsest Press
A small press specializing in poetry and other literary works, they only publish Canadian authors. They are open to submissions from authors who identify as BIPOC, Deaf, or Disabled, all year round. Learn more here.
Arte Público Press
They focus on publishing literary work by “Hispanic writers”, and they publish work in both English and Spanish, but primarily focus on English work. They also have bilingual children’s and YA book imprint, Piñata Books.
Phoenix
Phoenix is a new speculative imprint launched by Nigerian publisher Ouida Books in collaboration with Nnedi Okorafor and Lọlá Shónẹ́yìn. Phoenix is dedicated to publishing African speculative fiction and fantasy (Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism). You can learn more about it here.
The Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series
This opportunity, from Black Lawrence Press, is for immigrants living in the US – for manuscripts of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid writing. “Poets and authors, at any stage of their careers, who identify as immigrants are welcome to submit a book manuscript of poetry or prose or a hybrid text for consideration. Submissions are accepted year-round. However, selections are made in June and November for a total of two books per year. In addition to publication, marketing, and a standard royalties contract from Black Lawrence Press, authors chosen for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series will receive a travel stipend of $500, which can be used for book tours or in any manner chosen by the authors.”
North Dakota State University Press: Contemporary Voices of Indigenous Peoples Series
The goal of this series to feature the authentic stories, poetry, and scholarly works of Native Americans, First Nations, Maori, Aborigines, Indians, and more to give voice to contemporary Indigenous peoples. NDSU Press considers book-length manuscripts of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for publication in this series.
Random House Canada
The Canadian arm of Random House changed their submission policy have opened their policy exclusively to LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC writers, as well as those from other traditionally underrepresented communities. They are particularly looking for “High quality commercial fiction in the following genres: literary, romance, speculative fiction, historical fiction, and mystery. Please note that we do not currently accept screenplays, stage plays, young adult fiction, children’s fiction, or picture book queries. All non-fiction submissions must be submitted via a literary agent.” They are open to submissions internationally, this is not limited to Canadians.
Tundra Books, Puffin Canada, Penguin Teen Canada
These children and teen focused Canadian imprints are open to direct submissions by underrepresented authors and illustrators only. Authors need not be Canadian.
Monsoon Books
This respected press accepts unsolicited manuscripts with Asian, particularly Southeast Asian, themes.
Arsenal Pulp Press
A Canadian independent press that publishes a wide variety of work, prioritizes work by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors. We have reviewed them here.
Blind Eye Books
Blind Eye Books publishes science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and romance novels featuring LGBTQ protagonists. They are a print publisher and their book covers are beautifully designed and really stand out. The books they have published have won and been nominated for a number of awards, including the Lambda. We have reviewed them here.
Lily
A small poetry press that publishes work of varying length. Submitting shorter work is free for everyone, but submitting poetry manuscripts is free only for poets who identify as Black. They are always open to these submissions.
Angry Robot
A great science fiction publisher that only accepts direct submissions from Black authors.
Heartdrum
Heartdrum is an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books, which is edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, and is in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. Native and First Nations writers and writer-illustrators are welcome to query her directly via a form on her website. Native and First Nations illustrators are also invited to reach out.
Opportunities/Support/Contests
One Story: Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship
This is for an early-career writer of fiction who has not yet published a book and is not currently nor has ever been enrolled in an advanced degree program – see guidelines. “We are seeking writers whose work speaks to issues and experiences related to inhabiting bodies of difference. This means writing that centers, celebrates, or reclaims being marginalized through the lens of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, religion, illness, disability, trauma, migration, displacement, dispossession, or imprisonment.” Apart from the $2,000 stipend and tuition to attend One Story’s week-long summer writers’ conference, it offers free tuition for all One Story online classes and programming; a full manuscript review & consultation with One Story Executive Editor Hannah Tinti (story collection or novel in progress up to 150 pages/35,000 words). A fiction writing sample of 3,000-5,000 words is part of the submission requirement. The deadline is 8 October 2025.
(And, One Story will open for fiction submissions in the Fall; see here. Their One Teen Story Contest for teenagers is also open now, with a later deadline, see their Submittable.)
Getty Scholars Program and African American Art History Initiative Fellowship
Getty Scholars Grants are for researchers of all nationalities who are working in the arts, humanities, or social sciences, for established scholars and writers who have achieved distinction in their fields. Recipients can pursue their own projects free from academic obligations and make use of Getty collections. There are three-, six-, and nine-month residencies. The annual theme for this cycle is Provenance. Also see their FAQ. The award is $21,500-65,000, and residency, and the deadline is 1st October 2025. Regarding the African American Art History Initiative Fellowship (deadline 1st October), they say, “Each year the (Getty Scholars) program accepts applicants under an annual theme, and under the umbrella of that theme, dedicated grants are available via the African American Art History Initiative (AAAHI). This residential program, which welcomed its first cohort of AAAHI scholars in fall 2021, provides financial support and housing to scholars who are expanding critical inquiry of African American art and its frameworks.” Details here, here, and here.
Speculative Literature Foundation: Working Class Writers Grant
This is awarded annually to speculative fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama writers who are working class, blue-collar, homeless or financially disadvantaged (see guidelines). “Speculative literature spans the breadth of fantastic writing, encompassing literature ranging from hard science fiction to epic fantasy, including ghost stories, horror, folk and fairy tales, slipstream, magical realism, and more. Any piece of literature containing a fabulist or speculative element would fall under our aegis. Unlike our other grants, you may choose to receive this grant anonymously or pseudonymously.” See guidelines for writing sample and other requirements. The grant is $1,000, and the deadline to apply is 30 September 2025. Details here and here.
(See all of Speculative Literature Foundation’s grants here.)
Gold Line Press Chapbook Contests
They are running contests for chapbook-length fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, with no-fee submissions from POC, Indigenous writers, and writers facing financial hardship; see the relevant categories in Submittable. “We welcome a wide range of styles and approaches. In past years, Gold Line Press has published both writing that is innovative or genre-crossing, as well as writing that is more traditionally structured. While we have a particular interest in promoting the work of emerging writers, we welcome and celebrate submissions from writers in any stage of their career who are creating innovative and resonant chapbook-length texts.
We seek works of prose that are purposefully planned as chapbooks: novelettes, carefully curated collections of vignettes, short stories, essays, or other projects that take the chapbook format as an instrumental element of their design. Excerpts of novels or short story/essay collections should form a sustained and individual project in their foreshortened form.
For poets, we also recommend that manuscripts be cohesive and self-contained in the chapbook length.
Length: 20-30 pages of poetry, 7500-15000 words of prose.” The prize in each category is $750, and the deadline is 30 September 2025.
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize
This is a contest for writers from the Commonwealth, see the list of eligible countries here – send a piece of unpublished short fiction, in any genre, of 2,000-5,000 words. They take entries in several languages apart from English, as well as translated stories. The top prize is £5,000, regional prizes are £2,500. The deadline is 1 November 2025.
2025 Latino Voices in Children’s Literature Writing Contest
Co-hosted by Free Spirit Publishing and Con Todo Press, this annual contest is open to submissions through the 14th of October. The contest is open to Latino authors who are 18 years of age or older and residing anywhere in the United States. They are seeking original children’s books for kids age 0-4 or for kids age 4-8 that feature realistic Latino characters and culture and is focused on one or more of the following topics “resilience, character development, self-esteem, identity, diversity, getting along with others, engaging with family and community, traditions, or other topics related to positive childhood development”. The book must be in English or bilingual in English, Spanish. There are additional details on their submittable here.
Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway
This New Jersey based writing conferences has two types of scholarships. The first, the Faculty Memorial Scholarship – is open to all writers age 18+, and the second, the Robert Hayden Scholarship – is open to only to writers of color who are 18+. Writers of color may apply to both scholarships and both include full tuition and double room package. It does not cover transportation. They are open to applications till October 1st. They do ask that the people who win the scholarship pay a 25$ fee as commitment, but writers with extreme financial need can request the fee be waived.
Foglifter: Print Production Manager
Foglifter is a magazine created by and for LGBTQ writers and readers. This is a volunteer position with a $5,000 honorarium per year. Residence is the San Francisco Bay Area is not required, but would be ideal. Multi-marginalized individuals are encouraged to apply. The estimated time commitment for this role is 2–4 hrs per week during non-production times, and 8–10 hrs during production times. Details about what the role involves are here.
(Foglifter is also reading for their Start a Riot! Chapbook prize, which you can learn more about here, but it is only open to QTBIPOC+ literary artists that currently reside in the larger San Francisco Bay Area, that have never published a full length book before. The deadline for this contest is December 2nd.)
Perguia Press: Peruguia Press Prize
Their annual contest is open to submissions until November 15th for full-length poetry manuscripts by women, inclusive of gender-expansive identities, who have no more than one previously published full-length book. They waive fees for all BIWOC authors. The winner receives book publication and a $2,000 prize, among other things. The full details are on their website.
Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship
This is for published fiction and non-fiction writers who were born in Africa or whose parents were born in Africa (see ‘Do I need to prove my African birth place?’ in FAQ). The money is paid monthly over a course of a year. For non-fiction writers, additional funds can be made available, and given over a period of 18 months. A published writing sample is part of the application (see guidelines). One of the scholarship requirements is, writers have to submit 10,000 words of writing every month (see guidelines). They also say, “The Foundation will not review or comment on the monthly submissions as they come in. However, each Scholar will be offered the opportunity to be mentored by an established author or publisher. In most cases the mentorship will begin after the book has been finished and the Scholarship period has ended.” And, “Scholars are also asked to donate to the MMF 20% of whatever they subsequently receive from the book they write during the period of their Scholarship. … These funds will be used to support other promising writers. The 20% return obligation should be considered a debt of honour rather than a legally binding obligation.” The award is £18,000 for fiction writers, possible additional funds for nonfiction writers, and mentorship. The deadline to apply is 22 September 2025 (see ‘Important Dates’ in the entry requirements here.) Details here (entry requirements) and here (application form).
IHRAM: African Human Rights Spoken Words Contest
This is a contest from International Human Rights Art Movement (IHRAM), and is open to writers/poets across the world but must address but must address human rights issues in Africa. They have detailed guidelines, including, “The contest aims to bring together poets, artists, and activists from across the African continent to creatively express their thoughts and perspectives on critical matters such as social justice, climate change, women’s empowerment, immigration, human trafficking, police brutality, and violence against women.” Upload a 1-minute video of yourself reciting your original poem of not less than 20MB. You can also perform your poem in sign language. Prizes are $100, $75, and $50, and the deadline is 31 October 2025. Winning works will be showcased at the International Human Rights Art Festival, which will happen in December 2025, in New York City.
(Also see IHRAM’s Rhonda Gail Williford Award for Poetry, for a poem “that incorporates themes of justice, dignity, and resistance”. The prizes are $150, $100, $50, and the deadline is 30 September 2025.)
Horror Writers Association: Diversity Grants
Horror Writers Association has scholarships which offer various amounts for assisting authors in professional development as horror writers. There are various amounts and requirements. Right now, they are open for Diversity Grants, which close 1st October 2025, worth $500 each, which “will be open to underrepresented, diverse people who have an interest in the horror writing genre, including, but not limited to writers, editors, reviewers, and library workers. … the Diversity Grants have adopted the broadest definition of the word diversity to include, but not limited to, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabled, and neurodiverse.” They have other grants too with different application periods. Details here.
(They also administer the Bram Stoker Awards for published works in various categories, which close end-November/end-December – see guidelines.
The 2025 Palette Poetry Prize
Palette runs this contest every year, but this is what they say about what they are seeking this year: “poems that celebrate the community we have by meditating on the role of the poet in this pivotal moment in time.” They waive all entry fees for BIPOC writers. The top prize is $3,000 and publication. They close to submissions on September 21st.
Princeton University Press: Global Equity Grants
These grants are for authors of underrepresented groups to support the preparation of works that is already under contract, in production, or published within the last 12 months. Grants range from $500 to $1,000. The grants can be used to cover a wide range of supports including parental/family care, and translation. More details at the source. Applications are considered on a rolling basis.
The Writing Barn Scholarship
The Writing Barn has a small but budding scholarship program available for our programming. Scholarships are awarded on the following criteria: seriousness of purpose, talent and financial need. They also offer specific Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity scholarships for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Neurodiverse writers, and writers with disabilities.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
