By Uma Menon
The following is a list of five literary journals and magazines that encourage and publish submissions of social justice writing.
Glass: A Journal of Poetry includes a special feature, Poets Resist, dedicated to resistance poems on current events. They are looking for work that engages with political and current happenings. The publication also encourages submissions from underrepresented and marginalized voices.
To submit, send an email to resist@glass-poetry.com with the subject “[Your Name]: Resist Submission.” Include a cover letter and a brief bio. They accept submissions of one poem at a time. Simultaneous submissions are accepted.
Guernica is a prestigious award-winning magazine that is focused on the intersection of arts and politics. They have published a number of successful and famous writers.
Guernica accepts poetry, fiction, essays, memoirs, reviews, commentary, and more.
Submissions are free, and contributors in certain genres are paid. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. All submissions should be made through Submittable.
International Human Rights Art Festival (IHRAF) Publishes
IHRAF Publishes is a platform that publishes poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and cross-genre writing on social and activist themes. Submissions should center on the values of beauty, sincerity, vulnerability, and engagement.
IHRAF Publishes has a special initiative, IHRAF Publishes – Youth, that publishes work by writers aged 21 and under.
To submit, send an email to ihrafpublishes@gmail.com.
Rise Up Review is a literary publication dedicated to “poetry of opposition.” They accept writing that responds to injustice and oppression. Simultaneous submissions are accepted and encouraged. Rise Up Review is also unique in that it accepts reprints from print journals to give them a new life.
They accept submissions of 1-3 poems through Submittable. Free submissions will close when the month’s limit is reached, so be sure to submit near the beginning of the month.
The Rumpus publishes poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, reviews, and much more. It’s a platform for people to speak their minds, particularly marginalized voices. The Rumpus publishes a lot of writing on political and pop culture topics.
Each genre has a specific reading period. Poetry and fiction are accepted during the months of January and July. Essays are accepted August-October, January-February, and June-July. Special series have their own submission periods and guidelines as well.
Submissions are free, but contributors to certain sections are paid. Most submissions can be made through Submittable. Interviews require pitches.
Uma Menon is a sixteen-year-old writer and activist from Winter Park, Florida. Her writing has appeared in over two dozen different publications. She is also the 2019 Youth Fellow for the International Human Rights Art Festival.
