Lumina is an online literary journal produced by the MFA writing students at Sarah Lawrence College. They publish a wide range of writing by both emerging and established authors, but they especially like writing that surprises in its approach to craft: “The Lumina team values experimental, forward-thinking, and genre-bending works that spotlight each creator’s distinctive voice and experiences.” You can get a sense of what they publish by reading the latest issue of Lumina online (previous issues were published in print).
Lumina returned last year from a two-year hiatus to publish issue 19, which features writing from 19 contributors. Now they’re seeking submissions for their next issue. The deadline to submit is November 21. They have a different deadline listed on their website, which is confusing, but it’s the deadline on Submittable that is correct.
Lumina accepts submissions of poetry, fiction, speculative fiction, and nonfiction. Authors may send one submission per genre during each reading period.
Poets may submit up to four poems. Authors of nonfiction may submit multiple flashes totaling 1,500 words or fewer, or one piece, 6,000 words or fewer (though the preferred limit is 5,000 words). Authors of fiction may submit one story, 3,000 to 5,000 words. Lumina does not accept flash fiction unless it’s speculative. Authors of speculative fiction may submit multiple flashes totaling 5,000 words or fewer, or one story, 7,000 words or fewer (though the preferred limit is 5,000 words). Lumina accepts all speculative genres including fantasy, science fiction, magical fiction, horror, and weird fiction.
Each genre editor has included a note about their preferences in the submission guidelines. It’s a good idea to read this note before submitting.
Lumina accepts submissions online using Submittable, not via email or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions but ask that authors withdraw writing published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work.
Lumina only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.
If you would like to learn more or submit to Lumina, please visit their website here and the correct submission dates are here.
Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.
