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. 

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.

Also this month, highly recommend reading The Inexorable Growth of BIPOC in Publishing by Emily Jiang.

Literary Journals/Magazines

Augur Magazine
This is a Canadian magazine of speculative fiction and poetry; they also accept translations. They are accepting unthemed as well as submissions around the theme, ‘A Natural Desire’. They are open for general submissions (from all writers) until 31^st October, and have an extended submission period for Canadian writers who are BIPOC, trans, and/or disabled from 1^st to 14^th November 2024 (see guidelines). Send up to 5,000 words for fiction, or up to 5 poems. They pay CAD100/poem and CAD0.14/word for prose.
Details here.

Tales & Feathers
Submissions are also open for Augur’s sibling magazine, Tales & Feathers, for cozy short fantasy. They’re open to all writers till 31^st October, and have an extended submission window for writers who are BIPOC, trans, and/or disabled from all over the world, during 1^st to 14^th November. They pay CAD0.14/word for short fiction of up to 2,500 words, and a flat fee for flash fiction.

Rough Cut Press: Splinter
They publish work from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose of up to 650 words on the ‘Splinter’ theme. Pay is $25. The deadline is 27 October 202

Honey Literary
Honey Literary is a space for BIPOC (Black/Indigenous/People of Color and any combination
therein). They publish BIPOC women, non-binary and trans people,  disabled writers, and anyone of color from the LGBTQIAP2+ community. They publish a variety of forms and genres, and are open to Erotic work. They publish two issues each year, one in winter, and one in summer. Their current reading period closes to submissions on December 16th, 2024, at 11:59 PM PST.

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.

manywor(l)ds
They say ” we welcome submissions by those who identify with and as any of the following descriptors: trans, two-spirit, disabled, neurodivergent, Mad, queer, crip, nonbinary, genderqueer, intersex.” They are open to submissions every month but February, May, August, and November.

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”. They publish nonfiction erotica and their website is NSFW, please do not visit it if you are under 18.

ALOCASIA
A journal of queer plant-based writing. They accept submissions on a rolling basis.

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. 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.

Canto Cutie: Childhood, youth, and experiences in school
Canto Cutie publishes the work of Cantonese writers and artists and the Diaspora. They want writing and art for Volume 8, which “will be about childhood, youth, and experiences in school. We are looking for work about growing up and adolescence.” They also say, “submissions are conducted primarily in English. Cantonese language art and writing are accepted and encouraged. Anonymous submissions are permitted for politically sensitive works.” Submissions are open until filled. 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

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.

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.

Mayday: Black
For Mayday: Black submissions, they want nonfiction pitches and drafts from Black writers – their website says, they are “committed to delivering a new experience for Black writers, including those seeking first-time publication. We welcome nonfiction work in opinions and analyses; personal, braided, and reported essays in contemporary and historical contexts. Bring your authentic, curious, courageous, well-rounded stories on life, living, love, loss, representation, race, racism, death, dying, Black plight and civil rights, neighborhood blight, gentrification, white flight, and more. (In no way is this an exhaustive list!)” They pay $50 for Mayday: Black essays of 800-3,000 words. Details here and here. (This magazine also occasionally accepts fiction, nonfiction, culture pieces, poetry, reviews, interviews, and translations from all writers, and pays $10-20 for these.)

Zindabad Zine
This print and electronic publication is based in the UK. They are open to submissions on a rolling basis. Currently they are closed to submissions for the print issue but open to electronic ones. They only accept work from people “in a diaspora”.  They publish personal essays, articles, poetry, fiction, visual art and photography.

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. They are currently looking for submissions on the ‘Solidarities’ theme (see guidelines), as well as unthemed work.

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.

Prismatica Magazine
An LGBTQ fantasy and science fiction magazine that publishes short stories, poetry, reviews, interviews, and articles. They have very specific submission guidelines so please read those carefully.

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 few themed calls, and they also invite suggestions for future themes. 

1. The Gossip Issue: Unearthed scandals of the past
2. The State of LGBT Rights: What’s next for the movement?
3. The Travel Issue: The role of travel in LGBT culture

 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 Projects
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.

Singapore Unbound: SUSPECT
Their website says, “SUSPECT grew out of SP Blog, the blog of the NYC-based literary non-profit Singapore Unbound.” They want poetry, literary fiction, essays, and any kind of writings that do not fall into these categories, written or translated into English by authors who identify as Asian. They also publish reviews of books by Asian authors and interviews with Asian writers and artists. Pay is $100, and there is no deadline listed.

Breath & Shadow
Breath & Shadow only publishes work from people with disabilities. This is how they define disability: “We use the term “disability” broadly to encompass anyone with a physical, mental, emotional, cognitive, or sensory impairment that significantly affects one or more major life functions.” They accept writing on any topic in terms of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and drama. Pieces do not have to be about disability. The academic or article type nonfiction, including profiles, interviews, and opinion pieces, do have to relate to disability in some way. They pay $25 per poem (max 2) and $40 for prose.

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.

LatinX Lit Audio Mag
LatinX Lit Mag is a safe space for literary work written by authors who identify as Latinx or Hispanic.

Presses/Anthologies

Flame Tree Publishing: Afrofuturism Anthology
They have periodic announcements for speculative fiction anthologies on their blog. Currently, they are open for an Afrofuturism anthology – “Authors must be writing from an authentic perspective of the Black experience, whether based in the diaspora or in Africa” for this call; they pay $0.08/word for stories of 2,000-4,000 words, and the deadline is 27 October 2024.
(At the time of writing, Flame Tree had announced calls for three other anthologies, as well – Were Wolf, Aphrodite, and Loki – see their blog for announcements.)

Girl Dad Press: Sex Change & the City
For this call, they want submissions from queer writers only. “As we envision what a queer anthology of work about Sex and the City might look like, we couldn’t help but wonder if you have an idea for something that celebrates, critiques, questions, explores and/or expands the Sex and the City collected universe (including And Just Like That… and both movies)! We are open to personal essays, critical analyses, comics, fanfic, visual art, games, power rankings, personality quizzes, and anything else that could theoretically be printed in a weird little book.” Pay is $100 for written pieces up to 1,200 words. The submission deadline is 21 October 2024.

Fantasy is a Drag! Anthology
They want drag-themed fantasy stories from people of the drag community. Pay is $50 for stories up to 10,000 words. Details are here and here (submission portal). The deadline is December 1st.

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.

Somos en escrito Literary Foundation Press
They publish a literary magazine as well as books, they are “dedicated to publishing raza authors to express the narratives and needs of our communities, which typically get overlooked by the mainstream presses. We intend to be the institution nobody else will build for us.”

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.

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.

Sourcebooks
We’ve reviewed Sourcebooks here, and their adult nonfiction imprint and their romance and horror imprints are always open to all submissions, but they also deserve to be on this list because their fiction imprint, their mystery imprint, their young adult imprint, and three of their children’s book imprints, all say “Our submissions are currently CLOSED to unagented projects, with the exception of works that directly promote diversity, equality and inclusion. For more information please email InclusiveFiction@Sourcebooks.com.” So if you have work that matches that description in those genres, please reach out to them.

Forever
The romance imprint of Hachette Book Group and Grand Central Publishing is open to direct submissions from BIPOC-identifying authors.

Angry Robot
A great science fiction publisher that only accepts direct submissions from Black authors.

Scholastic Canada 
They are open to direct submissions from Canadian authors or focusing on Canadian content, who are from underrepresented communities, including Black writers, Indigenous writers, writers of colour, writers with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ writers and writers who identify with other marginalized groups.

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

The African Poetry Book Fund: Evaristo Prize for African Poetry
The African Poetry Book Fund (APBF) runs writing contests, and the deadline for the Evaristo Prize is in November. The Evaristo Prize for African Poetry was formerly called the Brunel International African Poetry Prize. It is for poets born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African, and who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published (self-published poetry books, chapbooks, and pamphlets are exempt). These poems, though, may have already been published. Writers need to submit 10 poems exactly, of up to 40 lines each. Only poems written in English can be considered, but they accept poems in translation too. In the case that the winning work is translated, a percentage of the prize money would be awarded to the translator. The submission category for this contest will open on Submittable during the submission period. The prize is £1,500, and the deadline is 1 November 2024. Guidelines for this contest are here and you can see all the African Poetry Book Fund contests here.

Cave Canem: Derricotte/Eady Prize
Their website says, “Since 2015, Cave Canem has collaborated with O, Miami to spotlight exceptional chapbook-length manuscripts by Black poets. The winner of the prize receives a $1000 award, publication of their manuscript by O, Miami Books, 10 copies of the chapbook, a residency in The Writer’s Room at The Betsy Hotel in Miami, and a featured reading at the O, Miami Poetry Festival in April.” The deadline is 6 November 2024; details here and here.
(Cave Canem runs other prizes too, see here.)

The Iowa Review: Bodies In and Out of Control
Their guidelines say, “Bodies can be prisons, and they can be imprisoned. Bodies are socially defined, surveilled, regulated, contoured; and the mechanisms of these embodied actions are legal, medical, educational, environmental, familial, religious, cultural, political — above all, political. In recent years, we have watched Black bodies being assaulted by police and by vigilantes, women’s bodies being denied their autonomy, bodies on borders being beaten back, bodies collapsing incruel heatwaves, bodies denied medical care when they challenge gender norms. The precarity and vulnerability of the body are markers of the current moment.
But bodies are also resistant and rebellious: they push physical limits for the sheer thrill of it, joyfully couple across boundaries of race and gender, risk harm in activism for social justice, extend healing touches and caring gestures.
In this special issue of The Iowa Review, “Bodies in and out of control,” we seek submissions that engage with the body/embodiment, its management and governance as well as its multiplicity, its mysteries, and its vitality. Poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction, and other artforms are welcome.” They’re also accepting general nonfiction and visual narratives. For general submissions, they charge a fee for online submissions from nonsubscribers, but there is no fee for postal submissions. Send up to 25 pages for prose, or up to 8 pages for poetry for the themed issue. They pay $0.08/word for prose, and $1.50 per line for poetry. The deadline is 1 November 2024. Details here and here.

AWP Tribal Colleges and Universities Fellowship
AWP hosts the largest writers conference in North America, every spring. For the first time this year they have a focused fellowship to encourage faculty and students tribal colleges and universities to attend and participate. You can learn more about the details and the creative advisor, here. It opened October 1st, and there is no announced deadline I could find, currently listed. It offers a $4,000 honorarium for faculty and a $250 stipend for students, paid travel expenses and lodging for the duration of the conference, meeting creative advisor Jake Skeets and attending private group discussions, and a complimentary one-year AWP membership. 

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 2024. Details here.

Queer Adventurers 2024 Essay Contest: Border Crossings
This annual contest always has a theme and in 2024 it is Border Crossings. They say “Tell us about an international journey that changed your life. Write about how sexuality and gender identity impact your ability to cross borders freely. Interpret the theme metaphorically and tell us how your gender expression or sexuality transgresses borders.”

They also make it clear that all submissions must centre both the theme and the writers sexuality or gender identity. Stories must be true and written by an LGBTQIA author without the assistance of AI.

Authors of winning and second place essays receive cash prizes. Winner, runner up and finalists will have their essays published on Queer Adventurers.  The deadline is October 31, 2024.

Curtis Brown Creatives: Scholarship Opportunities
Curtis Brown Creatives regularly offers scholarships for their courses. Some are London-based and some are online. Right now they have only have one scholarship with an approaching deadline. The Breakthrough Scholarship for TV Screenwriters with Low Income has a deadline of the 20th October. Additional eligibility details are on the website.

Society of Authors: Dursilla Harvey Access Fund
These are small grants for UK-based/British writers, giving authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats. “Usual grants will be £150 or less, but fair consideration will be given to all proposals.” Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. (Society of Authors also has awards for works in progress as well as contingency funds – all their grants are here.)

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.

Creative Capital, Skoll Foundation, Mellon Foundation: Forward Funds
The crowdsourcing platform for creatives, Kickstarter, now has Forward Funds. Their website says, “Forward Funders are foundations, nonprofits, and organizations that back Kickstarter campaigns related to their visions and missions around a more creative and equitable world. Each Forward Funder makes a public commitment and then backs projects just like anyone else—through single pledges that bring the works one step closer to reality.” One such fund is the $700,000 fund from Creative Capital, Skoll Foundation, and Mellon Foundation. “Creative Capital in collaboration with Skoll Foundation and Mellon Foundation have partnered in this $700,000 fund to support innovative and impactful projects across all categories by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators in the United States (US citizens, permanent residents, and O-1 visa holders).” Projects launched on Kickstarter following their rules are eligible, and creators can nominate themselves for specific Forward Funds . This is for both, creators and organizations.