Foglifter is a biannual compendium of the most dynamic, urgent queer and trans writing today. It’s a space where LGBTQ+ writers celebrate, mourn, rage, and embrace
Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful work by queer and trans writers in all forms, and we are especially interested in cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work. We want the pieces that challenged you as a writer, what you poured yourself into and risked the most to make. But we also want your tenderest, gentlest work, what you hold closest to your heart. Whatever you're working on now that's keeping you alive and writing, Foglifter wants to read it.
Editorial Statement
We provide a path to representation for a broad selection of LGBTQ+ voices, centering queer and trans literary artists of color, youth, elders, and those beyond traditional LGBTQ+ cultural centers so that our readers and audiences can see their own experiences authentically represented through queer and trans literary arts.
We believe that queer and trans people must curate our own artistic discourses and we curate with a commitment to not perpetuate harm in our communities and recognize our responsibilities as editors to uplift the voices of queer and trans people while not punching down on those of us who live at the intersection of multiple oppressed identities.
Writers in Need Fund
Foglifter is excited to launch the Writers In Need fund to support sliding-scale payments for our contributors. While we have been deeply fortunate to be able to compensate contributors for their important and incredible writing with a modest honorarium, Foglifter recognizes the many intersections of our queer and trans artistic communities, and that members of our community may be differently impacted by financial insecurity and historical disenfranchisement. This fund is an attempt to address those inequities. Please see the Submit page on our website for details.
Guidelines
Title your submission with the title of the work(s) you are submitting (separated by commas).
Include a 50-word or less bio (with pronouns after your name, please!) in your cover letter. (If accepted, we will request an author photo; JPG or PNG files are best.)
We accept the following unpublished unsolicited submissions:
- 3 to 5 poems, one poem per page (max 5 pages)
- up to 7500 words of fiction or nonfiction (up to three flash fiction pieces)
- up to 20 pages of cross-genre work, text-image hybrids, or drama
All submissions must be uploaded as one DOC or DOCX file using the following titling convention: First_Last_Foglifter (i.e., Audre_Lorde_Foglifter)
- We accept simultaneous submissions; however, please withdraw your piece immediately if it is accepted elsewhere (or, if you only need to withdraw part of a submission, send us a message in Submittable).
- Only one submission per genre is permitted each reading period.
- We do not accept previously published material.
- We welcome translated work in all genres, provided rights have been secured before submission. (Both author and translator will receive an honorarium.)
- If we've recently accepted your work, please wait two reading periods (1 year) to submit again.
- Contributors receive two copies of the issue in which they appear and a $50 honorarium (via PayPal).
Submission periods are:
- March 1 to May 1 (Fall Edition)
- September 1 to November 1 (Spring Edition)
This issue's guest poetry editor is Summer Farah (she/her), a Palestinian American writer from California. The author of I could die today and live again, she is a member of the Radius of Arab American Writers and the National Book Critics Circle. She is calling on you to recommit yourself to the liberation of the Palestinian people each day.
Submission must adhere to the following guidelines:
- Submit 3 to 5 poems (max 5 pages).
- Poems can be longer than one page, but the entire submission cannot exceed 5 pages.
- Each new poem must start on its own separate page.
- Include all poems in a single Word document (and put the titles of your poems, separated by commas, in the title field).
- For grant purposes, we cannot consider submissions that do not include a completed demographic survey with their submission.
Foglifter aims to reflect the vibrant diversity of the LGBTQ+ literary community in our award-winning journal. Fill out our anonymized Demographics Survey to be considered for publication—then take a screenshot of the thank-you screen at the end and attach it along with your submission.
As Foglifter revitalizes our website and digital production, we are interested in creating and holding space for visual art and media. We are seeking art that aligns with our mission of promoting queer, transgressive, and original work. Submissions will be open year-round, but will cap at 100 submissions per open submission period.
General Submission Guidelines:
- We accept only first rights to publication.
- We do accept simultaneous submissions, however please withdraw pieces that have been accepted elsewhere.
- Please include a short bio, description of your work, any past publications, and applicable trigger warnings in your cover letter.
Genre Specific Guidelines
- Please submit up to 5 pieces.
- For video and audio submissions, please limit to 5 minutes
- We accept art created via all mediums (except AI -- no AI art submissions). This includes, but is not limited to, photography, painting, digital, ink, pencil, collage, etc.
- Acceptable file types: .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .tif, .tiff, .png, .svg, .pdf, .doc, .docx, .txt, .rtf, .odt, .mp3, .m4a, .wav, .mp4, .mov, .avi, .mpg, .3gp, .wmv
- All applicable artworks submitted will be considered for front & back cover art for our print issues !!
- We love experimental work, feel free to submit hybrid forms that blend genre. Submit them to the category they fit best !!
- For grant purposes, we cannot consider submissions that do not include a completed demographic survey with their submission.
Foglifter aims to reflect the vibrant diversity of the LGBTQ+ literary community in our award-winning journal. Fill out our anonymized Demographics Survey to be considered for publication—then take a screenshot of the thank-you screen at the end and attach it along with your submission.
This issue's guest hybrid editor is noam keim (they/them). noam is a trauma worker, medicine maker and flâneur freak based on stolen Lenni-Lenape land known as Philadelphia where they create webs of support for communities impacted by the legal system.Their non-fiction writing weaves themes close to their heart: antizionism, reverence to the land, healing, queerness, colonialism, plants. Their essays can be found in ALOCASIA, The Massachusetts Review, The Kenyon Review and others. Their essay Fruits of the Desert published in Foglifter, was named Notable Best American Essay 2024. noam's debut essay collection The Land is Holy was published in 2024 via Radix Coop. Connect on IG/ Bluesky: noamkeim or noamkeim.com.
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- Send up to 20 pages of cross-genre work, text-image hybrids, or drama.
- PDFs are accepted in this category.
- For grant purposes, we cannot consider submissions that do not include a completed demographic survey with their submission.
Foglifter aims to reflect the vibrant diversity of the LGBTQ+ literary community in our award-winning journal. Fill out our anonymized Demographics Survey to be considered for publication—then take a screenshot of the thank-you screen at the end and attach it along with your submission.
This issue's guest nonfiction editor is noam keim (they/them). noam is a trauma worker, medicine maker and flâneur freak based on stolen Lenni-Lenape land known as Philadelphia where they create webs of support for communities impacted by the legal system.Their non-fiction writing weaves themes close to their heart: antizionism, reverence to the land, healing, queerness, colonialism, plants. Their essays can be found in ALOCASIA, The Massachusetts Review, The Kenyon Review and others. Their essay Fruits of the Desert published in Foglifter, was named Notable Best American Essay 2024. noam's debut essay collection The Land is Holy was published in 2024 via Radix Coop. Connect on IG/ Bluesky: noamkeim or noamkeim.com.
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- Please send a single Word document with up to 7500 words of nonfiction (up to three flash nonfiction pieces).
- Please make sure it is in standard double-spaced formatting and a readable font.
- For grant purposes, we cannot consider submissions that do not include a completed demographic survey with their submission.
Foglifter aims to reflect the vibrant diversity of the LGBTQ+ literary community in our award-winning journal. Fill out our anonymized Demographics Survey to be considered for publication—then take a screenshot of the thank-you screen at the end and attach it along with your submission.