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.

What does that look like? Check out some writing we love from our recent issues:

• “Seven Dates” by Elliot Gish
• “Whirlpool” by Meg Cass
• “Zulum,” by Fargo Tbakhi
• “INWARD ASPECT,” by Chekwube Danladi
• “Magical Faggot as Cinematic Study,” by Dez Deshaies

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 (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)
• We are always open for cover art! Reach our production manager Alice Lee at production@foglifterpress.com. (For all other submissions, please use the applicable form below.)