Most events are installed on their deadline date, unless there is a long submission window or unless it's a rolling submission.
P=Poetry, N=Nonfiction, F=Fiction
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PFN – Call for Submissions to All My Relations Volume 8. Theme: Honoring our Lost
Submission Requirements
We expect submissions to be on the theme of “honoring our lost” and submitted by BIPOC, gender variant, and/or disabled creatives only.
We require written submissions to be under 5,000 words for fiction and nonfiction and under 5 pages for poetry, submitted in a Word Document or text file. PDFs will not be considered and will be rejected outright. Submissions must be in English as, unfortunately, that is the only language we can read. Do feel free to add words in a language other than English and we will consult Google or other resources, but the submission must be primarily in English.
We require that image submissions be sent at least 300 dpi and at least 3 inches by 3 inches. To be considered for cover art, the image must be at least either 11.25 inches tall or 8.65 inches wide. We do not accept AI-generated work as it doesn’t fit in our definition of own voices. By submitting your work, you confirm that the artwork is yours and yours alone, does not make use of images that are not your own (or if you do use images that are not your own, they are royalty-free and do not constitute the bulk of the submission), and was not AI-generated.
We require that you properly gender our editor. Any submission that misgenders will be responded to unread. If you wish to address the editor, you can do so as editor, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, The B’K, or Chris. If you wish to speak about our editor, they use the pronouns they/them.
We will accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if it is a simultaneous submission (in the “Anything you want our editors to know about your piece” section of the form) and let us know as soon as you do if it has been accepted elsewhere and if you have permissions for it to appear as a reprint in this publication.
Our form requires the following information: your name as you’d like it to appear, the name of the piece as you’d like it to appear, trigger warnings if necessary, and answers to our identity questions.
We aim to have a diverse publication from a diverse set of voices. In order to make sure we do that, we need to know who you are. We will not deny someone based on identity unless it is deemed that the submission becomes inappropriate or appropriation due to the submitter’s identity. Things that we would consider inappropriate or appropriation would include writing about what it’s like to be part of a historically marginalized community you do not belong to. We encourage people outside of the community to include people from historically marginalized communities, but we won’t publish pieces that explain what it’s like to be part of those communities. We value inclusivity and believe the only way to do it right is with #OwnVoices.
We don’t want to read something that might be triggering without being in the right head space. We would hate to deny something because it caught us off guard at a bad time. If appropriate, please include a trigger warning. Before you submit, make sure that it will not violate our submission guidelines (see the full list below).
General Information & Volume 8’s Theme
We are not looking for graphic or traumatic stories or dark fictional pieces written for shock value. We do not require that you center your or your relations’ traumas. And we are not interested in the single story of harm and suffering.
We are looking for honest pieces honoring your lost loved ones, commemorating memories and imaginations of ancestors you never met, explaining rituals and coping mechanisms, and envisioning a future where we accept and honor death rather than fear it. We are looking for pieces that honor your experience, honor your journey, honor your imaginations, and/or aid in communal healing.
We have a set of guidelines for what we will or will not read or publish for the emotional well-being of our readers (internally and externally). Please review those guidelines (below) and only send us authentic, own voices (if applicable) pieces that follow them. (The principle of own voices means that pieces that refer to marginalized groups and their experiences are created by people who share that identity. Pieces that follow the principle of own voices reflect the contributors’ own lived experiences and perspectives. Proximity to people with a lived experience is not a proxy for having that lived experience and will not be considered adhering to the own voices guideline.)
We do not accept pieces that use AI content creation, including ChatGPT. AI content is plagiarism, even though the systems have been formulated to modify the end result from the stolen materials just enough to be indetectable and circumvent copyright laws. AI copies existing works by existing creatives without their knowledge or consent. It is an inappropriate and inequitable tool for content submitted to All My Relations, especially as, at this time, the person using it can’t track down and fairly compensate the original creators for their work.
We are committed to editing with an equity lens, ensuring any edits are for clarity and not stylistic in nature. We are committed to never alter a writing style, the intention of a piece, or change the voice in any way. If we ever fail or come up short in this attempt, please do let us know.
We are free to submit to and free to read. We will accept one written piece and/or piece of artwork per person.
Submissions are open and will close when we have reached 100 pages of content or January 5, whichever comes first. To submit, fill out our submission form (one piece per entry in the form). Be sure to read all of our guidelines below before submitting.
Because our issues often deal with mature topics, our publication is open to creatives aged 16+ only.