Submissions Open for OutWrite’s 2022 Journal

Light blue background with a typewriter graphic on the left with paper trailing out of it. Headline: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS. Text: This year's OutWrite festival journal theme is "Pandemic as Portal". We're seeking fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. No fee. Word count: 1500 words for fiction, up to 3 poems, no more than 6 pages total. $150 honorariums. Submit: bit.ly/outwrite2022journal. Rainbow logos for OutWrite and The DC Center.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 18, 2022
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Marlena Chertock and Malik Thompson, OutWrite Co-Chairs
[email protected]

Submissions Opening for OutWrite’s 2022 Festival Journal

OutWrite LGBTQ Literary Festival is pleased to announce submissions are now open for our annual literary journal. The “Pandemic as Portal” Issue seeks to explore the tumultuous interconnectedness of injustices that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated. We want this journal to serve as a space to document and process pain, the cognitive dissonance of just being told to continue on as normal, as well as the inherent resilience, its manifestations through queer joy, love, and other emotions you’d like to share with us.

The journal will be distributed ahead of the OutWrite 2022 literary festival and celebrated with a reading from contributors during the festival.

Rasha Abdulhadi is this year’s journal editor and Dorilyn Toledo, our OutWrite intern, is the assistant editor.

There is no fee to enter.

Please follow these guidelines in preparing your submission:

  • Submissions are open from April 15 to May 15, 2022. The submission window closes at 11:59 p.m. PST on May 15.
  • We’re seeking unpublished fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. We will accept submissions in English.
  • We are seeking original and reprint work; unpublished work is prioritized. We will be accepting simultaneously submitted work. Individual poems/stories/essays may be previously published (as long as relevant rights have reverted to you).
  • Your submission should be in a standard size 12 font. Single-space poetry and double-space prose/nonfiction. Prose submissions should be no more than 1,500 words. We will prioritize work that is 1,000 words and under. Poetry submissions can include up to 3 poems and no more than 6 pages total.
  • OutWrite is a celebration of LGBTQ literature; entries that explore aspects of LGBTQ culture or identity are encouraged. Submissions must explore this year’s theme of “Pandemic as Portal”.
  • We will not consider work with sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, or ableist themes.
  • We are providing a $150 honorarium via PayPal for accepted contributors. Please include your PayPal information when submitting, and indicate on the form if PayPal payment does NOT work for you.
  • If your work is accepted, we may extend an invitation for you to join a virtual reading at the OutWrite 2022 festival, taking place on August 5-7, 2022.

Submit all entries via our Google Form. If the Google Form is inaccessible to you for any reason, please email your submission to [email protected] with all of the information requested by the form.

Editor Bios

In this painted portrait, the author, a genderqueer Palestinian person with long wavy black hair with a pale streak in front, is staring directly at the viewer from against a fiery orange background. They are wearing large horn-rimmed glasses and a grey and black rippled scarf. Their turquoise stud earring is visible on the right ear.Rasha Abdulhadi is a queer Palestinian Southerner and the author of WHO IS OWED SPRINGTIME (Neon Hemlock, 2021) and Shell Houses (The Head & The Hand Press, 2017).

 

 

 

 

 

Brown woman smiling and wearing a textured white tank blouse with gold earrings and a dark bob haircut with bangs slicked back, in front of grass, trees, and housing spaces.Dorilyn Toledo is a Guatemalan-Filipina editor and educator from California. She is a graduating senior at UC Irvine where she studies Political Science and Social Ecology, focusing on law/race and social behavior. They can be found on Her Campus Media and on Twitter @dorilyntoledo.

 

 

 

 

About OutWrite
OutWrite is a celebration of LGBTQ+ literature, held annually the first weekend in August in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit: thedccenter.org/outwrite.

About the DC Center
The DC Center for the LGBT Community educates, empowers, celebrates, and connects the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. To fulfill our mission, we focus on four core areas: health and wellness, arts & culture, social & support services, and advocacy and community building. We envision communities where LGBT people feel healthy, safe, and affirmed.

Washington City Paper Names OutWrite the ‘Best Place to Connect With Queer Writers’

The Washington City Paper named OutWrite the “Best Place to Connect With Queer Writers”! Thank you for this incredible recognition, it’s an honor to create and build a space for LGBTQ+ writers and readers in the DC area and beyond!

Stay tuned for our call for panels, readings, and workshops for OutWrite 2022, which will take place on August 5-7, 2022.

The Washington City Paper declared OutWrite the Best Place to Connect With Queer Writers“For 11 years—and 11 festivals—OutWrite has built a thriving space for queer and trans writers to connect and grow among colleagues, peers, and mentors. Taking place in August, D.C’s annual LGBTQ literary festival showcases and promotes writers from the District and well beyond. In 2021, OutWrite united more than 80 queer authors for two dozen readings, panels, and workshops. But what truly makes OutWrite stand out is the festival’s ongoing effort to include writers of all experience levels, from fledgling poets to best-selling authors. The melding of experiences among participants (and attendees) does away with typical lit-world gatekeeping, where only published writers are welcome or respected. Run almost exclusively by volunteers, the multiday festival, which has put on not one but two of its annual events virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, remains free and open to anyone who wishes to attend. By removing barriers such as cost, status, and, recently, location requirements, OutWrite aims to make participants feel welcome, seen, and respected as queer writers. In doing so, the festival has created an enviroment where LGBTQ poets, authors, and memoirists can find a community that inspires and supports them as creators. D.C. is lucky we can call it ours.”
—SARAH MARLOFF