SUBMIT TO LUMINA

We are currently closed for submissions.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

Submissions are open to everyone except currently enrolled MFA Writing students at Sarah Lawrence College.

You may send one submission per genre per issue.

All submissions must be in PDF format (see specifications for visual art).

All work must be previously unpublished.

We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your work has been accepted elsewhere by adding a message on Submittable.

We are currently unable to offer monetary compensation for accepted submissions.

NOTE: Gratuitous violence or depictions of violence that advance strategies of marginalization rather than challenge them will not be tolerated.

FICTION:

A Note From Our Editors: We are looking to publish an inclusive and diverse array of writers from a wide range of backgrounds. We believe that fiction is porous, and that all good writing possesses some element of the unreal. While we’re accepting of all styles, approaches, and voices, the fiction team hopes to publish work that centers the day-to-day, recognizable trials of our shared world. These works may be documentarian, strictly literal, or real-world oriented stories, or may be informed by the speculative, leveraging metaphor or analogue to reflect lived experiences. The content might be true to the internal world (Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper) or the external world (George Saunders, Semplica Girl Diaries, Civilwardland in Decline, etc.), but should always hold a mirror to the everyday and the mundane.

Submission Guidelines:

All submissions must be 3000 to 5000 words in 12 pt. font in a single PDF file.

Please do not include any identifying details (e.g. name) in the submission file.

All work must be previously unpublished.

We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your submission has been accepted elsewhere by adding a message on Submittable.

NONFICTION:

A Note From Our Editors: We're excited to see work that moves differently: not just from beginning to end, but in circles, repetitions, and digressions. We love pieces that stray from conventional form and believe that nonfiction can take strange shapes.

Submission Guidelines:

For non-flash pieces, submissions must be under 7000 words, the preferred limit being 5000 words.

For flash pieces, you may submit multiple stories but the combined word count should not exceed 1500 words.

All submissions must be in 12 pt. font and included within a single PDF file.

Please do not include any identifying details (e.g. name) in the submission file.

All work must be previously unpublished.

We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your submission has been accepted elsewhere by adding a message on Submittable.

POETRY:

A Note From Our Editors: We welcome poems that authentically deliver us into the (non)human experience through inventive forms, translingual and transcultural text, fresh approaches to diction and indulgences of sound. We champion pieces that surprise, inspirit, and propel the reader to different realms of feeling, place, and consciousness.

Submission Guidelines:

You may submit 1 to 4 poems in a single PDF file (max. 6 pages)

Please do not include any identifying details (e.g. name) in the submission file.

All work must be previously unpublished.

We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your submission has been accepted elsewhere by adding a message on Submittable.

SPECULATIVE FICTION:

A Note From Our Editors: We are looking for prose in any genre that might be considered speculative, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, weird fiction, magical realism, etc., including stories that defies traditional genre boundaries. Our selections will prioritize work that pushes the boundaries and expectations of storytelling, challenges dominant beliefs, and centers marginalized perspectives. Although any and all speculative elements are welcome, tired tropes in genre (e.g., sexy vampires, zombie apocalypse survival), without some innovation or repurposing of the trope, are unlikely to be to our tastes.

Submission Guidelines:

All submissions have a preferred word count of 5000 words in 12 pt. font in a single PDF file. Up to 7000 words are still allowed.

Please do not include any identifying details (e.g. name) in the submission file.

All work must be previously unpublished.

We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your submission has been accepted elsewhere by adding a message on Submittable.

VISUAL ART:

A Note From Our Editors: We are looking for prose in any genre that might be considered speculative, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, weird fiction, magical realism, etc., including stories that defies traditional genre boundaries. Our selections will prioritize work that pushes the boundaries and expectations of storytelling, challenges dominant beliefs, and centers marginalized perspectives. Although any and all speculative elements are welcome, tired tropes in genre (e.g., sexy vampires, zombie apocalypse survival), without some innovation or repurposing of the trope, are unlikely to be to our tastes.

Submission Guidelines:

All submissions have a preferred word count of 5000 words in 12 pt. font in a single PDF file. Up to 7000 words are still allowed.

Please do not include any identifying details (e.g. name) in the submission file.

All work must be previously unpublished.

We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your submission has been accepted elsewhere by adding a message on Submittable.