Sunspot Literary Journal
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From the Editor
Sunspot Literary Journal speaks truth to power by drawing on the power of every human being. The publication is dedicated to diverse voices in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, screenplays, photography, and art from around the world. Since launching in January of 2019, Sunspot has amplified multinational voices from around the world. New works have been published in their original language side-by-side with English translations. Boundaries that exclude meaningful and important works have been broken by accepting extremely long-form pieces, a rarity in publishing today. Published four times a year in digital and print editions, Sunspot accepts fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, screenplays, and graphic novels, including long-form pieces up to 49,000 words, and translations. Photography, illustrations and art are also accepted. Payments include annual Editor’s Prize, cover art, and contest winners. The most recent print edition from 2021 presented Malick Ceesay’s play, “a mascu-poem,” which rivals the opera, Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Charles M. Blow, for emotional resonance. Peter Newall plays words like notes in “Konrad’s Bukovina Khosidl,” while Jana Harris probes themes of gender, class, and art in and around 19th Century Paris with three poems from The Horse Fair. The cover art is by Taylor Moon. The piece was runner-up in the inaugural Geminga contest, and resonates with what the world has recently undergone as well as with hope for the future. In the 2020 print edition, readers find poetry styled after Pablo Neruda, historical stories, and lyric essays. Various contributors tackle America’s shooting pandemic, explore survival in Sierra Leone, return to historic Venice, and consider how world events might impact the future. Created with hope and fury, these contributions to Sunspot highlight the changes transforming today’s world. In the inaugural 2019 print edition, readers find the English translation of “Other People’s Land,” a story about land rights for the indigenous people of Tahiti. Mallory Chesser explores the resonance of loss, and Piero Schiavo-Campo offers an intellectual mashup in a translation by Sarah Jane Webb. In nonfiction pieces, Shaun Haugen addresses life after incarceration in letters, while Christina Robertson wings along various altitudes. Author Opwonya Innocent, forced at the age of ten to become a child soldier, speaks of hope in an interview.
Submissions
Sunspot Literary Journal amplifies multinational voices by accepting creative work from around the world. The journal publishes fiction, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, screenplays, translations and graphic novels alongside artwork. All genres and formats are considered to allow for the broadest range of expression and inventiveness. We proudly publish science fiction, humor and horror beside literary shorts and lyric essays. Our only criteria is great work. Sunspot is fairly unique in the publishing arena due to its willingness to publish longform prose. We accept micro works as short as 10 words up to novella length fiction and nonfiction of 49,000 words maximum. Our open calls roll over every quarter, with the longest form prose calls closing earlier than the calls for shorter forms. Artists can submit one or two images with each form. Recently, artists have begun submitting several times during the same open call period and have had multiple images gathered together as a feature. All artworks accepted for each edition are considered for use on the cover. Covers, splash pages, and panels from graphic novels are also considered for use on the cover.
Upcoming
Currently open, closing September 30: Inception, offering $250 for the best prose, poetry, or art opening (250 word limit for prose, 25 words for poetry, one image for artwork) First quarter of every year: Geminga, a contest for tiny prose, poetry, and art (100 word limit for prose, 140 characters for poetry, size of artwork restricted to 25 square inches) Second quarter of every year: Rigel, a contest seeking the best prose, poetry or art (5,000 word limit for prose, 10 pages for graphic novels and poetry)
Information
Editors Name Laine Cunningham
Print publication? Yes
Circulation 800
Do you take online submissions? Yes
Submission Guidelines URL https://sunspotlit.submittable.com/submit
Approx. Response Time? 2 months max
How often do you publish? Quarterly
Year Founded? 2019
Do you pay? Yes, Editor’s Prizes
ContactTwitter @AuthorLaine
Mailing Address:
Email Sunspotlit[@]gmail.com