Monthly Archives: June 2019

Resources for Authors & Artists

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Sunspot Literary Journal recently added a list of resources for authors and artists to its website. You’ll find websites, podcasts, and YouTube channels with writing tips, and a list of writing workshops. Please send us your favorite resources and workshops for artists so we can serve the entire creative community.

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Sunspot Lit Free Summer Edition Available

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Sunspot Lit has a lot to offer for your summer reading list. Check out the image contest winner and runner-up, and read the powerful and unique entries that ranked at the top of the Single Word: C*nt Edition contest.

This quarter, we present a story in the original Italian and in its English translation. Many thanks to author Piero Schiavo-Campo and translator Sarah Jane Webb for working with us to bring this story to light. “The Doll” and “La bambola” approach Vienna’s expressionist period from the viewpoint of an artist to tell a tale of “morbid jealousy and furious rage.”

Opportunity for Young Authors & Artists

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Sunspot Literary Journal is now open for a special edition showcasing younger authors and artists. Anyone under eighteen should submit using this form.
Accepting fiction and nonfiction including essays, memoir, and travel; microfiction, flash, short stories, poetry, lyrics, teleplays, film and stage scripts; photography and art.
Maximum length is 3,500 words; individual poems and lyrics should be two pages or less. One piece per submission, please.
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Sunspot Lit’s C*nt Contest Winners

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When Sunspot decided to launch an annual contest focused on a single word that would change every year, they deliberately selected a divisive word. They expected that having “cunt” in the title, even when they replaced the vowel with an asterisk, would create problems publicizing the contest, and that turned out to be correct.
They hoped that the focus on an inflammatory word would generate creative responses from authors and artists worldwide. The role of women in different societies, gender identity and fluidity, and human rights are, in some ways, the defining issues of our times.
The creative community responded with powerful works that blew the staff away. The tone of various pieces ranged from angry to empowered, from jackhammer decibels to whispering calm. In every case, the undercurrent lifted veils and carried all people toward a climactic resolution.
The significant quality of so many entries confounded the final judging process. There simply was no way to choose between the top two entries. The decision, therefore, was to declare two winners. As promised in Sunspot’s guidelines, the cash award was not split; it was doubled.
First place for a poem went to Morrow Dowdle for “To Russia with Love.” First place for artwork went to Valyntina Grenier for “Over His Eye.”
The winning entries will be published for the first time in the next edition of Sunspot Lit. The winners will be featured on the website, as well. They each received a $50 cash prize and the awe of the staff.

$100 for 100 Words Contest Closing Soon

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Microfiction, micro essay, micro memoir, short poem, micro script, micro screenplay…if it’s 100 words or less, it might be worth $100. No restrictions on theme or category.
First place winners and finalists in various prose categories will be published in Sunspot Literary Journal. A byline and bio will be included, and select pieces will receive special attention on the website.
Enter as many times as you like. One piece per submission. Pieces must be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Simultaneous submissions accepted. Work can have won other awards without being disqualified. Cash award of $100. Closing July 30, 2019.

Sunspot Lit Image Contest Winner

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Sunspot Literary Journal reached out to the creative community for an image that represented the journal’s mission: Hearing Every Voice, Writing a New World.
The magazine received a number of spectacular entries. The final judging round turned out to be very difficult. The works varied in tone and approach, and each had so much to offer.
Timothy Boardman submitted the winning image. Timothy describes himself as predominantly a fine arts artist and printmaker with some design sensibilities who’s currently a student at UNCG in North Carolina. Here are his thoughts on the image:
“The center of the image is a gradient based sun, very simple, with a series of sunspots placed on the logo. The encircling white around the sun in this design are representative of the light, [Sunspot Lit’s] light, emanating from these sunspots, and giving voice to all. The slogan, ‘It’s Lit’ is a somewhat humorous, witty use of wordplay to represent your literary focus, while also being very straightforward about who you are as a literary journal. … I also noticed your website uses a lot of oranges, yellows, and whites, so I used them as the dominating color choices for the design.”
Timothy received the cash prize of $40 and Sunspot’s undying adoration. The image will appear in newsletters, on SunspotLit.com, and in the journal’s publications.