The annual print edition is being put together. The cover art selected for the annual edition is “Blind” by Taylor Moon (image above). The Annual Editor’s Prize went to Lilianne Milgrom for “Girl With an Ermine.”

Preorder your copy of the 2021 print edition now through our Submittable page. Preorders will be shipped in the same package as any earlier editions ordered on the same form.

Ordering directly from Sunspot costs the same as ordering through a bookstore, but it increases the amount of money the magazine receives for each sale. That enables us to add more paying options for contributors.

This year, we added new payments by expanding the Editor’s Prize into every digital edition. We also increased the amount of prize money for two quarterly contests. Finally, we set up the special For Creatives section, which pays by the word. We’ve been able to do this through your continuing support. Thank you!

Normally, purchasers receive their copies between the middle and end of November. Due to continuing supply chain shortages impacting publishing, we anticipate having the editions in your hands by mid-December. We appreciate your patience as we survive the long-term global impacts of world events together.

Authors & Artists Eligible

Endings carry a heavy weight. They must bring all the disparate elements of a poem, work of prose, or art series together while also proving an exit point that will smolder in the reader’s or viewer’s mind.

Culmination: $500 for a Prose, Poem, or Art Ending has no restrictions on theme, category, or the length of the piece from which the beginning is excerpted. Word limit is 250 for prose, 25 words for poetry.

Graphic novel entries should be the last page with a maximum of 250 words; cut the number of panels to meet the word count, if necessary. 

Visual art entries should be the last in a series, gallery lineup, or themed collection. Artists may use up to 250 words to describe the series, lineup or collection.

Titles are not included in the word count.   

Open: October 1, 2021

Close: December 15, 2021

Entry fee: $10

Prize: $500 cash, publication for the winner, publication offered to runners-up and finalists.

Sunspot asks for first rights only; all rights revert to the contributor after publication. Works, along with the creators’ bylines, are published in the next quarterly digital edition an average of one month after contest completion as well as the annual fall print edition. 

Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website. Artists offered publication may display their pieces in galleries, festivals or shows throughout the publication contract period.  

Enter as many times as you like through Submittable, but only one piece per submission. Simultaneous submissions are accepted, but please withdraw your piece if it is accepted for publication elsewhere before the winner is announced.

Visit our Submittable page to enter, and to check out our current open call.

Sunspot Literary Journal offers an Editor’s Prize of $35 for each digital edition (four times per year), and an Editor’s Prize of $50 for the annual print edition (published once per year). Artwork selected for a digital or print cover will be paid $20. Visit SunspotLit.com to download digital editions for free.

We welcome prose from flash fiction and poetry to stories and essays, including scripts and screenplays, up to 49,000 words. Genre categories are accepted along with literary works. Poetry can be up to 1,250 lines. Translations welcome. Please note the word count in your cover letter. 

One piece per prose submission (except poetry). Use the correct form according to the length of your prose and poetry. Works longer than allowed by the form used will be declined unread.

Artists can submit one or two items using different forms.

The Fast Flux options offer a one-week turnaround for prose and art. Poets receive a two-week turnaround, with most responses being sent within one week.  

Use the Submittable form to send your work in today.