Sunspot Lit’s open call for novella and novelette length works closes January 31. They also accept graphic novels and very long poems under these options. Send in your work through Submittable or Duotrope.

Sunspot Lit started in early 2019. Thanks to all the wonderful creatives who’ve sent in their work, we’ve produced three print editions. A handful of 2019 editions are still available directly through the journal, along with a slightly larger number of 2020 editions.

We’re offering these to our subscribers for a discounted price. The 2020 edition is now available for $20. The 2019 edition is now $15. Both prices include shipping to US locations. A postage add-on button allows individuals who live outside the US to order copies at these reduced prices.

Ordering directly from the journal provides more money than sales through bookstores. These funds help the journal to cover basic operating costs and fund the stipends and awards. Thanks for your continued support as we move forward in 2022!

Sunspot is dedicated to accepting longform prose as well as the tiniest pieces. To that end, we’ve reduced the submission fees associated with longer works. You’ll find new, lower fees for longform prose applied to the Fast Flux option, as well, which provides a one- to two-week response schedule.

While we continue to use Submittable, we’ve also set up an account on Duotrope for those who prefer to use that submission portal.

Finally, we adjusted the deadlines for longer and midrange prose forms to ensure that each submission receives attention both during the review phase and during layout. Beginning in 2022, longer prose forms will have shorter open call times. The calls for the shortest works, artwork, and Fast Flux turnaround times will be open for longer periods.

Preordered copies of the 2021 annual print edition have all been shipped; the annual edition is also available at booksellers. Discover Malick Ceesay’s play, “a mascu-poem,” which rivals the opera adaptation of 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 19^th Century Paris with three poems from The Horse Fair.

The cover art is by Taylor Moon. The piece resonates with what the world has recently undergone as well as with hope for the future.

Order the 2021 edition, or preorder the 2022 edition, here.

Geminga is a neutron star so small it was difficult to detect. It was named, in part, for a transcription of gh’è minga,meaning “it’s not there.”

Sunspot Lit set up Geminga: $250 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art to honor the power of the small. No restrictions on theme or category. Word limit is 100 for fiction and nonfiction. Micropoetry is limited to 140 characters.

Titles are not included in the word count. Compound words separated by hyphens, numbers, and letters of the alphabet are counted as a single word. In the micropoetry category, characters include spaces, punctuation, numbers, and letters of the alphabet.   

Visual art entries should be paintings, drawings, or sketches no larger than 25 inches square. Sculptural forms should be no larger than 25 inches in any dimension (length, height, or width).

Open: January 1, 2022

Close: March 31, 2022

Entry fee: $5

Prize: $250 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 two months after contest completion, as well as in 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 published elsewhere before the winner is selected.

Enter through Sunspot’s Submittable form.