A Note From Our Editors: We are looking for a diverse array of writers, and stories that convey the nuances of the human experience. We accept all styles, voices, content, language, or form. This year, our editors are coming to the table with a wide variety of tastes and preferences, hoping to read and publish work from the most absurd to the most grounded, highly metaphorical to extremely analogue. Happy writing!

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Submission Guidelines:

• All submissions may be up 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• All work must be previously unpublished.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 and withdrawing on Submittable.

Our editors are looking for a wide variety of styles and themes:

• Claire is particularly drawn to liminality, whether it be temporal, physical, psychological, or categorical. She loves stories that fracture, loop, or suspend time; render material spaces porous; destabilize identity, selfhood, and sensation; and exist between categories of genre and narrative form. A few of her favorite authors include Lauren Groff, Kevin Wilson, and Dantiel Moniz.
• Indigo is looking for stories that risk something, emotionally, stylistically, or morally. She loves fiction that feels slightly unrestrained: characters who don’t behave and voices that unsettle or amuse in equal measure. A few of her favorite writers include Otessa Moshfegh, Melissa Broder, and Sylvia Plath. 
• Margaret is after the satirical and the absurd, works that make the mundane feel alien while still remaining firmly grounded to Earth. A few of her favorite authors include Jen Silverman, Elaine Hsieh Chou, Brenda Peynado, and Sayaka Murata.  
• Maya is looking for narrative-focused work. She loves a longer, plot-driven short story that emphasizes the relationships and dynamics between characters. A few of her favorite authors include Susan Choi, Lily King, Carmen Maria Machado, and Emma Cline. 

We champion pieces that surprise, inspirit, and propel the reader to different realms of feeling, place, and consciousness. We welcome poems that deliver us into the human experience through inventive forms, translingual and transcultural text, fresh approaches to diction and indulgences of sound. But, most of all, we value poetry that is authentic to you.
 

Additionally, in a world grappling with war, brutality, and identity-based injustice, we also strive to provide a platform for voices to reflect on these crises that impact them and those they care about. Therefore, we encourage writers to submit works that delve into the ways social unrest influences individual experience.

This issue does not have a specific theme; however, our editorial team has compiled a short list of words that we are drawn to/find interest in. We think these words could facilitate exciting poems from our submitters, but are by no means necessary touchpoints for submissions:

• Beam
• Pluck
• Round
• Shred
  

Submission Guidelines: 

• You may submit 1 to 3 poems in a single PDF file (max. 5 pages).
• Please do not include any identifying details (e.g. name) in the submission file. Name your document by the first poem.
• All work must be previously unpublished. This includes personal blogs, Substacks, and social media accounts.
• We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your work has been accepted elsewhere by adding a message and withdrawing on Submittable.

Editors' note: We encourage you to push the boundaries of what non-fiction means to you, whether this is in content, style, language, or form. We're excited to see work that moves differently: not just from beginning to end, but in circles, repetitions, and digressions. We believe that non-fiction can take strange shapes; break convention if you wish!

Submission Guidelines:

• For non-flash pieces, submissions must be 2000 to 5000 words.
• For flash pieces, you may submit multiple stories but the combined word count should not exceed 1000 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 and withdrawing on Submittable.

A Note From Our Editors: We are looking for prose in any genre which might be considered speculative, such as: fantasy, science fiction, horror, weird fiction, and magical realism. We are especially interested in stories which defy traditional genre boundaries, either by combining, subverting, or experimenting with speculative genres. Our selections will prioritize work which pushes the limits and expectations of storytelling, work which challenges dominant beliefs, and work which centers marginalized perspectives. Although any and all speculative elements are welcome, tired tropes in genre (as listed here by Clarkesworld Magazine), without some innovation or repurposing, are unlikely to appeal to us.
 

Our editors are all eager for a variety of styles and themes:

• Molly is after unique works with striking imagery that take great relish in the language used. And pulpy, B-movie vibes. Authors on her mind include: Mervyn Peake, Michael Shea, and Caitlín R. Kiernan.
• Sasha is looking for literary weirdness. If it’s too genre for literary realism and too literary for pro market genre mags, she wants it. A few favorite authors are: Nathan Ballingrud, ‘Pemi Aguda, Tony Tulathimutte, and A.M. Homes.
• Emily is interested in psychological literature with eclectic characters. She’s interested in clear stakes, momentum, and unexpected twists. Bonus points for electrifying diction and a defined color palette.
• Elizabeth enjoys a wide variety of genres, from Gothic weird to near future speculative to high fantasy. What unites her tastes is an appreciation for precise language, emotional authenticity, and characters that feel specific and relatable, if not always likeable.

Submission Guidelines:

• We prefer submissions to be 1,000 - 5,000 words. Please use Modern Manuscript Format, and submit the document as a PDF.
• 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 and withdrawing on Submittable.

Additional Information:

• Lumina’s Spec Fic team will not accept any pieces written by, with assistance from, or in collaboration with Generative AI.
• While we do not mandate content warnings, we welcome them for those who believe their work may warrant them.

We are open to submissions across mediums and disciplines, including sequential work (i.e. diptychs and triptychs) and documentation of installation work, sculpture, and more.

Submission Guidelines:

• You may submit up to three images that best represent your work that have a minimum resolution of 300 DPI.
• Submissions must be in TIFF, PDF, or JPEG format.
• Please do not include any identifying details (e.g. name) in the submission file.
• Please include a short (~150 word) artist statement about your submission in the appropriate field on Submittable (not in your submission file).
• All work must be previously unpublished.
• We accept simultaneous submissions. Please let us know if your submission has been accepted elsewhere by sending us a message on Submittable.