Black Sun Lit accepts 100 submissions per month for Vestiges, a print journal of thematically curated literature, art, and poiesis, or digital vestiges, an online miscellany of poetic ephemera. We do not accept unsolicited book manuscripts.
Poetry
We are interested in silences, unhinged utterances, and aesthetic infinity. Some examples of the poetic we admire include Ghérasim Luca, Gustaf Sobin, Mina Loy, Aimé Césaire, Alejandra Pizarnik, Paul Celan, Rosmarie Waldrop, Anne Portugal, and Danielle Collobert. Work overtly concerned with form may not be taken seriously.
Prose
We are interested in meanderings, stammerings, and heteroglossic maelstroms. We favor work which bears similarity to that of Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Claude Cahun, Unica Zürn, Marguerite Duras, Benjamin Péret, Gertrude Stein, Franck André Jamme, and Clarice Lispector. We are not particularly fond of genre fiction, suburban realism, or narratives driven by references to popular culture.
Essay
We are interested in close readings that present intuitive positions focused on marginalized writers and philosophers, theorists, critics, and/or visual artists whose work has largely been neglected by mainstream (i.e. academic) scholarship. We do not want book reviews, personal essays, or the politically saturated.
Translation
We are interested in translated poetry and prose that give expression to our influences and literary objectives. Submissions should include the original work and documentation from the author or the author’s original publisher/copyright holder indicating that permission has been granted, or the rights are available, to publish the translation online and/or in print.
Please note that for all submissions we require every writer to submit a brief cover letter, which may include:
– Genre(s) to which the work might be indexed
– Genesis of the work and technical details
– Influences
– A (short) list of previously published/forthcoming work
We allow simultaneous submissions (in the good faith that the writer will promptly notify us if their work has been accepted elsewhere) and request all writers wait until they’ve heard back from us before sending additional work (we aim to reply within 3–6 months). For past contributors, please wait at least 2 years (online) or 2 issues (print) after your work last appeared before submitting to us again (unless otherwise solicited). If withdrawing only a part of a submission, e.g. a poem, we ask that writers add a note to their submission via Submittable.
Black Sun Lit reserves the right to immediately dismiss—without notification—any work that does not observe our submission guidelines.
Thank you for allowing us to review your work—we look forward to reading.
Black Sun Lit (generally) reads and remains open to submissions for digital vestiges year-round and considers only unpublished work, including original or translated poetry, lyrical prose, essays, interviews, art, and short works of drama. For consideration, please submit—in one file—up to 5 poems (no more than 10 pages) or 1–5 works of prose (no more than 3,500 words).