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Sixty Literary: Call for Creative Non-Fiction & Poetry

Sixty invites writers based in the Midwest to submit their creative non-fiction and poetry!

Image: A mint green and peach graphic that says: "SIXTY LITERARY: call for poetry in creative non-fiction" in English and Spanish. Graphic by River Ian Kerstetter.
Image: A mint green and peach graphic that says: “SIXTY LITERARY: call for poetry in creative non-fiction” in English and Spanish. Graphic by River Ian Kerstetter.

Deadline to submit: 11:59pm CST on May 31st, 2024
SUBMIT HERE


Sixty Inches From Center is inviting writers based in the Midwest to submit their creative non-fiction or poetry to Sixty Literary.

Sixty Literary is an editorial body and process specifically designed for writers submitting literary works, including memoir, poetry, autotheory, and experimental or lyric essays—and probably other forms of writing we can’t even comprehend right now! We welcome submissions from writers and artists of all experience levels and backgrounds based in the Midwest. Sixty defines the Midwest as the interconnected Native lands and diverse communities overlapping the arbitrary colonial boundaries of North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 

We’re looking for politically, spiritually, or aesthetically transformative writing that:

  • is relevant to the cultural landscape of the Midwest
  • regards archives, noncanonical and countercanonical narratives and research
  • challenges settler-colonial narratives
  • articulates and shares a personal experience intimately with a critical audience
  • addresses any of the following topics (but we are open to other topics as well): ecology, queer and liberatory politics; future-making/world-building, place-making; inhabited spiritualities; trans & queer sensuality, humiliation; debt, commodities; writing by and for sex workers; material histories

We accept creative non-fiction and poetry at any stage of development with the understanding that it might be subjected to minimal or deep editorial process. We only accept poetry in batches of 3 to 5 poems.

Priority will be given to writing by, about, and for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ artists, artists with disabilities, and the long list of writing, art-making, and cultural practices that have been neglected in mainstream conversations and canons.



Submission guidelines:

Submissions will be open from May 1st to May 31st.

We accept creative non-fiction essays either as pitches or completed drafts, with a limit of 2,500 words. If submitting a complete draft, please attach it in the submission form as a PDF file named [your last name_title of essay]. We accept poetry in clusters of 3-5 pieces. Please email all poems as a single PDF file named [your last name_poems].

After receiving your pitch, there will be a period of reading and review. You should expect to receive a response from us by June 30th. All contributors will be paid $150 upon publication.

We do not accept creative non-fiction writing or poetry submissions outside of this period of time, or through our standard pitch submission form. At this time, we do not accept fiction, plays, or scripts.

If you’re pitching a piece of arts writing that is primarily a critical review or reflection on a piece of art, please submit through our standard pitch page.


Image: Graphic of a mobile notes app in shades of orange, green and purple with black text that describes the Sixty Literary call for poetry and creative non-fiction en español.

¡Gracias por tu interés en escribir para nuestra sección de literatura! Literatura de Sesenta es nuestro esfuerzo de incluir literatura y tener un proceso diseñado para escritores de escritura creativa como poesía, no ficción, novelas, y cuentos de diferentes formatos que no se nos viene a la mente en este momento. Requerimos que el contenido sea basado en el medio oeste.

La literatura que nos interesa es–políticamente, personalmente, y estéticamente–sobre la vida en el medio oeste; los archivos y voces contra canónicos o encuentros de investigaciones; cuentos personales de experiencias vividas.

Sesenta acepta autores y artistas de todos niveles de experiencia y antecedentes a proponer artículos tradicionales y experimentales de todo tipo de temas sobre arte y escritura creativa sobre la cultura en el medio oeste.  

Prioridad se dará a escritura de, sobre, y para BIPOC y de comunidades artísticas LGBTQIA+, artistas viviendo con discapacidades, y la gran lista de escritura, practica de arte, y cultura que ha sida ignorada en conversaciones y reportaje que domina los principales medios de comunicación.

Temas que nos interesan: 

  • Ecología
  • Liberación Queer, imaginando y planeando para el futuro, la cultivación del pertenecer
  • Espiritualidad
  • Experiencia Trans
  • Deuda y el comercio
  • Escritura para y de trabajadores sexuales
  • Historias materiales

Literatura de Sesenta es nuestro esfuerzo de incluir literatura y tener un proceso diseñado para escritores de escritura creativa como poesía, no ficción, novelas, y cuentos de diferentes formatos que no se nos viene a la mente en este momento. Requerimos que el contenido sea basado en el medio oeste.

La literatura que nos interesa es–políticamente, personalmente, y estéticamente–sobre la vida en el medio oeste; los archivos y voces contra canónicos o encuentros de investigaciones; cuentos personales de experiencias vividas. 

Aceptamos poesía en grupo de 3-5 piezas. Formulario para proponer estará abierto del 1 de Mayo al 31 de Mayo de 2024. No aceptaremos ensayos o poesía fuera de estas fechas. Los contribuyentes literarios serán pagados $150 al publicar.


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