Sunspot Lit

Authors & Artists Eligible
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.”

With Geminga: $500 for Tiny Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, or Art, Sunspot Lit honors 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. Graphic novelsshould be 4 pages or less.

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, 2023

Close: March 31, 2023

Entry fee: $10

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

Note that fiction and nonfiction entries can receive feedback for an additional fee. This is entirely optional and will not impact the judge's decision. Feedback is available only for fiction and nonfiction entries; poetry, graphic novels, and visual art entries are not eligible for this add-on option. 

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Works should be unpublished except on a personal blog or website.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.

Need to hear back quickly? Use this form to receive a response in one week for prose or art, or two weeks or less for poetry. Submit any category or type of work here.
The lowest fee allows you to submit artwork (a total of two images) or very short prose and poetry. Longer prose and poetry submissions, up to novella form, can also be submitted by selecting the appropriate fee from the dropdown menu.  
Be sure to select the correct fee option based on length. Incorrect fee selection will result in rejection without consideration.

We accept all types of prose including essays, memoir, travel, teleplays, film and stage scripts. Using this form, submit:
One or two pieces of flash fiction or nonfiction; total length of submission not to exceed 1,000 words

OR

Up to three poems; total submission not to exceed three pages

OR

A graphic novel of 1 to 4 pages

OR

Artwork; total of two images
In your cover letter, please indicate length and whether the piece is fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. 

Please do not mix submission formats (for example, provide one poem and one flash piece as a single entry). Mixed submissions will be rejected without review. 

Note that submissions that do not meet the guidelines will be declined without review. 

Do feel free to submit in separate categories by using the same form any number of times. 

We accept all types of fiction and nonfiction including essays, memoir, travel, teleplays, film and stage scripts. Using this form, submit a single work of fiction or nonfiction, no longer than 3,500 words. Graphic novels should run 5 to 10 pages. In your cover letter, please indicate length and whether the piece is fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
Note that submissions that do not meet the guidelines will be declined without review.
Do feel free to submit in separate categories by using the same form any number of times. 

Sunspot Lit's Angel Leya is now offering feedback on genre fiction, with a particular emphasis on novel excerpts. She specializes in fantasy and paranormal, with experience in light sci-fi, contemporary romance, and YA.

For works up to 5,000 words, you will receive a few paragraphs (about half a single-spaced page) of comments intended to strengthen your work. For works up to 12,500 words, you'll receive around a full single-spaced page of comments.  

Submissions are capped each month, and the form will shut off once the cap is reached. 

Angel Leya is the coauthor of the USA Today bestselling book, Shifted (Siren Prophecy series), with over 12 additional novels, novellas, and short stories to her name. She’s been published in  several anthologies, including Fiddlehead Press and The Alliance of YA Authors.

She reads avidly (and writes) in the fantasy and paranormal genres, but she also has a soft spot for a good light sci fi or contemporary romance. Angel specializes in giving practical advice, with a bent toward characterization and dialog, as well as word flow, breaks in logic, and hooks.

Using this form, submit one story or excerpt. Submit as many times as you like using a new submission form for each story or excerpt. 

Sunspot Lit's poetry editor, Morrow Dowdle, is now offering feedback on poems. Using this form, submit one poem, and select the appropriate length from the dropdown menu.

Please note that poets can submit only one poem every three months. Additional poems submitted by the same poet before three months have passed with be withdrawn without review. 

Dowdle is the author of the chapbook Nature v. Nurture (Artagem Graphic Library). Her poetry has been featured in River and South Review, Poetry South, Dandelion Review, NonBinary Review, Pink Panther Magazine, Panoply, APIARY, The Schuylkill Valley Journal of the Arts, Edison Literary Review, River Poets Quarterly, The Griffin, Philadelphia Stories, and Prism, among other publications.
She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.  She is an active member of the Living Poetry collective in the North Carolina Triangle area.  She also writes graphic novels, including An Unlikely Refugee, which is now part of a permanent exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

Buying the journal directly from Sunspot via this Submittable form sends more of the funds directly to the journal and supports the magazine's mission, content, creators, and distribution.
Shipping included to US locations.
Shipping available to foreign addresses for additional fee. Only pay the extra shipping fee once for up to 10 copies.
If you would like to order more copies than shown in the drop-down menu, please contact us at sunspotlit@gmail.com so we can arrange your payment through PayPal or other methods.
Thank you for helping out so that Sunspot can help others. 

Use this form to support Sunspot Literary Journal's mission, content, creators, and distribution. Funds are used to defray the cost of publication and distribution as well as to cover stipends to our fantastic contributors. 

We're all in this together. Thank you for helping out so that Sunspot can help others. Free downloads of quarterly editions are available on the website.