Magazine and Journal Submissions: Making Your Best Case for Publication

Image: WMN (Queens Arts Fund New Work '23), all four printed issues to date: Issue 1 Seasons of a Dyke; Issue 2 Show me what you got; Issue 3 Taking space; and issue 4 When We Leave. Photo Credit: Sara Duell

One of the best ways for literary artists to build a sustainable practice is publishing one’s work in print and online venues. The submission process can feel tedious and frustrating, but we’re here to help demystify it. The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) invites you to join us remotely for “Magazine and Journal Submissions: Making Your Best Case for Publication.” Writer Kyle Carrero Lopez will moderate a conversation with writer-editors Kamikaze Jones and Rita Mookerjee, followed by a Q&A.

Attendees will leave the session with tips and strategies for successfully navigating the journal and magazine landscape. Topics will include: determining what editors are and aren’t looking for; tricks for optimizing one’s packets of existing writing; pitching essays and other content to be drafted specifically for a particular publication; best practices for finding opportunities and keeping track of submissions; and so on. 

This is an online Zoom conversation. Those who register will receive the Zoom link to participate soon after registration.

This is the first event of a 3-part series. Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on future events.

Event Breakdown

What: Magazine and Journal Submissions: Making Your Best Case for Publication

When: Tuesday, June 4, 6:00-7:30 PM ET

Where: Online via Zoom

Audience: All Writers and Literary Artists

Moderator: Kyle Carrero Lopez

Panelists: Kamikaze Jones and Rita Mookerjee

Cost: Free (Pay-What-You-Wish) 

Register: Register here

Questions: Email learning@nyfa.org

Moderator's Bio:

Kyle Carrero Lopez was born to Cuban parents in northern New Jersey and is the author of MUSCLE MEMORY, the chapbook winner of the 2020 [PANK] Books Contest. Among other subjects, his work centers power, social life, and Afro-Cuban histories. He’s represented by—but not related to—Ashley Lopez of Waxman Literary. He co-founded LEGACY, a Brooklyn-based production collective by and for Black queer artists. His writing has been highlighted in Best New Poets, Best of the Net, W Magazine, The Atlantic, and episodes of Poetry Unbound and The Slowdown. Kyle has been invited to share his poetry at the Brooklyn Museum, La MaMa and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, among other venues. He’s also a Cave Canem workshop alum and a 2022 Tin House Scholar.

Panelist's Bio:

 Photo credit: Harper Glantz

Kamikaze Jones is a writer, curator, and interdisciplinary artist whose work explores extended vocal technique, queer hauntologies, and ritualized erotic transcendence. Utilizing counter-archival impulse and experimental research procedures, Jones endeavors to provide both sonic and ceremonial sanctuary for horny ghosts with unfinished business. His work across mediums has been featured by Art Omi, Anthology Film Archives, BBC Radio 4, Black Mountain College Museum, Center For Performance Research, Montez Press Radio, Wave Farm, The Poetry Project, and Onassis USA. His arts & culture writing has been published by X-TRA, Screen Slate, MUBI Notebook, The Brooklyn Rail, The Kitchen Magazine, and LAMBDA Literary. He was a founding member of the poetry and performance collective The Anchoress Syndicate, and the host of the podcast “Pure Garbage: An Oral Examination of John Waters.” He is the current Arts Editor of WUSSY Magazine, a queer arts & culture organization and biannual print publication based in Atlanta, GA.

Rita Mookerjee is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Worcester State University. She is the winner of the 2023 Steel Toe Books Poetry Award and the author of False Offering (JackLeg Press). A co-founder of Honey Literary, she serves as the Poetry Editor of Split Lip Magazine and sits on the editorial board of Sundress Publications. Her poems can be found in CALYX, Copper Nickel, Poet Lore, New Orleans Review, and the Offing.