Larina's Lit Lounge Gold Star Program Gold Star

Larina's Lit Lounge is accepting submissions for its first-ever special theme issue, scheduled for publication on October 12, 2026 - Indigenous People's Day. For this issue, I will be reading/viewing a maximum of 100 submissions and accepting a maximum of:

• 5 poems
• 2-3 nonfiction pieces up to 1,000 words each
• 2-3 fiction pieces up to 1,000 words each
• 1-2 visual art pieces

I will buy First Electronic Rights or Reprint Rights.

If you are submitting a reprint, please ensure you have the right to reprint and include the name of the original publisher in your cover letter.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable.

Submissions by Indigenous creators may be on any topic.

Submissions by non-Indigenous creators must be about experiences challenging our thinking about Indigenous people and/or their culture. Identification of your race/ethnicity should be included in your cover letter. If it is not included, I will assume you are non-Indigenous.

I only want submissions by human beings. Non-generative use of AI by individuals with disabilities is okay.

Please see individual genre guidelines below.

Poetry
Send up to 3 poems in a single document, one poem per page. Line limit: 32 lines. Format the poem exactly how you would want it to appear, including spacing.

First Electronic Rights payment: $15
Reprint payment: $7.50

Fiction and Nonfiction
Send 1 story or essay in a document, double-spaced and using an easy-to-read serif font. Maximum word count: 1,000, although shorter pieces will stand a better chance of acceptance.

First Electronic Rights payment: $0.10/word or minimum of $15
Reprint paymnet: $0.05/word or minimum of $7.50

In fiction, there are no genre restrictions. In nonfiction, I am specifically looking for creative nonfiction. Essays that demonstrate vulnerability and humility stand the best chance.

Visual Art
I don't usually accept art, but I feel it is important to do so for this special issue. I will accept visual art submissions from Indigenous creators only. Send up to 3 pieces or a link of your online portfolio.

Any medium except AI-generated is acceptable. Images, including photographs of sculpture, pottery, jewelry, fabric arts, or other physical items, should be a minimum resolution of 300 dpi with higher quality images preferred. Please provide the title and any contextual information in the cover letter field.

First Electronic Rights payment: $30
Reprint payment: $25

Submit

Each issue of Larina’s Lit Lounge has a writing prompt. All submissions should address the writing prompt in some way, though the connection may be slight. Please note that while I greatly appreciate tip jar submissions, using the tip jar in no way influences selections. Tip jar submissions help me continue to pay writers for their work.

Anyone, but the submission must match a writing prompt in Larina’s Lit Lounge.

Simultaneous Submissions

Yes, but please let me know if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

You may submit one prose piece and one poem per prompt.

1 nonfiction piece up to 1,000 words.

That wouldn’t be written to the prompt, now would it? No reprints.

I purchase First Electronic Rights and the piece will remain on Substack for as long as Substack and my account exist.

I pay $20 via Paypal or Venmo to you or your favorite nondiscriminatory charity.

Right now I’m really fast—within 24 hours usually. If the number of submissions increases, expect my turnaround time to slow down as well.

Please use standard Shunn's format, although format will automatically be a deal breaker.

Tough sells include:

• Gore for the sake of gore
• Shock value pieces
• Highly experimental pieces
• Pieces with unusual formatting requirements
• Unoriginal tropes and themes

Hard no’s include:

• Discrimination against any group of people
• Child abuse in fiction or graphic child abuse of any kind
• Sexual assault in fiction or graphic sexual assault of any kind
• Animal cruelty in fiction or graphic animal cruelty of any kind

Note: I lean left on the political spectrum. I’m open to center-right themes and ideas if they are written well and non-discriminatory. I will not respond to far right or hateful submissions.

Submit

Each issue of Larina’s Lit Lounge has a writing prompt. All submissions should address the writing prompt in some way, though the connection may be slight. Please note that while I greatly appreciate tip jar submissions, using the tip jar in no way influences selections. Tip jar submissions help me continue to pay writers for their work.

Anyone, but the submission must match a writing prompt in Larina’s Lit Lounge.

Simultaneous Submissions

Yes, but please let me know if your piece is accepted elsewhere.

You may submit one prose piece and one poem per prompt.

Poems can be up to 100 lines, though shorter poems tend to have a better chance.

That wouldn’t be written to the prompt, now would it? No reprints.

I purchase First Electronic Rights and the piece will remain on Substack for as long as Substack and my account exist.

I pay $20 via Paypal or Venmo to you or your favorite nondiscriminatory charity.

Right now I’m really fast—within 24 hours usually. If the number of submissions increases, expect my turnaround time to slow down as well.

Please use standard Shunn's format, although format will automatically be a deal breaker.

Tough sells include:

• Gore for the sake of gore
• Shock value pieces
• Highly experimental pieces
• Pieces with unusual formatting requirements
• Unoriginal tropes and themes

Hard no’s include:

• Discrimination against any group of people
• Child abuse in fiction or graphic child abuse of any kind
• Sexual assault in fiction or graphic sexual assault of any kind
• Animal cruelty in fiction or graphic animal cruelty of any kind

Note: I lean left on the political spectrum. I’m open to center-right themes and ideas if they are written well and non-discriminatory. I will not respond to far right or hateful submissions.

Submit