yucca spike is a jotería org born out of the inland empire, but our upcoming quarterly zine is open to submissions from all queer/trans bipoc writers and artists. anyone is allowed to submit their work, but pieces from queer/trans bipoc will be prioritized. please see our submissions guidelines below, and keep an eye out for new projects from yucca spike.
submission guidelines
theme:
the exhaustion chronicles.
how’s late stage capitalism got you feeling? tired? us too. get pissed off, mourn, find joy, rage—whatever your reaction to being overwhelmed is, we want to know about it.
questions to consider:
(prompts are optional, so long as your work is on theme, it will be considered)
- what is the source of your exhaustion? how do your feel about that source, or, why does that source exist?
- if you could answer whatever you wanted when asked, “how are you?” what would you say or do?
- how do you recover during exhaustion? are there people or resources you lean on?
- what does survival look and feel like?
- what can we do for our community members to ensure that we are keeping each other safe?
all submissions:
name your files with your name and the genre you’re submitting (firstlastname_genre). if you’re submitting multiple genres, please separate your work by genre. so if you’re submitting poetry and essays, your files will be names “firslastname_poetry” and “firstlastname_essays.”
all writers must submit their work in 12 pt and times new roman font. if there is a specific reason for using a different font, please indicate that in your email.
please send a short bio (5-50 words) that tells who you are, why you create, and/or some projects you’re working on. whatever you feel is relevant to share about yourself, this is the place to tell us.
email your submission package to yuccaspike@outlook.com
deadline to submit is april 30th at 11:59 pm pdt (west coast time bb!)
visual art:
for visual art, we ask that you label each image individually, and include the title of the art piece (firstlastname_art_title). please send your files as JPEG or PNG format. if you’re using a different file format, please let us know, and briefly explain why. if your work is accepted, we’ll figure it out.
essays:
please use end notes for your citations, and provide all your sources. you may submit up to two essays. each essay may be up to four pages, and they must be double-spaced.
poems:
poems may be single space, but if your poem has an unconventional structure that you would like us to maintain when printing, please indicate that in your email. you may submit up to four poems, or eight pages of poetry (whichever comes first).
short stories:
you may submit up to two short stories, or eight pages of prose (whichever comes first), and your document must be double spaced.
ai guidelines:
no ai submissions will be accepted. if your submission is suspected to have been made with ai, we might reach out to you, but all ai submissions will be rejected.
Consuelo 