Please note that current students/affiliates of George Mason University's MFA program, and GMU MFA graduates who are within 5 years of graduating, aren't permitted to apply. If you have been published by us before, please wait at least one calendar year before submitting again.
Please note we only accept previously unpublished work for all categories. Please do not send us a piece you have sent us before unless we ask to see another version.
Blog submissions are open year-round. Please submit book reviews, essays, event reporting, etc. See our website for additional submission information. It's always a good idea to read a few of our blog posts (outside of a limited series) for a sense of what we're looking for.
We offer fee-free submissions for Black and indigenous writers. This will be available as a separate form when submissions are open.
If you are not a Black or Indigenous writer and the submission fee presents a financial hardship, please email us at sotospeakjournal@gmail.com for a fee waiver.
For more information, please visit our submissions page.
So to Speak is looking for art which is implicitly or explicitly intersectional. Both formally educated and self-taught artists are welcome to submit. We strongly believe that art should be accessible to everybody, and that artists do not have to have classical training to make great art. Artists of all backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to submit work of any visual medium (though we are not able to publish video or audio art in our print issue).
We love art that challenges us to experience the world through the artist’s lens. Overtly political or activist themes are encouraged. We appreciate strong emotional content, and innovative techniques excite us.
We often see submissions which interpret So to Speak’s mission to be solely (or mostly) about cisgender women. While we welcome work from the perspective of cis women, that which focuses on anatomy, birth, and/or menstruation as the cornerstones of womanhood will generally be a poor fit for our journal; such themes can be seen as excluding trans/nonbinary people. That said, we would love to see these topics addressed through a fresh and intersectional lens.
Formal Guidelines
- All submissions must be in jpg or tif formats at 300 dpi. Please label each file as LastName_Title.
- You may submit up to 5 pieces of artwork in a single entry. Dimensions if applicable, the materials used as applicable, a brief description of the submission.
- A Cover Letter that includes your name, address, phone number, email address, how you heard about So to Speak, and brief bio describing your background as a writer or artist and any applicable awards or publications.
- A brief description of how you see your piece (implicitly or explicitly) fitting into our intersectional feminist mission.
You may submit as many times as you like, so long as you pay a separate submission fee for each submission.
Find more information on our Submission Guidelines here: http://sotospeakjournal.org/guidelines/.
Find more information on our Mission Statement here: http://sotospeakjournal.org/about-so-to-speak/.
So to Speak is looking for art which is implicitly or explicitly intersectional. Both formally educated and self-taught artists are welcome to submit. We strongly believe that art should be accessible to everybody, and that artists do not have to have classical training to make great art. Artists of all backgrounds and experiences are encouraged to submit work of any visual medium (though we are not able to publish video or audio art in our print issue).
We love art that challenges us to experience the world through the artist’s lens. Overtly political or activist themes are encouraged. We appreciate strong emotional content, and innovative techniques excite us.
We often see submissions which interpret So to Speak’s mission to be solely (or mostly) about cisgender women. While we welcome work from the perspective of cis women, that which focuses on anatomy, birth, and/or menstruation as the cornerstones of womanhood will generally be a poor fit for our journal; such themes can be seen as excluding trans/nonbinary people. That said, we would love to see these topics addressed through a fresh and intersectional lens.
Formal Guidelines
- All submissions must be in jpg or tif formats at 300 dpi. Please label each file as LastName_Title.
- You may submit up to 5 pieces of artwork in a single entry. Dimensions if applicable, the materials used as applicable, a brief description of the submission.
- A Cover Letter that includes your name, address, phone number, email address, how you heard about So to Speak, and brief bio describing your background as a writer or artist and any applicable awards or publications.
- A brief description of how you see your piece (implicitly or explicitly) fitting into our intersectional feminist mission.
You may submit as many times as you like, so long as you pay a separate submission fee for each submission.
Find more information on our Submission Guidelines here: http://sotospeakjournal.org/guidelines/.
Find more information on our Mission Statement here: http://sotospeakjournal.org/about-so-to-speak/.
An all-new collection of intersectional fiction, poetry, CNF, and visual art! This year's print issue is expanded, with 15 contributors across genres.
Our Spring 2023 Issue of So to Speak is available for purchase as a digital PDF for $3!
To receive a print hard-copy of the contest issue, you can select the add-on of "mail me a print copy!" for just an extra $6! (We'll even throw a back issue or two in with your order, free of charge.)