Resources
From Category: Writing for Social Change
Cartoonists for Palestine
Cartoonists for Palestine was launched after the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack and Israel's violent retaliation in Gaza. The site invites creators of graphic narratives to submit comics bearing witness and protesting "the genocide of the Palestinian people". A print anthology is planned in 2024. Contributors currently include Jennifer Camper, Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer), Ben Passmore, and Ethan Heitner.
The Kraken Collective
The Kraken Collective is an alliance of indie authors who have pooled resources to publish high-quality fiction while retaining complete creative control over our stories. Editors say, "We aim to provide a wide variety of science fiction and fantasy stories, all starring LGBTQIAP+ characters. Although it begins as a simple cooperative between authors, we aim to grow into an unique publishing model capable of supporting queer indie voices everywhere in SFF. We are committed to building a publishing space that is inclusive, positive, and brings fascinating stories to readers." At the moment, submissions are by invitation only, but they encourage reviewers to sign up to receive free ARCs. Customers can browse their books by genre and queer identity (e.g. polyamorous, asexual, transgender).
Trans Journalists Association Stylebook and Coverage Guide
The Trans Journalists Association has created this free online style guide for editors and journalists who write about transgender people and the stories that affect them. It includes guidance on name and pronoun usage, education about commonly repeated inaccuracies and politically contentious phrasing, and editorial best practices for centering trans voices.
Climate Visionaries Artists’ Project
Fiction writer and journalist Lauren Groff partnered with the environmentalist group Greenpeace to curate this selection of creative writing that raises awareness about the climate crisis. Contributors include Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Min Jin Lee, Dorothea Lasky, Karen Russell, and R.O. Kwon.
Booklash: Literary Freedom, Online Outrage, and Language of Harm
PEN America is an organization that defends freedom of speech for writers worldwide. This thorough report from 2023 studies the negative impact of social media outrage on writers' freedom to address controversial topics. Although the critics in question are often motivated by progressive ideals such as anti-racism, the report argues, our political discourse suffers when publishers over-react by canceling book contracts or revising books without the author's permission. In many of the examples cited, the book's problems were capable of other interpretations, or the author's public behavior was too quickly conflated with the value of the book itself.
Iron City Magazine
Iron City Magazine is a print and online journal specializing in creative writing and art by currently or formerly incarcerated people. They publish short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, one-act plays, cartoons, comics, graphic stories, and art. Prison volunteers, staff, or family members may submit work on topics related to mass incarceration. Prisoners and former prisoners can submit work on any topic. Unpublished work only. No explicit violence, nudity, or detailed discussion of drug use. Read detailed guidelines and then enter by mail or email.
Apogee Journal
Founded in 2011 by writers of color and international students in Columbia University's graduate writing program, Apogee is an independently published online journal of literature and art that encourages the thoughtful exploration of identity and its intersections, including but not limited to: race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability. Editors say, "The word 'apogee' denotes the point in an object’s orbit that is farthest from the center. Our approach to both art and political activism operates with the same motivation to center underrepresented artistic voices from the political margins." Apogee features poetry, fiction, essays, and artwork. Their companion journal, Perigee, publishes book reviews and author interviews.
The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database
Split This Rock, an organization of progressive poets for social justice, curates this searchable database of over 600 contemporary poems by authors such as Richard Blanco, Eduardo Corral, Aracelis Girmay, and Michal 'MJ' Jones.
Random House Canada
Random House Canada announced in 2023 that they would be open year-round to unagented submissions of adult fiction manuscripts from authors who are LGBTQ, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or People of Color), and other under-represented communities. Editors say, "Our hope is that this will go a small way toward removing some of the barriers that have existed for writers developing their craft outside of traditional avenues of literary exposure. In particular, our editors are looking for high quality commercial fiction in the following genres: literary, romance, speculative fiction, historical fiction, and mystery. Please note that we do not currently accept screenplays, stage plays, young adult fiction, children's fiction, or picture book queries." No strict length limits; novels are typically 70,000-100,000 words. Follow formatting guidelines on website to submit your query letter, synopsis, and opening chapters by email.
The Caged Guerrilla
The Caged Guerrilla is a podcast by incarcerated writer Raheem A. Rahman about prison life, urban culture, the barriers we build for ourselves in society, and the struggle to stay free in spirit. His book of poetry and reflections by the same title is available on Amazon.
Massive Bookshop
An anti-capitalist alternative to the big online booksellers, Massive Bookshop is a place to list your books for sale while supporting social justice. Instead of seeking profits, Massive Bookshop donates whatever is leftover from operating expenses to various mutual aid and community-building projects such as Decarcerate Western Mass.
Tablet Magazine’s Pride Reading List for Kids
Tablet is a Jewish magazine of politics and culture. This 2016 article by Marjorie Ingall recommends contemporary books with positive LGBTQ representation for kids, tweens, and teens. As Ingall says, "Teaching tolerance is a Jewish value. And it's never too early to read to your kids about different kinds of families and different identities, and to model why kindness is important. Everyone is created b'tzelem Elohim, in the image of God."
coLAB Arts
Based in New Jersey, coLAB Arts facilitates collaborations between artists and local communities to address issues of justice and representation. Some of their projects include #150YearsIsEnough, an exhibit of art and writing by youth in the criminal justice system; Banished, an oral history project documenting the harms of the sex offender registry; and Trueselves, a documentary theater series that shares the stories of NJ's transgender community.
Spoonie Magazine
Spoonie Magazine was a weekly webzine that published creative writing and artwork by authors with physical or mental disabilities, neurodivergence, or chronic illness. There was also an annual print edition, Spoonie Journal.
Eggplant Tears
Eggplant Tears is a webzine for creative writing and artwork by the transmasculine community, broadly understood to include trans men, butches, and other gender-variant masculine folks. See guidelines page for issue themes and deadlines. They are especially open to thoughtful and nonjudgmental explorations of how queerness intersects with sexuality, sex work, and trauma.
Travesties: A Queer Journal of Uncanny Arts
Travesties is an online literary journal for LGBTQ authors, publishing poetry and art that is "queer in all senses of the word". Texts are paired with spooky pink illustrations for a magical and macabre vibe. Editors say, "We want pieces that are bizarre and bountiful, that have striking imagery and delicious sound." Unpublished work preferred but not required. Send 1-5 poems or up to 10 pieces of artwork.
Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP)
The Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) was first launched in November 2003 in an effort to preserve queer zines and make them available to other queers, researchers, historians, punks, and anyone else who has an interest DIY publishing and underground queer communities. Browse alphabetically or search for people, places, time periods, and themes.
Deerfield Public Library Queer Poem-a-Day
Launched in 2021, this daily podcast from the Deerfield Public Library in Illinois features a recording of a poem written and read by a contemporary LGBTQIA+ poet for each day of June. Authors include Donika Kelly, Spencer Reece, Cameron Awkward-Rich, and Jenny George.
Milkweed Editions: Multiverse Literary Series
An imprint of Milkweed Editions, a well-regarded literary press, the Multiverse series publishes neurodivergent poets. Its creator, Chris Martin, says that Multiverse is "devoted to different ways of languaging" and seeks innovative literary styles that "emerge from the practices and creativity of neurodivergent, autistic, neuroqueer, mad, nonspeaking, and disabled cultures." Poets in their catalog include Hannah Emerson and Adam Wolfond. Read Brian Gresko's article about Multiverse in the July/August 2022 Poets & Writers.
Both/And: Trans & GNC Writers Tell Their Own Stories
Launched in 2022, this limited series in the online journal Electric Literature features essays by transgender and gender-nonconforming writers of color. Readers are encouraged to donate to help pay marginalized authors. Electric Lit's Editor-in-Chief Denne Michele Norris, the first Black trans woman to helm a major magazine, says: "In a decade when the transgender community has gained unprecedented visibility in both pop culture and socio-political contexts, the publishing industry lags behind... Both/And will elevate the stories of those at the forefront of the fight for racial and transgender equality, while employing EL’s significant literary platform to uplift transgressive writing."
just femme & dandy
Launched in 2021, just femme & dandy is a biannual literature and arts journal created for and by queers on the topic of fashion. See their website for each issue's themed submission call. Editors say, "just femme & dandy embraces all the layers of hybridity that push against the tensions that pressure us to conform. Nothing is off limits. To get an idea of what we accept, think of the following, and beyond: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, comics, illustration, drag, dance, video, film, photography, tutorials, interviews, reviews, listicles, thinkpieces, commentaries, historical investigations, and so on."
Diverse BookFinder
Diverse BookFinder is a searchable collection of children's picture books with characters who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Books can be requested from DBF by inter-library loan. DBF strives to collect all books in this category that have been released by trade publishers since 2002, in order to track publishing trends and encourage conversations about improving representation. This is not a "recommended books" archive. They accept donations of eligible self-published books, as they do not have the resources to find all qualifying books on their own. Other website features include an archive of author interviews, topical groupings (e.g. books on intercultural friendships), and articles on curating and teaching from a diverse book collection.
Feminist Book Club
Feminist Book Club is an online book club and resource site that builds community around reading new literature by women and nonbinary authors. There is a choice of membership tiers: buy the book of the month on your own and join the discussion; receive the book in the mail; or receive a monthly curated box with the book plus fun items from women-owned small businesses. The site also features book reviews and author interviews.
Survivor Stories: It’s On Us
Survivor Stories is a project of It's On Us, a national movement to end sexual assault, and the group End Rape on Campus. This free online forum offers a supportive space to post personal stories of sexual abuse and trauma recovery. Stories are searchable by theme, gender, and orientation. The site includes grounding activities to help with the emotional impact of reading the stories.
Beneath the Soil: Queer Survivors’ e-Zine
A project of the survivor advocacy group Time to Tell, Beneath the Soil: Queer Survivors' e-Zine is an online anthology of writing and art by LGBTQ survivors of sexual abuse and assault. It was edited by Beth Siegling, Maggie Donovan, and Karo Ska.
Later Bloomer
Debra Eve has been a software executive, archaeologist, and professional writer. She started the site Later Bloomer to collect inspiring stories of creative people who achieved great things in midlife and old age. Examples include Inge Ginsberg, the Holocaust survivor who fronted a heavy metal band in her 90s, and Leo Fender, the former accountant who designed the iconic electric guitars. She offers an e-newsletter and a sister site called the Imaginarium with book discussion groups and skills-training classes to boost your creativity.
Superhero Diversity: Improving Diversity in Comic Books
This 2020 article by Brent Moeshlin on the website of Quality Comics, a comic-book store and collectors' resource site in Alabama, gives a useful overview of "firsts" in superhero representation beyond white straight men. (Did you know Batwoman was a Jewish lesbian?) The storylines mentioned in this piece are a good place to start expanding your imagination as a comics creator.
Embracing Our Differences
Embracing Our Differences is a nonprofit in Sarasota, FL that hosts an annual arts festival and offers lesson plans and educational resources "to expand consciousness and open the heart to celebrate the diversity of the human family."
Creature Conserve
Creature Conserve is a nonprofit founded in 2015 by zoologist Dr. Lucy Spelman to bring together scientists, artists, and creative writers to create compelling stories about protecting endangered animals and habitats. Read an article about them in the July/August 2021 issue of Poets & Writers. They offer writing scholarships, workshops, and other programs dedicated to collaboration between science and storytelling.
Smoke and Mold
Founded by Callum Angus (author of the story collection A Natural History of Transition), Smoke and Mold is a literary journal publishing transgender and Two-Spirit writers on themes of nature, the environment, and the climate crisis.
Metonymy Press
Based in Montreal, Metonymy Press specializes in queer, feminist, and social justice literature. They seek to promote literary fiction and nonfiction authors with underrepresented perspectives. Their motto: "We want to keep gay book lovers satisfied." See their contact page for submission guidelines.
Rainbow Book List
Launched in 2008, the Rainbow Book List is the American Library Association's annual recommendations of LGBTQ books. A related project of the ALA's Rainbow Round Table is GLBT Reviews, a book review blog.
Outspoken: Oral History from LGBTQ Pioneers
Outspoken is an online archive of Steven F. Dansky's video interviews with leaders and elders in the queer community. Its goal is to preserve the grassroots history of LGBTQ life and the battle for equal rights following the Stonewall uprising of 1969. Writers will find this useful for historical fiction and nonfiction research.
Black History Month Collection at Copper Canyon Press
Copper Canyon Press, one of the most prestigious American poetry publishers, has compiled this list of recommended Black poets from its catalog. Authors include Pulitzer Prize winners Gregory Pardlo and Jericho Brown and activist June Jordan.
Queer Comics Database
The Queer Comics Database is an online guide to contemporary graphic narratives with LGBTQ content or creators. It is searchable by author name, genre, ethnicity, queer identity, art style, and tone (from "action-packed" to "tranquil"). Find your next good read here.
Noname Book Club
Noname Book Club is an online and in-person community dedicated to uplifting POC voices. Each month they discuss two books written by authors of color, and send copies to incarcerated comrades through their Prison Program. They make their book picks available to local libraries so that the club can be financially accessible.
Postcards to the Future: A Protest in Place
To support black civil rights activism in the summer of 2020, feminist literary publisher Kore Press is offering an online thematic presentation/installation of work from their 2018 anthology Letters to the Future: Black Women/Radical Writing, edited by Dawn Lundy Martin and Erica Hunt. New selections will be posted from July through November 2020, in various media (print-based text, audio clips, and visual art). The first theme is Legacy, which lays the ground for the arc of the series, followed by Horror, Activism, Joy, and Future. Contributors include Harryette Mullen, Sonia Sanchez, and Yona Harvey.
Sistah Scifi
Sistah Scifi promotes speculative fiction by black women. Site founder Isis Asare says, "Sistah Scifi is a cauldron of all things afrofuturism; afro-mysticism; Black sci-fi; and voodoo casting spells to uplift literature written by Black women."
Juneteenth Book Fest
From writers, to artists, to industry pros, the goal is to shine a light on the width and breadth of Black American literature, to strengthen the connection to the communities we write for, and to honor the legacy of Black American storytelling. The inaugural 2020 festival took place online because of the COVID-19 epidemic, but the organizers hope to plan in-person events in future years.
Editors of Color
Founded by Karen Yin, creator of the Conscious Style Guide, the Editors of Color database is a networking tool for publishers and authors to hire language and content editors, sensitivity readers, proofreaders, and other editorial professionals from underrepresented communities and cultures. The site includes a Database of Diverse Databases that links to directories of LGBTQ, disabled, and POC journalists, cartoonists, editors, and experts in various fields.
Poets & Writers: Resources for Writers in Support of Justice and Action
Poets & Writers magazine compiled this list of racial justice resources to support protesters against police violence in the summer of 2020. It includes links to anti-racist books, bail funds, activist groups, and author fundraisers.
Anti-Racist Resource Guide
Education scholar and anti-racist researcher Victoria Alexander compiled this extensive list of anti-racist resources in response to the wave of police brutality against African-Americans in spring 2020. It includes links to books, documentaries, articles, activist groups, and black-owned bookstores. Whether you're an ally looking to educate yourself, an activist wanting to support protesters and black creators, or just a fan of great literature, you will find something here to enlighten and empower you.
Digital Transgender Archive
The Digital Transgender Archive is an online compendium of source materials and original documents of transgender history, including oral histories, periodicals, correspondence, and activist pamphlets and posters. Invaluable for researching your historical novel or writing characters outside your personal experience of gender and sexuality.
PEN America’s Prison Writing Program
For over 40 years, PEN America, a prominent arts and advocacy organization, has sponsored a Prison Writing Program that pairs incarcerated writers with mentors on the outside. Their annual free Prison Writing Contest accepts poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and dramatic works.
Book Publishers Who Specialize in Diversity and Inclusion
Here Wee Read is a book blog for parents and educators. This A-Z list profiles small presses and specialty imprints that promote multicultural literature for children and adults.
How to Help Prisoners Get Books
In this article at Electric Lit, NYC Books Through Bars explains how to support prison books projects or start your own. Book donations help prisoners with rehabilitation and maintaining community ties, but mailing rules vary widely from one facility to the next, so it's always a good idea to check with established prisoner-support organizations to see what materials are needed and allowed.
This Book Is Anti-Racist
By Tiffany Jewell. This social justice handbook for middle-grade and young adult readers offers tools for understanding your identity and social position, unlearning myths of American history, affirming yourself in a prejudiced world, and using your privileges to disrupt racism. Upbeat, energetic illustrations by Aurelia Durand create a mood of hope and momentum for dealing with tough truths. Jewell's background in Montessori education is reflected in her trusting and empowering young people to make mature moral choices.
Plenitude Magazine
Based in Canada, Plenitude Magazine is an online literary journal publishing poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, graphic narrative, and short film by queer creators. No submission fees. Editors say, "We define queer literature and film as that which is created by LGBTQ2S+ people, rather than that which features queer content alone...Plenitude aims to complicate expressions of queerness through the publication of diverse, sophisticated literary writing, art and film, from the very subtle to the brash and unrelenting."
Flying Kites: A Story of the 2013 California Prison Hunger Strike
By the Stanford Graphic Novel Project. This fictionalized account of a real-life hunger strike to protest prison conditions exposes the horrors of solitary confinement and the inspiring struggles of families to stay connected to their incarcerated loved ones. The e-book is free to download for your computer or tablet.
peculiar: a queer literary journal
peculiar is a bi-annual queer literary journal publishing poetry, fiction, essays, art, and photography. Co-editor Jack Garcia says, "Based in Provo, Utah, the title is a nod to the Mormon claim of being a 'peculiar people' because, let's face it, being queer is far more peculiar!" Read an interview with him at Trish Hopkinson's writing resources blog.
