How To Submit

• Send three poems per submission. Separate poems by titles or page breaks.
• Flash fiction should not exceed 1000 words (Microfiction is what’s up).
• Include your name, email address, current mailing address, and bio (third-person, 50 words max) in the cover letter box on Submittable.
• We encourage simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if we can’t publish something okay? ‘Cause we catch feelings fast.
• Sorry, no translations or work previously published digitally or in print.

We will not tolerate any work that promotes harmful stereotypes and perspectives including: racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, islamophobia, xenophobia, antisemitism, ableism.

We also kindly request that you refrain from sending us any sexually explicit pieces, works highlighting extreme violence, insta poems, or love poems. We are hopeless romantics, but we’re not interested in printing romance unless it’s a unique perspective.

Lucky Jefferson is a women and minority-led literary journal and all are welcome to share their words with us.

Black, Indigenous, LGBTQIA, and people of color identifying writers are encouraged to submit as we continue to prioritize these communities in our ongoing work.

Early Bird Submissions (aka FREE subs)

In an effort to increase the breadth of voices published, and provide financial relief to emerging writers, we offer specific time frames where you can submit your work to upcoming print issues for FREE!

During the last two weeks of an open call for submissions, we charge a modest fee (between $2-4) for print submissions. This money helps us print issues, generate support, and continued education for artists, etc. 

Early bird submissions are typically accepted one-two months before the last call for submissions.

Next Round of Early Bird Subs:

ISSUE TBD
DATES TBD

Student Submissions

Lucky Jefferson waives any fees for all students (high school, undergraduate, graduate, etc.). Students interested in submitting their work should email us their completed submission and proof of enrollment here.

Accepted authors (print): will receive one free copy of the issue.

Accepted authors (digital): will receive access to the digital issue.

All accepted authors (print and digital): will be eligible for social media press.

*Please note that due to COVID, we have paused the shipment of complimentary print issues to selected authors who are located internationally.*

To keep things fair, previously accepted poets/writers should wait 2 quarters, or two issues, from the time of acceptance, before submitting new work to any open call. If you were just accepted, please don’t send us new work in a fit a passion—wait two whole seasons (i.e. if you were accepted in a spring issue, send new work in the winter, etc.). Otherwise, you’ll be on the receiving end of a whole socket full of side-eye and judgment.

If your work is forthcoming in a manuscript, or published somewhere else (online or print) after publication in Lucky Jefferson, you agree to give credit to your family at Lucky Jefferson.

—

If your work does not find a home at Lucky Jefferson, we ask that you wait 3 months before submitting new work. Spam submissions will not be tolerated.

We ask for exclusive first worldwide print and electronic rights for up to three months from the date of publication and non-exclusive rights to include published works in our archive indefinitely.

Basically, we’d like to be the first to publish your submission and after three months, you’re free to redistribute it how you’d like. Nevertheless, it’ll be a part of our collection forever.