Aster(ix) is open for submissions! We are thrilled to announce two open calls.
SEEKING: Debut Fiction / Deadline November 6
At Aster(ix), we are proud to be a writers’ first publication, especially for those from marginalized identities whose work may have not found a home by mainstream outlets. Our upcoming issue will focus on debut fiction.
We’re honored and excited that Cleyvis Natera, best-selling author of Neruda on The Park (Ballantine Books, 2023), will be the guest editor for our SPRING 2025 ISSUE: DEBUT FICTION. Cleyvis is wonderful writer, editor, and teacher. She also deeply understands the journey of the debut author — Aster(ix) actually published a a chapter excerpt from Neruda on the Park in 2019! This is your opportunity to return to your stories and novels and consider sharing your work with us!
What we’re looking for in THE DEBUT FICTION ISSUE:
- 1) short stories by writers who have not yet published any fiction in a literary journal.
- 2) self-contained novel chapters of an unpublished debut novel (excerpts of forthcoming debut novels under contract will be considered). Writers who have published short stories but have not yet published a novel excerpt are also eligible to submit.
- For both categories, we favor submissions under 6000 words.
- Please send only one submission per author for this call (i.e. a short story or a standalone novel chapter). If multiple submissions are sent, none will be reviewed. Focus on one piece and send us your best draft!
- Please note that Aster(ix) is a transnational feminist literary arts journal committed to social justice and translation, placing people of color at the center of the conversation. We’re looking for the intimate, the honest, and the beautiful. Explore previously published fiction here.
For this special issue, we are pleased to share that we can pay $100-250 per piece based on length. We only accept submissions via Submittable. The deadline is open until November 6, 2024 at 11:59pm PST. Click here to submit!
SEEKING: Reviews & Interviews / Now through April 2025
We are also seeking Book Reviews and Interviews! Tanya Shirazi, former Managing Editor of Aster(ix) and past Guest Editor, is returning to the team to focus on Reviews & Interviews from Fall 2024 to Spring 2025.
What we’re looking for:
- Criticism / Reviews: This year we are focusing on publishing reviews centered on debut books in all genres. We are interested in criticism that goes beyond a simple review; we want a conversation that is personal between writer and creator. We are looking for reviews of recent (within the last 18 months) or forthcoming books or art work by creatives of color, especially of works that may not have gotten as much coverage in mainstream publications. Examples:
- Review: “A Contemplation on Sorrow and Loss: A Review of WHAT STORM, WHAT THUNDER by Myriam J.A. Chancy” by Cleyvis Natera
- Review: “Expanding the Waters of Love: A Review of Shayla Lawson’s I Think I’m Ready To See Frank Ocean” by Steffan Triplett
- Interviews at Aster(ix) are best viewed as conversations, a dialogue that explores something not just about the work, but the artists as human beings. We are especially interested in conversations that explore writing as a craft. Examples:
- Interview: “STAY WILD: A conversation with poet and artist Jane Wong” by Kiera O’Brien and Amanda Tien
- Interview: “Vão / Vòng – A Conversation with Katrina Dodson” by Madhu Kaza
- We are willing to reprint works of both of the above categories that were published in small print or out-of-print journals and have not been previously published online.
- We welcome completed drafts or pitches. If you are interested in reviewing a book, but do not know what book to review or author to interview, we are happy to see your clips and assign you a book review or interview.
- Publishers interested in sending us debut books to consider reviewing, you are welcomed to pitch your book.
These pieces will be published in the online journal. We are not able to pay for these pieces at this time. We only accept submissions via Submittable. This is a rolling call from October 2024 through April 2024. Click here to submit!
We look forward to reading your submissions soon! For more information on the calls, explore our Submittable in detail: asterix.submittable.com
About Aster(ix)
Aster(ix) is a transnational feminist literary arts journal committed to social justice and translation, placing people of color at the center of the conversation. Founded in 2013 by novelist Angie Cruz and nonfiction writer Adriana E. Ramírez, the journal loves to feature the intimate, the honest, and the beautiful.
Aster(ix) is a play on asterisk, star, splat, a wildcard. It’s the censored and omitted. It’s footnotes and to be continued. (ix) honors Mayan heart-knowing, the alignment with divine will, the torch bearer. We cast lines between the future and the past, the possible and the impossible.
Aster(ix) Journal receives support from the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and the Department of English at University of Pittsburgh, and regularly partners with the Center for African American Poetry and Poetics and the Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series.
