SUBMISSIONS
We want the work you were afraid to show anyone.
INHERITANCE — Issue No. 1
What have you inherited—and what will you do with it?
We inherit more than names and heirlooms. We inherit stories, expectations, wounds, traditions, bodies, beliefs, silences, places, fears, and ways of loving.
For our inaugural issue, Inheritance, we’re looking for work that explores what has been passed down to us—and what happens when we decide what to carry, what to question, and what to leave behind.
Your interpretation of inheritance can be literal or abstract. Suprise us.
Who Can Submit
Lantern & Thistle Press welcomes submissions from women age 18 and older, including cisgender and transgender women. We do not require writers to prove or disclose their identity.
Your work does not need to be about womanhood. We are interested in your voice, your perspective, and the story you want to tell.
What We Accept
- Poetry — Up to 3 poems per submission.
- Fiction — Up to 4,000 words.
- Creative Nonfiction — Up to 4,000 words.
- Flash Fiction / Flash Nonfiction — Up to 1,000 words.
- Hybrid / Experimental Work — We welcome work that doesn’t fit neatly into a category. Up to 4,000 words.
Submission Guidelines
Please submit only original, previously unpublished work. Simultaneous submissions are welcome—just let us know promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Please submit your work as a .doc or .docx file. Use a readable 12-point font and standard formatting. For prose, please double-space your manuscript. Poetry may be formatted as intended.
Please include a brief third-person bio of up to 100 words with your submission.
AI-Generated Work
Lantern & Thistle Press exists to publish human voices. We do not accept work that has been generated, substantially written, or rewritten by artificial intelligence. All creative work must be your own.
Content Guidelines
We welcome work that is honest, complicated, uncomfortable, tender, angry, joyful, strange, and difficult to categorize.
Difficult subjects are welcome. However, we will not publish work that promotes hatred or dehumanization, or work that glorifies abuse or sexual violence.
When submitting work that contains potentially distressing material, please include a brief content note with your submission.
Rights & Payment
You retain the copyright to your work. If your work is accepted, Lantern & Thistle Press requests first publication rights and the right to include your work in the print and/or digital edition of the issue, as well as to promote the issue using brief excerpts from your work.
After publication, all other rights remain with you. Lanter & Thistle Press retains the right to keep the issue containing your work available in its original print and/or digital form. If the work is published elsewhere in the future, we ask that you acknowledge Lantern & Thistle Press as its first place of publication.
We believe writers deserve to be compensated for their work. Lantern & Thistle Press is a small, independent press just beginning, and while we cannot yet offer the payment we hope to someday, contributors selected for publication will receive a $10 honorarium. As Lantern & Thistle grows, we hope our contributor payments will grow with us.
How to Submit
Please send your submission by email to submissions@lanternandthistlepress.com with the subject line: INHERITANCE — [Submission Category] — [Title of Work]
Attach your work as a .doc or .docx file. Please do not include your name or identifying information anywhere in the manuscript itself. Submissions will be read anonymously.
In the body of your email, please include your name, email address, the title of your work, submission category, and your brief third-person bio. If applicable, include any content notes here as well.
Identifying information will be kept separate from the manuscript during the reading process so that selections are based on the work itself. Manuscripts will be evaluated without reference to the writer’s identity, publication history, or bio.
Submission Window
Submissions for INHERITANCE — Issue No. 1 will be open October 15 through December 15, 2026.
All writers will be notified of our decision by March 1, 2027.
INHERITANCE is scheduled for publication in June 2027.
Before You Submit
You do not need an MFA, a list of publications, or permission to call yourself a writer.
We are interested in the work—not your résumé.
If you have something to say, we want to hear it.
