There’s a specific friction in the moment love changes shape. Whether it is opening up a marriage, navigating a partner’s transition, or watching a romance soften into a lifelong platonic bond, queer love is constantly evolving.
We want to feature your stories of transition, new phases, and relationship evolutions.
Tell us about your shift!
We accept personal essays on a rolling basis that reveal heartbreaks, happiness, secrets, reflections on coming out, sexual encounters, and the contemporary realities of dating. The intersection of families and other versions of “love” all make sense as we investigate the question: “What do we know about love?”
Your nonfiction piece should have a clear take away from the experience, so it’s not just an anecdote but shows that there was some growth or lesson learned. Think “Modern Love”—but only queer stories.
Along with our general call for submissions, we are currently seeking essays that are focused on the theme:
The Evolution of Queer Relationships
We all know queer relationships rarely follow a straight line. We rewrite the rules of intimacy, turn best friends into family, and build milestones out of thin air. But what happens after the initial spark? We are looking for pieces about the exact moment the ground moved—the quiet, messy or beautiful evolution of your relationship.
Deadline for submissions
September 30, 2026
Payment: We pay $75 for personal essays upon publication.
Send to [email protected]
(NOTE: We do not accept AI-generated or AI-assisted writing.)
Also of note: You MUST be a registered (free) subscriber to QLP to be considered for submission, and we encourage you to read several of the 100+ essays we’ve published to familiarize yourself with the vast array of topics, style and tone.
Don’t worry! If you’re an emerging writer and you’re worried that your essay is not 100% polished, we offer developmental edits to all writers who submit. So don’t fret and send your best piece today!
POETRY
We are also interested in your poetry and if you want to share your visual art that is focused on this theme. Follow our general guidelines for poetry as follows:
Length and parameters: Send up to three poems, no more than 30 lines each.
We are welcoming poetry in all forms, but be aware that the more complicated the line breaks and original spacing, the harder it will be to replicate on a prose-based platform like Substack, though they have some poetry features.
- Format: Please share all files as PDFs. If you have artwork that accompanies pieces, please send those along as well, with clear notes and descriptions. By submitting, you recognize that all poems are subject to suggestions and edits that will be discussed and finalized with your, the poet’s, consent before publication.
- Original work and first serial rights: The Queer Love Project will have exclusive rights to the piece for two years if accepted. You can publish elsewhere as long as you link to the original piece published on QueerLoveProject.substack.com.
- Excerpts and previously published work: We do publish original work that is excerpted from chapbooks, zines, books, and anthologies and will provide pre-order links and other citations to the originals if requested.
- Do you provide edits? Yes, expect to work with an editor in a collaborative way. We often give top edits (general constructive ideas) as well as line edits and copy edits to help you get your piece in shape for publishing. We see it as a generative process, and we hope you will too! That said, send us your best draft, but don’t stop yourself from submitting if you are a new or emerging writer who still needs support. We have published many first-time writers and love doing so!
- When to expect a reply: We hope to reply within 5 days from first submission. Do not follow up before that time. We hope to offer feedback and edits for your essay. If you haven’t heard back within 7 days, please feel free to reply to your original email so that it is threaded with your original pitch email.
- Email us at [email protected]
