Submissions

We are currently CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS as we catch up on a backlog of submissions due to the pandemic. Please check back here and we’ll announce when we open again. Thank you!

Submissions Guidelines

The Thought Erotic welcomes submissions of essays, fiction, poetry, and art engaging topics of sexuality to foster critical thinking and challenge oppressive ideologies. All submissions should coincide with The Thought Erotic’s values. We will not accept submissions that perpetuate hateful and harmful beliefs and practices that thwart any individual’s ability to fully and healthily express their sexuality.

Submissions may address current events, music, film, literature, art or any other topic pertaining to the realm of sexuality, including your personal experiences. At this time, we cannot accept interviews.

Please familiarize yourself with the site to get a sense of the work we are interested in.

We welcome short, reflective pieces as short as 500 words as well as longer, analytical pieces up to 2,000 words. If you have a piece longer than 2,000 words, please query info@thethoughterotic.com before submitting. Short poetry and micro fiction less than 500 words are of course welcome.

By submitting, you assert that the work is original and wholly your own. If The Thought Erotic accepts your work, we reserve the right to edit it for grammar and style. The Thought Erotic holds first publication rights to accepted work. After we publish your work, you are free to republish elsewhere (such as your personal blog) but we ask that you cite the work as originally appearing on The Thought Erotic with the corresponding link. You may republish an excerpt or the full article. If you republish the full article, please cite and link back to The Thought Erotic at the article’s beginning.

We ask you to include a short 2-3 sentence bio in your cover letter, and upon acceptance to provide an author photo (note: both are optional for publication). Given the sensitive nature of the topic, we understand that submitters to The Thought Erotic may want to use a pseudonym. If this is the case, let us know what pseudonym you would like to use either in your cover letter or upon acceptance.

If you have any questions about style or formatting, you can download our style guidelines here.

Please wait three months to resubmit after receiving a response from us, and wait six months to inquire about the status of your submission if we have not responded.

We charge a $3 fee for submissions to cover the costs of upkeep. Please note that we cannot pay our contributors at this time.