Our Story
So to Speak Journal was founded in 1993 by an editorial collective of women MFA candidates at George Mason University. It has served as a space for feminist writing and art for 25+ years. As our journal has evolved over time, so have our views on feminism. We believe in an intersectional feminist outlook which includes, advocates for, and amplifies the perspectives and experiences of marginalized women and nonbinary people.
We are looking for poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art from various identities and backgrounds. It is no secret that the literary canon and literary journals are largely comprised of heteronormative, patriarchal, cisgender, able-bodied white men. So to Speak seeks work by writers, poets, and artists who want to challenge and change the identity of the “canonical” writer. Our mission at So to Speak is to provide a digital and print platform to amplify the voices of people of color, people with disabilities, Native and Indigenous peoples, nonbinary people, women, neurodivergent people, people of all different religions or none, migrants, refugees and immigrants (regardless of citizenship), and veterans.
So to Speak Journal publishes two issues a year, one in print and one online. We are a nonprofit journal. Please refer to our website (http://sotospeakjournal.org) for detailed submission guidelines, free online issues, more information about our mission, and monthly blog content (reviews, interviews, series, etc.).
Comments
I have been trying to submit 2 nonfiction pieces all morning. Your website is not confirming it accepts my Visa for $10 fee. I can find no email or telephone number for contact. The piece was titled Two Women, 27 Men, Porting in Algeria. Did you receive? Can you send me an email for help with this matter at
[email protected] I do not have paypal but I think your site is not working. My submission was to go to Sophia Shalimyev..Thanks Renee Conway
Language, feminism, art—what's not to love? On Nov. 6 at 7:30 ET, So to Speak Journal will host a virtual reading with some of their 2020 contributors! Here's where you can get to know our readers and RSVP for the event:
http://sotospeakjournal.org/2020-reading/
So to Speak seeks poetry, fiction, nonfiction, & visual art with an intersectional feminist focus for their annual 2020 summer online issue. Send in your best work by April 18.
This week in essays, Nafissa Thompson-Spires wrestles with complicated feelings about a hysterectomy and the potential relief it will bring at The Paris Review, Nyokabi Kariuki looks to language to figure out where she belongs at So to Speak, and more.
So to Speak seeks poetry, fiction, nonfiction, & visual art with an intersectional feminist focus for their annual 2019 winter contest issue. Send in your best work! Deadline: November 15.
https://sotospeak.submittable.com/submit
Ann Townsend and Jona Colson push their powerful lyrical poetry to new heights as they each grapple with love, grief, and the battle between our public and private selves in our “In the Circle Game” panel, sponsored by So to Speak. Details here:
https://sched.co/TIqw
"NOTHING MUCH FOR MINORS"
Minors are those less than eighteen,
As they don't have knowledge in keen.
They don't have a driving licence,
As don't have driving sense.
Minors are given just pen and page,
Their life is not more than a cage.
Holiday is not given even on sundays,
As their age is negligible for fundays.
Parents are worried not to get blame,
From minors they just want their fame.
Circumstances are same for every minor,
Parents are just their life designer.
-Sahaj Sabharwal.
-Chowk Chabutra,
-Jammu.
-11th Class.
©sahajsabharwal
Delhi Public School, Jammu #India #Poem #Jammu #sahajsabharwal12345 #DelhiPublicSchool #DpsJammu
#copyright #INDIA #TALENTPOET
Hello, So to Speak readers and cohorts! This is Deb Jannerson, winner of the 2017 So to Speak Nonfiction contest for "Scarring," an essay about medical rights, religious fundamentalism, PTSD, and q***r intimacy. I've also written for magazines like Bitch, NonBinary Review, and The Flexible Persona.
So to Speak's was the first award I won for my writing, and it went to the most difficult piece I've ever written. As it turns out, such a leap of faith will do wonders for your confidence as an artist. The honor was also a harbinger of an amazing year in my life, despite 2017 being an objective disaster in many regards. After "Scarring" came more honors, a new collection of poetry, and my second book deal--not to mention, I married my wonderful wife, wearing Garden of Delights Dr. Martens purchased with my StS prize money.
Anyway, given the special place StS holds in my psyche, I wanted y'all to be among the first to know that said book of poems, THANKS FOR NOTHING, just went on pre-order with Finishing Line Press.
I began writing this book last April, ie., just days after I found out my scary, uncomfortable short memoir had won a prize. As you might imagine, the book grapples with life as a trauma survivor in a hostile administration, as well as neoliberal sexism and the hazy line between self-narrative and pop culture. But it's not all bleak--there are dreamy and/or euphoric poems about my now-wife, my favorite unwinding mechanisms, Frida Kahlo, and Robert the haunted doll.
There's also a piece called "winning," about, you guessed it, that transcendent moment when I learned that So to Speak was honoring my piece.
If you enjoy my work and/or would like to lift up an intersectional feminist author: get in touch ("friend" me; I'm friendly), post, share, and above all, pre-order your copies of THANKS FOR NOTHING. Community support gives me life, and it's impossible to overstate the importance of pre-sales with small presses. I'm preparing stickers and bigger Easter eggs for anyone who sends me a screenshot showing they contributed to TfN's future.
Thanks for reading, and keep fighting the power.
Deb
debjannerson.com
https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/thanks-for-nothing-by-deb-jannerson/
