Thank you for your interest in writing for OUTSpoken.  Out Spoken is a community-driven platform focused on publishing the voices in our LGBTQ+ Community.  OUT Spoken is a helpful platform for would-be writers looking to develop their portfolio of third-party published bylines, or writers who really want to share their story with a platform dedicated to empowering LGBTQ+ voices, or both!  

Is OUT Spoken the right platform for your work?  Here are the following Submission Guidelines:

1. Type: OUT Spoken is interested in publishing personal essays related to your identity and that tell a story or expository essays about an issue that is current and affecting The LGBTQ+ community.

• Personal Essay Examples: 
  • A Genderfluid Journey
  • My First Time
  • Our Understanding
• Expository Essay Examples:
  • Celebrating Queer Berlin
  • The Fall of Roe V. Wade
  • Ballroom Culture: The Black LGBTQ+ Born Culture Inspiring Millions Around The World

2. Length: OUT Spoken has shifted to becoming a long-read format platform, so any article that you are interested in writing or submitting should be at a minimum of 750 words. Ideally, we would prefer 1,000 and over. Why? We are interested in substance, depth, and meaning.  These are our voices, and records that we existed and our intention is to curate stories for future generations to have and know their cultural history.  We are not interested in click-bait, nor SEO-gaming articles.  We strongly believe that high-quality, serious and soulful writing rises to the top.

3. Examples of what we do not publish:

• Poetry
• Fiction: Novel excerpts, short stories, etc...
• Comic Strips
• Tabloid stories/articles
• Listicles, "The TOP 10 Lesbian novels of the 21st Century"
• Advertorials: an essay about a topic that has backlinks to your company.  (These are only reserved for our certified Business Sponsors and Partners)

4. Ownership: You will be given a byline credit for your article with backlinks to your digital platform.  OUT Spoken does not pay for articles, nor do we charge any fee for publication.  The writer retains 100% ownership of the story and is free to simultaneously submit it elsewhere for publication and or sale.

If you are interested in publishing with The LOFT's OUTSpoken Comunity Magazine please contact Jeffrey Guard at [email protected]