Thank you so much for your interest and engagement in the Los Ángeles literary community. Los Angeles Literature looks forward to reading your pitches and work.

Submissions: Open year round, but don’t expect to hear back during the week of Thanksgiving or the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s and the week in-between. Submissions will be read in the order they are received with the exception of articles that are time sensitive. Since Los Angeles Literature takes all submissions seriously and reads through them with care, we respond to submissions as soon as possible.

Los Angeles Literature accepts in-depth and knowledgeable articles, book reviews, interviews, history and literary criticism from and about the community, its writers and its literature. Though Los Angeles Literature mainly focuses on the city’s literary community, it also covers the wider literary community of the Southland (Long Beach, San Gabriel Valley, the IE, Orange County, the South Bay, Southeast L.Á. County), its writers and their literature. Los Angeles Literature’s aim is to focus on its writers of color and expand outwards to its LGBTQIA, differently abled writers and to the rest of the literary community.

Los Angeles Literature pays contributors $75 per piece.

Submission Requirements: Send your writing or proposal as an email attachment in a Word file. In the body of the email, include a cover letter that includes the title of your piece, the category you’re submitting it to, its word count and an author bio no longer than 100 words. If there is any legitimate reason why you can’t submit your writing in a word document, email Los Angeles Literature explaining your situation at losangelesliterature@aol.com and we’ll work out a solution.

NOTE: If your submission or proposal is time sensitive, please indicate that in the subject line of your email so Los Angeles Literature can respond to your submission accordingly. Ex: Article on Reading from Monday.

If you have any questions after reading the following submissions guidelines, don’t hesitate to email Los Angeles Literature at losangelesliterature@aol.com.

Articles

Articles are the news of the literary community. They explore the issues of the community, are critical when need be, honest always, and they take readers inside the community like the best arts journalism. They range from reviews of literary events and readings; to news and information about, and profiles on, local literary nonprofits and organizations; to book release news from local writers and independent presses; author profiles; or any other community news. The best way to find out the types of articles Los Angeles Literature publishes is to read through past articles or to send a pitch to losangelesliterature@aol.com.

When submitting pitches, make sure you summarize the article’s importance, its narrative arc, themes and ideas, who, if anyone, you need to interview, and the perspective you plan to take. Article pitches can be up to 125 words.

Book Reviews

Los Angeles Literature welcomes reviews of books—novels, short story collections, full-length poetry collections and chapbooks, memoirs, essay collections, history, young adult, middle grade and children’s—old and new, about or set in Los Ángeles. Particularly books and book reviews written by BIPOC, LGBTQIA and differently abled writers. Book reviews only need to be thoughtful, thought-provoking, and critical. They can be negative, so long as they adhere to the previously mentioned stipulations. Please send complete drafts of long form reviews, no more than 1,500 words, to losangelesliterature@aol.com.

Interviews

Los Angeles Literature publishes interviews with writers, publishers and other literary and literary arts figures, both famous and not, in Los Ángeles and the wider literary community of the Southland. Interviews need to be in-depth, provide insight into both the writer and their work, with introductions being more than mere author bios. Send completed interviews of up to no more than 20 questions to losangelesliterature@aol.com.

History

Essays on the history of the greater Los Ángeles literary community, its authors, its literature, its venues, etc. On any theme or topic. Essays need to be well researched and properly cited using the Chicago Manual of Style. Poet, journalist, educator and L.Á. native Mike Sonksen’s writings on the history of the Los Ángeles literary community are great examples of how to write such history. Check out his article from Interlitq “A Whole Ecosystem: Collective Effervescence in Los Angeles Poetry.” Send completed essays between 1,500 – 4,000 words or proposals of up to 125 words to losangelesliterature@aol.com. 

When submitting pitches, make sure you summarize the essay’s importance, the history you intend to write about, its narrative arc, themes and ideas, what research you need to conduct and the perspective you plan to take.

Literary Criticism

Literary criticism is similar to book reviews. Los Angeles Literature is looking for the discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of the literature written about or set in Los Ángeles, its authors and the winder literary community of the Southland. These essays can be negative, positive or anywhere in-between as long as the criticism is honest, analytical and evaluates how the authors depict Los Ángeles and its environs (stereotypes it, flips its stereotypes on its head, doesn’t stereotype at all, etc.) and its residents. Los Angeles Literature is interested in literary criticism on all books and authors who write about Los Ángeles, but is especially interested in criticism on the city’s and region’s authors and literature written by BIPOC, LGBTQIA and differently abled writers or written about them and their work. Please send complete drafts of criticism, no longer than 1,500 words to losangelesliterature@aol.com.