Submissions

Submissions are currently OPEN. The submission period for the debut issue is February 1, 2026 to March 31, 2026. To read about this issues' theme, check out out our announcement: Debut Issue Theme: After and continue to watch our Bluesky account ([email protected]) for updates.

Sunday Service accepts submissions of literary and visual work set in, or shaped by, the American South.

We are attentive to work by queer writers, not as a genre but as a condition of living, moving, and surviving within place. We also consider work outside this scope when it carries the same restraint, pressure, and consequence.

The work we publish stays with lived experience. With aftermath. With what remains unresolved. Family, belief, isolation, intimacy, violence, inheritance, and endurance recur, but no subject is required. Meaning is not assumed. Resolution is not expected.

We are not interested in inspirational narratives, therapeutic framing, or work written to reassure the reader.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

Prose

• Fiction, autofiction, narrative nonfiction, short dramatic forms, and monologues
• Up to 10,000 words

Novella

• Fiction or narrative nonfiction
• 10,000–35,000 words
• One novella length work will be selected per issue
• Novellas must be submitted alone (no other work attached)

Poetry

• Individual poems or short sequences
• No formal restrictions

Visual Work

• Photography, drawings, paintings, or other visual media
• Visual work must engage with place, presence, or aftermath in a way consistent with the journal

SUBMISSION RULES

• One submission per category at a time
• Multiple poems or short prose pieces may be included in a single document
• Do not mix categories in a single submission
• Novellas must be submitted as a single submission with no additional work
• Previously unpublished work is preferred
• Simultaneous submissions are accepted; contributors must notify the journal if work is accepted elsewhere

HOW TO SUBMIT

Send submissions via email to:
[email protected]

Email Subject Line

Please format the subject line as follows:

Last Name – Genre

Examples:

• Smith – Prose
• Johnson – Novella
• Garcia – Poetry
• Nguyen – Visual Art

Submission Format

Prose & Poetry

• Attach work as a single PDF or DOCX
• One submission per email or form entry
• Multiple poems or short pieces should be included in the same document

Visual Work

• Up to five images per submission
• JPEG, PNG, or TIFF
• 300 ppi
• Do not embed images in the email body

Please include captions for visual work with the following information:

• Artist name
• Title
• Date
• Medium
• Location (if applicable)

Cover Note

The body of the email should include a brief third-person bio. A cover letter is optional. Keep it short.

SETTING & SCOPE

We are drawn to work set in or shaped by the American South. It is a lineage we know well, but we publish work that understands place as pressure regardless of setting. We value work that examines the ways environments, histories, and inheritances shape what can and cannot be endured.

Contributors may be located anywhere.

PROCESS

We read slowly and selectively. Response times may be extended. We aim to respond to all submissions but are unable to provide individual feedback.

Some work may be held for consideration for a future issue or format. Contributors will be notified and may decline.

Submissions may be withdrawn at any time prior to acceptance.

COMPENSATION

Sunday Service offers modest honoraria for accepted work. Amounts are structured by submission type:

• Poetry — $1 per accepted submission
• Visual Work — $2 per accepted submission
• Prose (≤10,000 words) — $3 per accepted submission
• Novella (≤35,000 words) — $5 per accepted submission

Contributors receive one contributor copy of the printed journal.

AGREEMENT

By submitting work to Sunday Service, contributors confirm that they have read and agree to these guidelines.

GENERAL INQUIRIES

For general questions, inquiries, or other correspondence, please email [email protected] with the subject line inquiry-subject.