At Unleash Lit, we believe in authentic storytelling that reflects the diverse experiences of people across our communities. We’re seeking real, personal, and intimate portraits of daily life in America today.

Tell us your story. Get close up, get personal. What does a day in your life look like in 2025?

We welcome submissions in any of the following forms:

•  Prose (up to 500 words)
•  Poetry (up to 5 poems in a single document)
•  Photography (up to 5 images)

Interpret the day-in-the-life theme as you wish. 

Submission Guidelines

•  Submit only one prose piece or up to five poems or images at a time.
•  Multiple prose submissions are allowed, but please send each separately
•  Include a third-person bio of up to 200 words with your submission
•  No AI-generated work. We’re seeking genuine human voices and experiences.
•  Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please withdraw elsewhere upon acceptance.
•  Reprints are accepted if you retain rights to the work.
•  Selected works may be featured in an anthology.
   

Rights & Payment

Unleash Lit acquires the non-exclusive right to publish your work online and archive it. All rights revert to the author upon publication. While we’re unable to offer payment, we’re committed to supporting our writers and nominating exceptional pieces for awards.

Submission Fee

A small fee helps us operate and reduce spam. If the fee is prohibitive, email info@unleashcreatives.com with a brief note.

Help us celebrate authentic storytelling—read, share, and support fellow writers at www.unleashlit.com

Unleash Creatives and Unleash Lit are seeking a thoughtful, committed volunteer to support our newsletters, outreach efforts, and editorial review process. This role is ideal for someone who loves reading and writing, believes in creative resilience, and wants to be part of a values-driven literary and creative community.

To apply, please include a short statement of interest (1-page, double-spaced) and your qualifications in the form of a resume or CV.

The Role:

•  Write and edit newsletters for Unleash Creatives and Unleash Lit
•  Help shape clear, welcoming language around events, programs, and opportunities
•  Support outreach efforts, including partnerships and community invitations
•  Read and provide thoughtful feedback on manuscript submissions and creative work
•  Help maintain a consistent, warm, and intelligent editorial voice
•  Collaborate closely with the founder and our small, amazing team

What we're looking for

•  A strong reader and writer with good editorial instincts
•  Interested in literary work, creative process, and community-building
•  Reliable, organized, and able to meet agreed-upon timelines
•  Curious, generous, and respectful with others’ creative work
•  Familiarity with Substack, email newsletters, or literary submissions is a plus

What we offer

•  Editorial and publishing experience
•  Insight into literary and creative community-building
•  Opportunities to build relationships with writers and artists
•  Credit and acknowledgment for your contributions
•  A meaningful way to support creative work and creative people

Details

•  Volunteer position
•  Remote
•  7-8 hours/month, including presence at our monthly board meetings

Unleash Lit  champions authentic storytellers across diverse communities.

We accept new work, reprints, and simultaneous submissions. Please promptly withdraw your work if you would no longer like us to consider it for publication.  

Regular submissions are open Jan 1 - June 30 and August 1 - November 30

We are currently looking for ekphrastic responses to writing, art and photography that we've published in the past. If you are responding to a particular piece, please let us know the publication date, title and author. 

Please submit only one piece of prose or up to five (5) poems or photographs at a time. All poems may be submitted in a single document. Fiction and creative nonfiction may be up to 2,000 words. Multiple prose submissions will be accepted but must be submitted separately. 

Photos and art are accepted as jpeg and png., and up to five (5) images are allowed in a single submission.

Note: We recently moved to Substack, where we can better connect with readers. As such, we are also actively looking for personal essays about creative living: its power and perils. ​Include a third-person bio of up to 200 words.

Please no AI-generated work for Unleash Lit. In the meantime, if you'd like to submit AI-generated writing and feel strongly about it, please consider writing an essay about why and submitting that. If you'd like to submit AI-assisted art, consider our art contest, but mention the digital partnership (as specified in the guidelines).

Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere. Reprints are accepted if the author maintains rights to the work. 

Unleash Lit acquires the non-exclusive right to include your work online and in our archives. Upon publication, rights revert to the author. We are unable to pay for submissions, but we will actively support our writers and nominate select manuscripts for awards.

Please share your work widely and support other authors at www.unleashlit.com by reading and sharing their words.