What we publish
We publish fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, hybrid works, translations, book reviews & visual art. We are a biannual online publication. We love a wide range of genres and styles, especially writing that is innovative in form and progressive in content.
Now accepting submissions for Issue 38
Theme: POP!
You got us wet for our last issue. Now, for Issue 38, we want you to evoke pop. Subvert our expectations. If your bubble burst, if the world ended, if everything you knew came to an end, where would you run to? Think of pop culture, pop stars, iconography, bubblegum. Think of sharp points and rough edges. Think of popsicles. Think loud, obnoxious. Take big swings. Surprise us. Send us poetry that pops out of its form to shift into something messy and new. Send us stories that take us places we never thought of going, but we’re oh so happy to be. Send us lyric essays, contrapuntals, prosimetrums. Send us work that doesn’t fit into any one bubble. Memoir that unravels in all directions until, pop, the words just splatter all over the page. Think of more sex. Think of sticky. Think about gum stuck to the bottom of your desk. Think about your fingers poking at that gum, mushing it around, digging in its center. Think of burst blood vessels and popping pimples. What makes your eyes bulge out of your head? Better yet, show us how you pop those eyes back into their sockets. Send us whatever you want - just make it POP!
More important than any theme, we welcome all submissions as long as they're honest and authentic - what we want most of all is your best work. Work must be original, created without the use of AI, and previously unpublished (with the exception of translations - see genre guidelines).
Not sure if your work is suited to our magazine? Find out what we like by reading our current issue.
We acknowledge that literary spaces traditionally have centered the white, heterosexual, cisgender male experience at the expense of other voices. We want to break from that tradition and are therefore especially interested in reading work from those who are often marginalized in literary spaces, including Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); all women, including but not limited to, trans and cis women; LGBTQIA+ people; agender, gender non-conforming, and nonbinary people; people with disabilities; and people who live at the intersections of identities.
Limits
Fiction: 5,000 words (or 3 pieces of up to 1,000 words)
Creative Nonfiction: 5,000 words
Poetry: 3 poems per submission
Hybrid: 5,000 words (may include up to 5 images, B&W only)
Translations: 3 poems or 5,000 words of prose (must include original piece)
Book Reviews: 500-750 words (books must have been published within the past year)
How to submit
Please submit your work through submittable.
No submissions through email or mail unless you have an invite to do so from the editors. (For example, prisoners may request to do this.)
Include a bio of up to fifty words along with your cover letter.
We do our very best to respond within 6 months, but due to the volume of submissions, it can sometimes take longer.
Guidelines
-Reading fee of $3. (For a fee waiver, reach out to the editors).
-International submissions are welcomed, but English only this year.
-Multiple submissions are welcome at $3 per submission, but please, no more than one submission per genre at a time.
-Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you notify us if it’s accepted elsewhere.
-No submissions from current FIU students.
-If we have published your work, please wait one year after your publication to submit again. For example, if you were published in Issue 37, please do not submit for Issue 38, but feel free to submit for Issue 39 (visual art and contest submissions are exempt and can submit for every issue).
-Submissions accepted from FIU alums two or more years after graduation.
Copyright Info
We hold first serial rights for the material we publish, with the copyright reverting back to the author upon publication.
Reviews & interviews
No unsolicited submissions or requests, please.
Contact
Sometimes, the English language is simply not enough to say what needs to be said. Certain feelings are experienced in another language and so too are the lines and stanza and scenes that come out of them. And sometimes, in the act of translating those lines and feelings from one language to another, we can come to understand them in new ways. We want to try and lean into this multivalence of expression by offering a space for translations. The works translated can be your own pieces or be written by fellow authors, so long as you receive the author's permission, which we request you make sure you have before submitting. Translations must be accompanied by the original work, a short bio of the author and translator, and a description of how the translation came to be (we are interested in the connections made not only between language but between authors and between the different iterations of the content). Additionally, we request you include the original publication history. The original piece can be previously published so long as the author has retained the publication rights, which we recommend you also check before submitting. Currently, we are only accepting Spanish-English translations as that is all our staff has the ability to work on, but we hope to expand this in coming issues. Both the original work and the translation must be created without the use of AI. Not sure if your work is suited to our magazine? Check out our theme description for more guidelines, and find out what we like by reading our current issue.
Limits
We accept poetry submissions with up to 3 poems total and fiction, CNF and Hybrid manuscripts up to 5,000 words. For stories of 1,000 words or less, you may send up to 3 stories in a single submission, all of which should be included in the same document and each piece should begin on a new page. Original works should be in the same document as the translations.
How to submit
Please submit your work through submittable.
No submissions through email or mail unless you have an invite to do so from the editors. (For example, prisoners may request to do this.)
Include bios of up to 50 words for the original author and the translator, a brief contextualization of the translation, and original publication history along with your cover letter.
Guidelines
-Reading fee of $3. (For a fee waiver, reach out to the editors).
-International submissions welcomed, but English only this year.
-Multiple submissions welcome at $3 per submission.
-Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you notify us if it’s accepted elsewhere.
-No submissions from current FIU students.
-Submissions accepted from FIU alumni 2 or more years after graduation.
Copyright Info
We hold first serial rights for the material we publish, with the copyright reverting back to the author upon publication.
Contact
gulfstreamlitmag@gmail.com
What we publish We want stories that scare us, that arouse us, that overwhelm us with joy or with misery - stories that make us feel something. Maybe they teach us something that we didn't know or maybe they leave us with a more meaningful understanding of something we thought we understood but hadn't seen through your eye and the eyes of your characters. We want characters we know in our bones or want desperately to meet, characters who stay with us and who we carry around like family or blood enemies or both. We want a voice that reads distinctly and utterly like you, that we can hear in every line from the first paragraph to the last. We don't care if your story is 2 pages or 20, we just want those pages to move us some place new by the time we get to the end. Work must be original, created without the use of AI, and previously unpublished. Not sure if your work is suited to our magazine? Check out our theme description for more guidelines, and find out what we like by reading our current issue.
Limits We accept fiction manuscripts up to 5,000 words. For stories of 1,000 words or less, you may send up to 3 stories in a single submission, all of which should be included in the same document and each piece should begin on a new page.
How to submit Please submit your work through submittable. No submissions through email or mail unless you have an invite to do so from the editors. (For example, prisoners may request to do this.) Include a bio of up to 50 words along with your cover letter.
Guidelines -Reading fee of $3. (For a fee waiver, reach out to the editors). -International submissions welcomed, but English only this year. -Multiple submissions welcome at $3 per submission. -Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you notify us if it’s accepted elsewhere. -No submissions from current FIU students. -Submissions accepted from FIU alumni 2 or more years after graduation.
Copyright Info We hold first serial rights for the material we publish, with the copyright reverting back to the author upon publication.
Contact gulfstreamlitmag@gmail.com
What we publish We're looking for poems that have a pulse, whether rhythmic or racing. We want pieces with blood flowing through them. We want to read poems about love and heartbreak, we want sexy poems and sad poems, we want poems of life changing horrors and everyday truths, occasionally we like poems about flowers. What we want most is a poem that stays with us, that lives with us, that we can't look away from and can't unsee and wouldn't want to if we could. Work must be original, created without the use of AI, and previously unpublished. Not sure if your work is suited to our magazine? Check out our theme description for more guidelines, and find out what we like by reading our current issue.
Limits Please send up to 3 poems per submission. All poems should be included in a single document, with each piece starting on a new page.
How to submit Please submit your work through submittable. No submissions through email or mail unless you have an invite to do so from the editors. (For example, prisoners may request to do this.) Include a bio of up to 50 words along with your cover letter.
Guidelines -Reading fee of $3. (For a fee waiver, reach out to the editors). -International submissions welcomed, but English only this year. -Multiple submissions welcome at $3 per submission. -Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you notify us if it’s accepted elsewhere. -No submissions from current FIU students. -Submissions accepted from FIU alumni 2 or more years after graduation.
Copyright Info We hold first serial rights for the material we publish, with the copyright reverting back to the author upon publication.
Contact gulfstreamlitmag@gmail.com
What we publish Our CNF tastes are about as varied as the genre. We love a vulnerable memoir that tells the truth standing naked in a mirror just as much as we love an essay that reshapes the way we imagine a place we've never been or changes the way we hear the lyrics of a song we thought we knew the lines to. We love a piece that propels us along a straight line through time and memory just as much as we love a piece that winds and meanders through musings and emotions in moves we can't quite predict but somehow make sense in the end. Mostly, we love CNF that feels like we're talking to someone we trust, someone we know is being honest, someone we want to have conversations with because we like the way they think and we like the way they make us think. Work must be original, created without the use of AI, and previously unpublished. Not sure if your work is suited to our magazine? Check out our theme description for more guidelines, and find out what we like by reading our current issue.
Limits We accept creative nonfiction manuscripts up to 5,000 words.
How to submit Please submit your work through submittable. No submissions through email or mail unless you have an invite to do so from the editors. (For example, prisoners may request to do this.) Include a bio of up to 50 words along with your cover letter.
Guidelines -Reading fee of $3. (For a fee waiver, reach out to the editors). -International submissions welcomed, but English only this year. -Multiple submissions welcome at $3 per submission. -Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you notify us if it’s accepted elsewhere. -No submissions from current FIU students. -Submissions accepted from FIU alumni 2 or more years after graduation. -We respond within 1 month of the submission period close date.
Copyright Info We hold first serial rights for the material we publish, with the copyright reverting back to the author upon publication.
Contact gulfstreamlitmag@gmail.com
What we publish
We want your hybrids that defy easy categorization. Send us your lyric essays, your haibuns, your prose poems anything else that blends genre and bends genre, breaks genre or maybe even makes a new genre. Of all the tabs in this submittable portal, this one is the hardest to define, which is the point - we're looking for the kind of work that redefines the form rather than strictly adhering to it. Work must be original, created without the use of AI, and previously unpublished. Not sure if your work is suited to our magazine? Check out our theme description for more guidelines, and find out what we like by reading our current issue.
Limits
We accept hybrid manuscripts up to 5,000 words. If your work includes visual components, we are currently only accepting pieces with a maximum of 5 images.
How to submit
Please submit your work through submittable. No submissions through email or mail unless you have an invite to do so from the editors. (For example, prisoners may request to do this.) Include a bio of up to 50 words along with your cover letter. If the submission requires special formatting, please any include requests and instructions in your cover letter and feel free to send PNG or PDF files in the submittable messages to the editors in addition to your primary chosen file upload.
Guidelines
-Reading fee of $3. (For a fee waiver, reach out to the editors).
-International submissions welcomed, but English only this year.
-Multiple submissions welcome at $3 per submission.
-Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you notify us if it’s accepted elsewhere.
-No submissions from current FIU students. Submissions accepted from FIU alumni 2 or more years after graduation.
Copyright Info
We hold first serial rights for the material we publish, with the copyright reverting back to the author upon publication.
Contact
gulfstreamlitmag@gmail.com
We are searching for book reviews on books that have been published within a year. Send us reviews that contain a brief summary, and an analysis that really gives us perspective and a unique take on literature. Book reviews are expected to be within 500-750 words, have the book title, author name, and year of publishing. Reviews should focus on books published within the past year, although in certain cases, exceptions can be made.
Guidelines:
- All submissions must be in English.
- We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if the review is accepted elsewhere and you wish to withdraw it from consideration.
- Submit as a .doc, .docx, .rtf, or PDF file format.
General submissions for visual art are now open Although Gulf Stream Magazine is predominately a literary journal, we also publish visual art. Our aims are to enhance our issues and provide a platform for up-and-coming artists. Unfortunately, we can't pay for the art we publish (yet). But our magazine does offer you a chance to get your work independently published and seen by a large audience. If we select your work, we would also publish your artist’s bio, website and social media links. What are we looking for? We consider original work by the artist in any medium, including painting, drawing, photography, graphic illustrations, photos of installations or sculptures. We have eclectic tastes—we like the pretty and the ugly, the loud and quiet. If it is fresh and original, please send it our way. Take a look at our theme description for more guidelines! Guidelines Please submit no more than 5 pieces per submission. Give each image file the correct title as you would like it to appear in the issue, if accepted. Upload as .jpg format, at the highest resolution possible at no more than 100K. To understand the difference between resolution and file size, and how your image will appear on our site, please see this helpful Wordpress article on Image Size and Quality. Fine Print Our fee is the minimum possible to cover our submittable costs. For a fee waiver, reach out to the editors. Copyright Info We hold first serial rights for the material we publish, with the copyright reverting back to the author upon publication. Contact gulfstreamlitmag@gmail.com
We're thrilled to announce a Gulf Stream Flash Prose Contest!
About Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream Literary Magazine champions vibrant and eclectic literature and art. Based in beautiful Miami, Florida, we publish emerging and established writers from the USA and beyond.
Previous contributors include Hanif Abdurraqib, Tony Hoagland, Jensen Beach, Kristen Arnett, Steve Almond, Jan Beatty, James Carlos Blake, Lee Martin, Robert Wrigley, Dennis Lehane, Liz Robbins, Stuart Dybek, David Kirby, Ann Hood, Ha Jin, B.H. Fairchild, Naomi Shihab Nye, F. Daniel Rzicznek, and Connie May Fowler.
The Prize
The winner will receive a cash prize of $125 plus publication in Issue #38 (online). Please read over the theme description before submitting.
Two runners-up from each category will be published in Issue #38 and reimbursed their entry fee.
The Details
Fiction, creative nonfiction, and hybrid submissions of up to 1,000 words max. You may submit a maximum of two flash prose pieces per submission.
Submissions will be judged blindly. Our readers will choose the top ten to fifteen pieces to send to our final judge. The judge will then choose the first place winner and two runners-up.
All submissions will be considered for publication whether or not you are chosen as a finalist.
Closes on Monday, March 30, 2026.
Judge
Julie Marie Wade's recent collections includeThe Mary Years (Texas Review Press, 2024), selected by Michael Martone for the 2023 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize,Quick Change Artist: Poems (Anhinga Press, 2025), selected by Octavio Quintanilla for the 2023 Anhinga Prize in Poetry,Fisk, By Analogy (CutBank Prose Chapbook Series, 2025), andThe Latest: 20 Ghazals for 2020 (Harbor Editions, 2025), co-authored with Denise Duhamel. A finalist for the National Poetry Series and a winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir, Wade teaches in the creative writing program at Florida International University in Miami and makes her home with Angie Griffin and their two cats. Her newest memoir, Other People's Mothers, was published in September 2025 by University Press of Florida.
Entry conditions
-Entry fee is $12
-Contest closes 11:59 PM on March 30, 2026.
-Submit via Submittable. No submissions through email or mail
-Submissions no more than 1,000 words; no more than two pieces per submission.
-Submitted work must be original and previously unpublished
-Do not include any identifying features on your submission, only on the cover letter
-Include a cover letter with a short bio of up to 50 words
-International submissions welcomed
-Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you notify us if it’s accepted elsewhere
-Please direct questions or comments to gulfstreamlitmag@gmail.com
-Submissions from current FIU students not accepted. Submissions accepted from alums 2 or more years after graduation
-By submitting, you agree to receive email marketing updates about the contest & general submissions.
The Gulf Stream Poetry Contest is back!
About Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream Literary Magazine champions vibrant and eclectic literature and art. Based in beautiful Miami, Florida, we publish emerging and established writers from the USA and beyond.
Previous contributors include Hanif Abdurraqib, Tony Hoagland, Jensen Beach, Kristen Arnett, Steve Almond, Jan Beatty, James Carlos Blake, Lee Martin, Robert Wrigley, Dennis Lehane, Liz Robbins, Stuart Dybek, David Kirby, Ann Hood, Ha Jin, B.H. Fairchild, Naomi Shihab Nye, F. Daniel Rzicznek, and Connie May Fowler.
The Prize
The winner will receive a cash prize of $125 plus publication in Issue #38 (online). Please read over the theme description before submitting.
Two runners-up from each category will be published in Issue #38 and reimbursed their entry fee.
The Details
Poetry submissions of up to 5 poems.
Submissions will be judged blindly. Our poetry readers will choose the top ten to fifteen poems to send to our final judge. The judge will then choose the first place winner and two runners-up.
All submissions will be considered for publication whether or not you were are chosen as a finalist. If you submit to the contest and to our general submissions, please make sure you are submitting a completely different packet.
Closes
March 30, 2026
Judge
Selected by President Obama as the fifth Presidential Inaugural Poet in U.S. history, Richard Blanco was the youngest, the first Latinx, immigrant, and gay person to serve in that role. In 2023, Blanco was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Born in Madrid to Cuban exile parents and raised in Miami in a working-class family, Blanco’s personal negotiation of cultural identity and the universal themes of place and belonging characterize Blanco’s many collections of poetry, including his most recent, Homeland of My Body, which reassess traditional notions of home as strictly a geographical, tangible place that merely exist outside us, but rather, within us. He has also authored the memoirs FOR ALL OF US, ONE TODAY: AN INAUGURAL POET’S JOURNEYandTHE PRINCE OF LOS COCUYOS: A MIAMI CHILDHOOD. Blanco has received numerous awards, including the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize, the PEN American Beyond Margins Award, the Patterson Prize, and a Lambda Prize for memoir. He was Woodrow Wilson Fellow and has received numerous honorary degrees. Currently, he serves as Education Ambassador for The Academy of American Poets and is an Associate Professor at Florida International University. In April 2022, Blanco was appointed the first-ever Poet Laureate of Miami-Dade County.
Previous Winners
2025
First Place: Veronica A. Bettencourt for Panini Maker
Honorable Mention: Eric Lochridge for Wild Horse Island
Honorable Mention: Jacklin Farley for After Beholding the Stains On My PBR Can
Entry conditions
-Entry fee is $12
-Contest closes 11:59 PM on March 30, 2026.
-Submit via Submittable. No submissions through email or mail
-No more than 5 poems per submission
-Submitted work must be original and previously unpublished
-Do not include any identifying features on your submission, only on the cover letter
-Include a cover letter with a short bio of up to 50 words
-International submissions welcomed
-Simultaneous submissions are fine as long as you notify us if it’s accepted elsewhere
-Please direct questions or comments to gulfstreamlitmag@gmail.com
-Submissions from current FIU students not accepted. Submissions accepted from alums 2 or more years after graduation
-By submitting, you agree to receive email marketing updates about the contest & general submissions.