Submissions for the 2025-2026 volume are now closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted!

What we’re looking for

Poetry
— 1-4 poems, up to 8 pages total

Fiction
— Up to 4,000 words, no minimum

Creative nonfiction
— Up to 4,000 words, no minimum

Submission guidelines

Note that…

— One submission per genre. We accept multiple submissions only across genres.

— We accept simultaneous submissions, but if your piece is accepted elsewhere, let us know through either Duosuma or email ASAP.

— We do not accept reprints.

— Any submission containing hate speech, bigotry, or writing our team deems unacceptable will be rejected immediately.

Absolutely everyone is welcome to submit, and we strongly encourage submissions from BIPOC+ and 2SLGBTQIA+ writers.

Ready to submit?

Email submissions are not accepted.

Duosuma is our submission manager. You will need to create a free Duotrope account in order to submit your work—though there is an optional tip jar which will help pay for Duosuma (and coffee for our volunteer editors!)

Email submissions will not be accepted. It’s Duosuma or bust.

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Words of wisdom from our editors

Poetry

Defining poetry is a fool’s errand, so let’s just say a poem is a place where one word does the work of ten. Surprise us.

Fiction

At Headlight, we’re drawn to stories that blaze through the dark: narratives that unsettle, demand reflection, and illuminate a new path. Send us fiction that resists easy answers, that risks something, and that we simply can’t (and won’t want to) forget.

Creative nonfiction

A piece of creative nonfiction contains a nugget of truth—a thread of real—and how that is brought to life is entirely up to the writer. What never happened is not a lie, and what’s been finely polished is not an embellishment. Instead, creative nonfiction is the beauty of a story retold with retrospect, inspired by what could be, and delivered through writing that connects meaningfully to readers.

Questions? Concerns? Prophecies?

Contact us at headlightanthology@gmail.com. You could also try screaming into the wind or writing a message on the back of a leaf—but email is probably faster.

What are you doing still reading? Start writing!