Essays, Fiction, & Poetry
Writing that can turn heads, open hearts, and change minds.
We publish personal essays, short stories, and poems by established and emerging writers from all over the world.
We encourage submissions from writers whose perspectives are underrepresented in or missing from The Sun. We are particularly looking for work by writers of color, queer and trans writers, writers with disabilities, incarcerated writers, and others who are marginalized on the basis of their circumstances or identity.
Writing from The Sun has won the Pushcart Prize and the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers.
Our contributors’ work has also been selected for many of the Best American anthology series, including Best American Essays, Poetry, Short Stories, Spiritual Writing, Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Sports Writing.
Personal Essays
$200 and up, based on page length
Send us your essay that’s too personal for any other journal — the one where you’re so unguarded you need editors you can trust and compassionate readers who will honor your vulnerability.
Share a clear-eyed reflection on your big mistakes, a joyful celebration of your hard-won victories, or a testament that makes a newsworthy event feel intimate instead of faceless.
We’re looking for essays that seek to understand the world from a fresh perspective and that wrestle with questions that resist easy answers.
Read sample essaysFiction
$200 and up, based on page length
Send us your emotionally honest story — the one that helps us learn what it feels like to be someone else.
Share satire that hits close to home, tragedy that's cathartic without being manipulative, or a parable that lingers long after we finish reading.
We’re looking for stories in any genre of fiction that take risks to tell us something true about ourselves.
Read sample storiesPoetry
$200 and up, based on page length
Send us your poem that basks in the mysteries of the universe — the one where the smallest detail tells us about our place in the world.
Share reflections on your relationships, questions for God, or an elegy for something you’ve lost.
We’re looking for poems — usually narrative but always accessible — that invite us into your confidence and lead us to revelation.
Read sample Poems