We publish personal essays, short stories, poems, and black-and-white photography in print and online in our monthly magazine.
We’re looking for narrative writing and evocative photography from all over the world. Send us work that maps the human landscape, where the light catches on the faintest joy, where darkness sometimes threatens to overwhelm, and where ✗ never marks the spot because the truth is never so simple.
First-time authors and award-winners alike find their place in The Sun. We are particularly interested in submissions from marginalized voices.
Our uncommonly supportive community of readers includes 60,000 print subscribers and thousands more website visitors. And The Sun is ad-free, so when we share your work, we don’t crowd it with distracting sales pitches.
Detailed submission guidelines, including our compensation rates, are available on our website.
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. Click here for submission guidelines and payment rates.
Readers Write asks readers to address subjects on which they’re the only authorities. Topics are intentionally broad in order to give room for expression. We publish only nonfiction in Readers Write.
Writing style isn’t as important as thoughtfulness and sincerity. There is no word limit, but we encourage you to familiarize yourself with the section before you submit.
Please review our full submission guidelines and sample writing to ensure your work is a good fit.
Upcoming Topics
Dirt
Due July 1
Do your pets and your kids track it in the house every day? Do you like the look of it under your fingernails after a day in the garden? Maybe you’ve got some good dirt on a friend. Or maybe you’re preoccupied by the idea of spending eternity under it after you’re dead. Dig deep and send us your true stories on “Dirt.”
Drama
Due August 1
Do you have a flair for the dramatic or crippling stage-fright? Did you nail your solo in the high-school musical or forget your lines at a community-theater production? Tell us about the time you were Joseph in the living nativity, how you fell in love with improv, or about a particularly drama-laden family dinner. True stories from audience, cast, and crew welcome, but don’t spend too long rehearsing: the curtain falls on this topic on August 1.
We’re interested in black-and-white photographs. We’re not looking for photojournalism, just unique perspectives on the world around us — especially human interactions.
Please review our full submission guidelines and sample photographs before sending us your work.