Beyond the Romance: Paid Call for Submissions on the Evolution of Queer Relationships
Seeking personal essays, poetry and visual art on the "shift" and how queer love evolves, breaks, stretches and rebuilds.
There’s a specific friction in the moment love changes shape. Whether it is opening up a marriage, navigating a partner's transition, or watching a romance soften into a lifelong platonic bond, queer love is constantly evolving.
We want to feature your stories of transition, new phases, and relationship evolutions.
Tell us about your shift!
We’re offering a 20% discount to become an annual subscriber. That means you’ll pay $24 for the entire year!
**(if you’re currently paying $5 a month, consider upgrading since it will save you a bundle and help keep QLP growing and publishing essays, poetry and supporting queer creativity)**
As you know by now, we accept personal essays on a rolling basis that reveal heartbreaks, happiness, secrets, reflections on coming out, sexual encounters, and the contemporary realities of dating. The intersection of families and other versions of “love” all make sense as we investigate the question: “What do we know about love?”
Your nonfiction piece should have a clear take away from the experience, so it’s not just an anecdote but shows that there was some growth or lesson learned. Think “Modern Love”—but only queer stories.
Along with our general call for submissions, we are currently seeking essays that are focused on the theme:
The Evolution of Queer Relationships
We all know queer relationships rarely follow a straight line. We rewrite the rules of intimacy, turn best friends into family, and build milestones out of thin air. But what happens after the initial spark? We are looking for pieces about the exact moment the ground moved—the quiet, messy or beautiful evolution of your relationship.
Deadline for submissions
September 30, 2026
Payment: We pay $75 for personal essays upon publication.
Send to QueerLoveProjectSub@gmail.com
(NOTE: We do not accept AI-generated or AI-assisted writing.)
Also of note: You MUST be a registered (free) subscriber to QLP to be considered for submission, and we encourage you to read several of the 100+ essays we’ve published to familiarize yourself with the vast array of topics, style and tone.
Don’t worry! If you’re an emerging writer and you’re worried that your essay is not 100% polished, we offer developmental edits to all writers who submit. So don’t fret and send your best piece today!
(Seeking 1-on-1 coaching or editing advice? Consider upgrading to
Catalyst Member, which is one of the perks offered at that tier.)
For more information on submission guidelines and other prompts, visit:
How to Submit to The Queer Love Project
We are always seeking personal essays and publish a new one every Wednesday, which we share with our thousands of engaged subscribers.
We are also interested in your poetry and if you want to share your visual art that is focused on this theme. You can see more about our guidelines for success poetry submissions here and watch the video with QLP Poetry Editor Riley M. Hollars as well.
Have further questions? Leave them in the comments, email us, Message us via the Substack app or visit our chat and join the community discussion.
I've posted your call for subs on our site WinningWriters.com