FAQ
Q: What is FruitSlice?
A: Fruitslice is a quarterly publication and living archive dedicated to documenting and celebrating Queer culture. Through each issue, we aim to capture the pulse of our community, Queering the narrative around art, identity, and social change.
Q: Does Fruitslice offer any paid positions?
A: No, Fruitslice is made up entirely of volunteers. We are passionate about Queer art and dedicate our time to creating Fruitslice as a gift to our community. There are no paid positions available.
Q: How often do you look for volunteers?
A: We opened our doors for volunteers at the beginning of Issue 3 and had a great experience. We are doing it again for Issue 4 and will continue to assess if this is the best option for us.
Q: Where is Fruitslice based out of?
A: Our founder is based in Los Angeles, CA. We plan to expand events and pop-ups all over, in time.
Q: What kinds of submissions are you looking for?
A: Great question! So glad you asked.
We actively seek contributions from artists with underrepresented identities, including BIPOC, AAPI, Disabled individuals, and anyone whose voice has historically and systemically been marginalized. We are dedicated to amplifying those with intersectional identities and narratives often overlooked by mainstream media.
We are looking for artists of all ages––both young and seasoned voices.
We are looking for artists who creatively incorporate our theme into their work.
Our Style
Right now we are keen on pieces that:
Employ first-person speech and accounts of personal experiences
Share unique perspectives
Explore Queer experiences, relationships, cultures, and perspectives
Have a strong author voice
Delve into arts and culture
Analyze pop-culture / internet culture
Shed light on unexplored aspects of the human experience
Are very Gay
Embrace the unconventional, the strange, and the offbeat
Clearly execute compelling and balanced arguments
While we adore poetry and will always make space for it in our publication, we receive a high volume of poetry submissions, making it our most oversaturated genre. Because of this, we are particularly interested in receiving other genres including prose, essays, and other forms of creative nonfiction. Submissions that are more lifestyle-related or explore themes beyond poetry will have a higher chance of being published. We encourage you to experiment with different storytelling mediums to help us establish ourselves across genres.
Of course, we are looking for pieces that align with our mission and values.
Our Values:
Diversity and Intersectionality
Social Justice and Advocacy
Radical Expression
Building Community
Queer Joy
While we are at it, we do not want:
Content that discusses a minority group by authors outside that group, unless proper permissions and reliable sources from within the community are provided
Sex-negative viewpoints that stigmatize or shame sexuality
Stereotyping or caricaturing of individuals or communities
Language that alienates or excludes readers
Complex or overly academic concepts that hinder accessibility
Gratuitous sexual content or explicit language
Please note that pieces may be subjected to an editing process. This process ensures the highest quality and alignment with our mission. It may involve several drafts and a fact-checking process.
Visit our Submit page for detailed information on how to submit your work. If you have any questions or need clarification, please feel free to contact us.
Q: Will you be paying artists for submitted work that is chosen for publication.
A: TLDR; No. Not yet.
Because Fruitslice is a community grassroots project, we don’t yet have the funds to compensate our artists. However, as we begin to grow our publication, this is an extremely high priority for us.
Q: Can contributors receive free physical copies of Fruitslice?
A: At this time, we’re unable to offer free physical copies of our issues to contributors. As a growing publication with limited funds, we’re focusing our resources on creating high-quality content and keeping our digital version accessible to everyone. Our digital issues are free online forever, and we’re committed to never putting our content behind a paywall. We hope to be in a position to offer free printed versions in the future as we continue to grow and build financial sustainability.
Q: IF MY WORK IS CHOSEN FOR PUBLICATION, DO I RETAIN THE RIGHTS TO MY WORK? CAN I PUBLISH THE PIECE ELSEWHERE AFTER FRUITSLICE PUBLICATION?
A: YES. We believe in empowering our writers and artists by respecting their ownership of their work.
Here's how our copyright policy works:
In terms of publication rights, our writers retain full ownership of their work. When submitting to Fruitslice, we ask all writers to sign a copyright form. This form grants Fruitslice the right to publish, reproduce, distribute, and display the submitted work in our publication, including both print and online formats, as well as promotional materials. However, it's important to note that this agreement does not transfer ownership of the copyright to Fruitslice. Writers maintain all copyright to their contributions.
We simply request that if writers choose to share or publish their work elsewhere after it appears in Fruitslice, they credit us as first publication where appropriate.
Q: Do you accept work that has been previously published?
A: No. However, we will accept writing that has been shared on social media, in forums, read aloud at readings, or shared in a personal blog or website. In this case, we kindly ask writers to archive these works until publication date and then amend posts to note that this work has been published in Fruitslice, provide proper citing/links where necessary.
Q: Are there limits for submissions?
A: There are no limits for number of submissions. We advise against submitting pieces longer than 5 pages or over 1500 words.
Q: Do you accept simultaneous submissions?
A: Yes
Q: Do I have to be a member of the LGBTQA+ community in order to submit?
A: Yes
Q: Can I submit with a pen name?
A: Yes
Please email us at info@thefruitslice.com with any other questions.