@monarch.gay inaugural issue is now live! Read my piece “sanctimonious,” originally published by @bleatingthing.bsky.social , in this issue! So honored & elated to be a part of this! 🦋
monarch.gay/sanctimonious/
* the deadline has been extended, not "are open," sorry everyone 🙃
Season's Bleatings! The deadline for ISSUE 05: FRAGMENTS OF A PAINTED CULT are now open until February 28th.
So honored to be included, I’ll be thrilled to see all of your lovely writing in the final anthology 🫶
Congrats to Liam Strong for winning in the Monarch awards for "the year of lost limbs,"
also Robert McDonald for inclusion in Best Microfiction for "Jane Goodall of the Mantid Kingdom!"
We're so proud of all our nominees! Congratulations to @godstained.bsky.social, @connorsartroom.bsky.social , @kmhanslik.bsky.social, and, of course, to @esichr.bsky.social.
The cover of Monarch 2026. A photo of a person lying on their back in a field of tall grass with their left arm covering their face. Text reads Monarch 2026, a queer literary awards anthology published by fifth wheel press.
Awardees. Michael Agunbiade, Maddox Emory Arnold, J. L. Bermúdez, C. Ray Borck, Finnian Burnett, Connor, a.d., Gion Davis, Erin Dorney, Dante Fuoco, Ranudi Gunawardena, Katy Haas, Annalisa Hansford, K.M. Hanslik, KT Herr, Jennessa Hester, Esmé Kaplan-Kinsey, Jules Kennedy, Ani King, Kyrico, Tara Labovich, Olivia Lehman, Jackson D. Moorman, Chi Pham, William Roberds-King, Cristina Sanchez, Steven Sanchez, January Santoso, Elena Sichrovsky, Mark Spero, Ashley Steineger, Liam Strong, Gordon Taylor, Holly Lyn Walrath, Cela Xié.
Finalists. Hayden Berry, Alex Bortell, Isabella Boyd, Jordan Byrum, J. J. Carey, James Diaz, Emily Franklin, Isaiah Gardner, Michael Getty, Finnley Greet, Kimberly Hall, Calvin Jones, E.G.N. Lafleur, Angel Leal, Parker Logan, Abby E. Murray, Karol Olesiak, Bleah Patterson, Rowan Procter, Eli V. Rahm, Luke Rudman, Mk Smith Despres, Meghan Sterling, Liam Strong, Wendy Vardaman, Alicia Wright, Steven C Wright.
We are elated to announce the awardees and finalists for MONARCH 2026. Thank you to all of the organizations who nominated work for making our first anthology so stunning 🦋 and a special shoutout to @esichr.bsky.social and @bleatingthing.bsky.social for the beautiful cover photograph!
Issue 8 is OPEN FOR SUBS!
Remix our works!
Mind the Off Limits List: buff.ly/xboarlD
Rules: buff.ly/W6Q0BoP
Deadline: Jan 31
#writingcommunity #artistcommunity #collage #art #indiepublishing #indielit #litmag #poetry #poetrycommunity #writingprompt
⚠️ DASHBOARD AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENT⚠️
#writingcommunity unite!
We wanna give out 3 awards to poetic pieces published in 2025 in OTHER online litmags!
Deadline: 1/31/26.
Writing Peers, Readers, & Editors can ALL nominate via Google Form: buff.ly/FMfhtG5
Rules & Details: buff.ly/vdm5FlB
⬇️ ⬇️
*rubbing hoofs together in anticipation*
ISSUE 7: INTEGRITY is now LIVE!
Please read, share, and discuss! And watch this space all week for lots of spotlights.
Thank you to everyone who is a part of this issue and our wonderful #EpistemicLitFamily!
epistemiclit.com/current-issue/
We'd love to read that poem!
“Even the Moonlight; or, Twenty-One Scenes After Death,” another flash piece, appeared in Issue Four of @bleatingthing.bsky.social
www.bleatingthingmagazine.com/current.html...
Send us work for Christmas?
A red-and-yellow toned image of a two-headed sheep standing in a field, against a backdrop of trees. The text reads: "in the pristine absence of light I become something." - Dara Goodale, at 3am on weekends ISSUE 04 BLEATINGTHINGMAGAZINE.COM
Let today's issue 04 spotlight by @daragoodale.bsky.social transform you.
READ THE ISSUE: bleatingthingmagazine.com/current.html
SUBMIT TO ISSUE 05: bleatingthingmagazine.com/submit.html
Ayeeee dat's me!
Send us work for Christmas?
A red-and-yellow toned image of a two-headed sheep standing in a field, against a backdrop of trees. The text reads: "Flesh is solid and good and it is just as much as our souls, our souls made only of finite, quantized neurotransmitters" - Anj Baker, Flesh Would Melt ISSUE 04 BLEATINGTHINGMAGAZINE.COM
Grapple with the reality of your mortal flesh alongside today's issue 04 spotlight by @anjbaker.bsky.social
READ THE ISSUE: bleatingthingmagazine.com/current.html
SUBMIT TO ISSUE 05: bleatingthingmagazine.com/submit.html
The Smart Search List of the Day is: General Literary Poetry feat. @bleatingthing.bsky.social et al. https://duotrope.com
A red-and-yellow toned image of a two-headed sheep standing in a field, against a backdrop of trees. The text reads: Details from Vampire Sunrise by Carella Keil on following slide. ISSUE 04 BLEATINGTHINGMAGAZINE.COM
A dreamy black-and-white overlay of flowers over a large window clock. A curtain of red light flares across the image.
Succumb to the gothic fantasy of today's Issue 04 spotlight by Carella Keil
READ THE ISSUE: bleatingthingmagazine.com/current.html
SUBMIT TO ISSUE 05: bleatingthingmagazine.com/submit.html
I got you lol. Made me smile
Against a backdrop of marble, a stone sheep marches with a pennant in its hoof. The overlaying text reads: ISSUE 05 PROMPTS FOR FRAGMENTS OF A PAINTED CULT The image is colored pale shades of green & pink.
Against a backdrop of marble, a stone-hewn lamb gazes up at its robed shepherd. The text bubble reads: A few guiding questions to help you interrogate the concept of classical statuary: • What disparities and/or similarities exist between the artist class, the patron class, and the consumer class? How do these manifest in the work itself? • How has the iconography of The Statue been used to signal to others coded messages about class, race, etc.? Are there counterexamples? • In which spaces (if any) do you feel represented by statues and/or sculptures? Do you seek to feel represented in these forms? Why or why not? • Find a statue/sculpture that speaks to you. How do you imagine the artist would want you to experience this work? Does their imagined experience align with your personal experience? Why or why not? The image is colored pale shades of green and pink.
Against a backdrop of marble, a staff-wielding shepherd gazes out at his flock, a lamb nestled in the crook of his arm. The text bubble reads: SUBMISSIONS OPEN DEC 1 BLEATINGTHINGMAGAZINE.COM
Here are some prompt questions to get you inspired for ISSUE 05: FRAGMENTS OF A PAINTED CULT. Submissions open on Monday for poetry, flash, essays, hybrid, and visual art.
Who's blowing up our spot this weekend?
![A red-and-yellow toned image of a two-headed sheep standing in a field, against a backdrop of trees.
The text reads:
"I was thinking about [...]
caterpillars, who re-organize
their earth-bound bodies and become winged
creatures late in life."
- James Lilliefors, Snow
ISSUE 04
BLEATINGTHINGMAGAZINE.COM](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eqjsnqeoqdt7vlxkrzoz6box/bafkreiedhndpxrzl5ki7d2bjfcoxebc6ipadftg3tnbhqfsbezppfpeiey)
A red-and-yellow toned image of a two-headed sheep standing in a field, against a backdrop of trees. The text reads: "I was thinking about [...] caterpillars, who re-organize their earth-bound bodies and become winged creatures late in life." - James Lilliefors, Snow ISSUE 04 BLEATINGTHINGMAGAZINE.COM
Reckon with the ephemerality of our natural life alongside today's Issue 04 spotlight by James Lilliefors
READ THE ISSUE: bleatingthingmagazine.com/current.html
SUBMIT TO ISSUE 05: bleatingthingmagazine.com/submit.html
It's because of all the lamb emojis isn't it
Google's age verification AI thinks minors are running our account. & This is what the global economy has thrown its weight behind.
A red-and-yellow toned image of a two-headed sheep standing in a field, against a backdrop of trees. The text reads: Details from Loner by Rachel Turney on following slide. ISSUE 04 BLEATINGTHINGMAGAZINE.COM
A black-and-white photo of a baboon crossing a field of dead grass. Away in the distance, a lake and barn are visible against the horizon.
Find companionship in unexpected places in today's Issue 04 spotlight by @rachelturney.bsky.social
READ:
bleatingthingmagazine.com/current.html
SUBMIT TO ISSUE 05: bleatingthingmagazine.com/submit.html
SEND
POEMS - tinyurl.com/yktav9tc
FLASH - tinyurl.com/2f8ahsee
ESSAYS - tinyurl.com/yhmwd39r
HYBRID - tinyurl.com/4k59yppj
VISUAL ART - forms.gle/kdwkBzvNwNVW...
Against a backdrop of marble, a flower grows from a broken statue of a bird in a cupped pair of hands. The statue is obscured by the text, which announces: ISSUE 05: FRAGMENTS OF A PAINTED CULT sculpture garden/classical statuary The image is colored pale shades of green & pink.
Against a backdrop of marble, a staff-wielding shepherd gazes out at his flock, a lamb nestled in the crook of his arm. The text bubble reads: SUBMISSIONS OPEN NOW THRU JAN 31 BLEATINGTHINGMAGAZINE.COM
SUBMISSIONS ARE !! OPEN !! For our fifth issue now thru JAN 31
Guidelines and theme description are available @ bleatingthingmagazine.com/submit
