Being in community to celebrate art is one of the best ways we know to combat fear and sadness. Come join us at the end of January in central Illinois when we host Alice Bolin, Ruth Awad, and Aram Mrjoian. More info here: thekeep.eiu.edu/lionsinwinte...

Wouldn't it feel good to start your new year off by sending out work? Think of us! Free subs from January 1 through February 15 in Poetry, Fiction, CNF, and Comics.

Read one get one free! (ROGO?) Both fiction editor @magicmikewrites.bsky.social and EIC Colleen Abel appear in the newest issue of Crab Orchard Review! www.siucraborchardreview.com

We've had an uptick of traffic to our site of late. Welcome one and all! We're making final decisions for our Winter 2026 issue and it will be our gift to you to start the New Year off right. (And we'll be open again in January for free submissions!)

Congratulations to Alice Bolin, whose essay collection CULTURE CREEP made NPR's Books We Love 2025 list! Come see Bolin at EIU's annual LIons in Winter festival this coming January! www.npr.org/2025/11/24/n...

Is that Aram Mrjoian we spy on this list? The very same who will be visiting us in central Illinois this January as part of our annual Lions in Winter literary festival? Seriously, read his novel Waterline; it's a triumph.

We absolutely love seeing Bluestem contributors doing amazing things in their careers and lives. Never hestitate to get in touch and let us know about a publication, an award or an accolade! [email protected]

If you're in central Illinois on Wednesday evening, come over to EIU's Booth Library where we will be featuring the prolific Ben Tanzer and EIU students Athena Ballard and Pamela Zimmerman!

Congratulations to all the nominees! Good luck everyone! Many thanks to the editors!❤️❤️❤️

Congratulations to our Best of the Net nominees! Thank you to our nominees, and to all our contributors, for their minds and words.

We don't know about you, but one of the things that reliably still brings us joy these days is a damn good reading. We are so excited to bring Jennifer Martiza McCauley to EIU this week! If you're around, we'll give you cookies and coffees and little sandwiches and, best of all, lovely words.

Check out "After Winter," a stunning poem by Katherine Gaffney in the Summer 2025 issue of @bluestemmag.bsky.social: #poetry #writing shorturl.at/xEL70

Not a surprise that they canceled creative fellowships, but the NEA’s new priorities are…odd?

Hi poetry reviewers, writers, readers: here’s a document I made of paying reviews markets. Holler at me if you see something that needs to be updated/deleted/added! 🙏 I would appreciate it. Would love this to be a community resource for freelance writers to be paid for their criticism.

You have until August 15 to submit to Bluestem! Fee free in all genres: -poetry! -fiction! -cnf! -comics!

Congratulations to Rose McLarney for being named a Best of the Net finalist for her essay, "Negative," which appeared in Bluestem! bluestemmagazine.com/fs2023/rose-...

Our central Illinois neighbors! Great things happening here...

In our latest Personal Narrative, author Colleen Abel questions whether being a writer actually helps her at all in making sense of a murder. buff.ly/xTdL4YQ

Our EIC, Colleen Abel, has an essay in @electricliterature.com today: electricliterature.com/i-thought-be...

BY THE WAY isn't now a pretty good time for lesbian werewolves? an excerpt of my novel, Sugar Moon, has been published in @bluestemmag.bsky.social ! With many thanks to Fiction editor @magicmikewrites.bsky.social: bluestemmagazine.com/s25/sarah-su...

My piece "Suburbs" is in Bluestem's summer issue <3

Our summer 2025 issue is here! Work by E.P. Tuazon, Mark Brazaitis, Joey Damiano, Chelsea Utecht, Erin Slaughter, Katherine Gaffney, Anna Zgambo, Jennifer A Sutherland, Carolyn Oliver, Nico Santana, Eddy Alvarez, Mary Senter, and Danielle Shorr. Art by Suzanne Zimmerman. bluestemmagazine.com

We've been working so hard on so many different things: new issue is days away from dropping, we've been blogging, we've been making website / archive changes. We can't wait to share it all. But today's news is this: WE ARE OPEN! FREE SUBS! Poetry, cnf, fiction, comics now through 8/15. Let's goooo

"The streets open up closer to sea—which is a dime to enter and bathe—noisy of gulls—children–sweets gobbled up in the ocean’s insistent i am god i am god i am god i am" "Leaving the Wedding in a Fever" by @casswhit.bsky.social, new poetry out today at OKD:

Went to the Oceanogràfic València and was reminded of my story “The Zoo,” published by the wonderful & enthusiastic & beautiful @magicmikewrites.bsky.social @bluestemmag.bsky.social “I was sure we’d seen jellyfish together before, but maybe not.” bluestemmagazine.com/w25/aaron-bu...

less more slowly with others for one another without glamor again and again

New blog feature: book reviews! Here's Bluestem intern Elijah Kubicek—himself a stellar fiction writer—on Han Kang's THE WHITE BOOK. bluestemmagazine.com/blog/books-t...

Here is a great litmag fundraiser that comes with awesome swag—adore @nataliesolmer.bsky.social and The Indianapolis Review. Support them here: www.bonfire.com/the-indianap...

Happy #weneeddiversebooks day. Looking for some recs? How about these from former Bluestem contributors / editors: Ayiti / Roxane Gay This Thing Between Us / Gus Moreno The Seagull and the Urn / Shome Dasgupta A Glossary of Light and Shadow / Esther Ra Dear Mothman / Robin Gow

Bluestem contributor Cassandra Whitaker!

Not Bluestem contributor Aaron Burch AND central IL poet Corey Van Landingham judging this contest! (Plus Halle Hill!) Submit, submit!

Last day to submit!!!

This poem by Prosper Ìféányí from our most recent issue may never leave you once you've read it. "Kitchen, and the piano sheds its sound. Rhythm of tang twisted such that it lilted through the room; they couldn't find his body, nor the tune." bluestemmagazine.com/w25/prosper-...

**DEADLINE EXTENDED** Get your subs in by March 7 for our Summer 2025 issue!

Send your creative work to the moon and submit to BLUESTEM 🚀 Deadline is March 1st! Submittable Link: bluestem.submittable.com/submit

Exciting news: our Spring reading series will be on Zoom, so anyone who is a fan of Allison Blevins (and who isn't?) and Travis Mossotti (ditto!), can come along! Join us March 6 at 5:00 CST! eiu.zoom.us/j/86504931543

You wake up in your mother’s womb, know what will happen, as soon as you are born, perfect, clear eyed, well-behaved. @lumchanmfa.bsky.social in @bluestemmag.bsky.social !! bluestemmagazine.com/w25/melissa-...

We celebrate Black authors all year round, but in honor of Black History Month, let's take a look at some previous contributors to Bluestem whose work you don't want to miss: "Grace" by Jerrice J. Baptiste bluestemmagazine.com/w2021/#Jerri...

It's February at long, long last. Shake off January and send us some poems, stories, essays, or comics: bluestemmagazine.com/submit

And you can hear Julia read tomorrow night at EIU AND give a craft talk! 💅 Talk: 4:00 5:30: Reading with Minda Honey and Jacqui Germain

An important Lions in Winter update. In recognition of the day of care and reflection Declared by President Gatrell and in honor of Cov Dennis, Wednesday’s Lions in Winter events will be cancelled. Thursday’s events will proceed as scheduled.

Thanks to @smilepolitely.com for featuring Lions in Winter in their weekly lineup! This Wednesday and Thursday! Free and open to the public. www.smilepolitely.com/culture/the-...

Five more days until @mindahoney.bsky.social and @finejuli.bsky.social and Jacqui Germain visit us here in Central Illinois? Chicago / St. Louis / Indianapolis friends, come on over! thekeep.eiu.edu/lionsinwinte...

BLUESTEM submissions are OPEN ✨ Submit your CNF, fiction, poetry, or comics and join the extraordinary artists to find a home at BLUESTEM. Deadline: March 1st Submit here: bluestem.submittable.com/submit

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weekly talk story about Bitter over Sweet (@sfwp.bsky.social) preorder links, @bluestemmag.bsky.social pub, and @wigleaf.bsky.social Best Small Fictions nom... www.melissallanesbrownlee.com/talk-story/2...

A poem I wrote is now out in Bluestem Magazine along with some other real beauties. Check them out!

“Old soul is what they called you on the set. You could land your mark, hit your note, dance any jig they wanted. Every lifetime you’ve lived, you remember every one…” — DHARMA INFLUENCER @lumchanmfa.bsky.social | @bluestemmag.bsky.social bluestemmagazine.com/w25/melissa-...

"The actress takes off her shoe, lifts it, brings it down like a hammer on the Ziploc bag again and again, until the plastic is shredded, the cookies a fine dust." Wow-- brilliant flash @tcboudreau.bsky.social in @bluestemmag.bsky.social bluestemmagazine.com/w25/timothy-...

Clever form and big creativity in this new piece by @tcboudreau.bsky.social in @bluestemmag.bsky.social aptly titled: “Successful Auditions for the Roles of Colleen’s Dearly Departed”