Thank You for Your Interest in Desert Luz.
We believe the stories of this place—and the artists who tell them—deserve care, space, and compensation.
Review our Contributor Guidelines before sharing your work with our editorial team.
Contributor Guidelines
Desert Luz is a bilingual arts and culture journal rooted in the Sonoran Desert and the US-Mexico borderlands. We publish poetry, essays, fiction, creative nonfiction, photography, and visual art that illuminates the living world of this region - its landscapes, its people, its silences, and its crossings. We are a publication of Luminental, a nonprofit arts organization based in Tucson, Arizona.
We believe that art from this region deserves to be paid for, held carefully, and given room to breathe.
Who we are looking for
We welcome submissions from writers, poets, photographers, and visual artists whose work is rooted in or deeply engaged with the Sonoran Desert, southern Arizona, and the US-Mexico border region. We publish work in English and Spanish. Bilingual and code-switching work is especially welcome.
Desert Luz is a paying market. We are committed to compensating all contributors fairly.
Submission Guidelines
Reading Periods: 10/1/2026 - 11/15/26
March 2027 Editorial Theme: First Light/Primera Luz
This season, we're seeking work that explores beginnings, emergence, and the quiet moments that bring us into the light. Like the desert at dawn, every story begins with a first light.
Simultaneous submissions: Accepted. Please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Previously published work: We accept previously published work only in exceptional cases. Please query before submitting.
Response time: Every submission receives thoughtful consideration. We aim to respond to all submissions, whether accepted or declined, within 60 days.
What We Publish
Poetry Up to 3 poems per submission. Any length. We value compression, image, and breath. If the silence in your poem is doing work, we want to read it.
Essays, Fiction & Creative Nonfiction Up to 5,000 words. Memoir, lyric essay, hybrid forms, and reported work are all welcome. We are drawn to writing that resists easy resolution.
Photography Single images or photo essays. We accept both color and black-and-white. Submit high-resolution files (300 dpi minimum) as TIFF or JPEG. Include a brief caption and a note on rights.
Visual Art Paintings, drawings, prints, mixed media, and digital work. Submit high-resolution files (300 dpi minimum). We are particularly interested in work that responds to the light, scale, and ecology of the desert Southwest.
Cover Art We accept cover art submissions on a rolling basis. Please query with samples before submitting.
Honoraria
In addition to the honorarium listed below, each published contributor will receive two complimentary copies of the edition of Desert Luz in which their work appears.
Form | Honoraria |
|---|---|
Cover Art or Photography | $250 per image |
Visual Art (interior) | $100 per piece |
Photo Essay (3–6 images) | $200 flat |
Photography (single image) | $100 per image |
Essays, Fiction & CNF | $100 per piece |
Poetry | $50 Per Poem |
Payment is made via [PayPal / check / Venmo - TBD] within 30 days of publication.
A Note on Language
Desert Luz is a bilingual journal. Work submitted in Spanish will be reviewed by our consulting reader. We do not require writers to provide their own translations. If you would like your work to appear in both languages, please note that in your cover letter and we will discuss options with you directly.
Rights
We acquire first publication rights (print and digital) for the issue in which your work appears. All other rights remain with you. We ask that you credit Desert Luz in any subsequent publication of the work.
Contact
For questions not addressed here: submissions@desertluz.org
We read everything. We are glad you're here.
Submit Your Work