Call for Submission - Issue III: Drink & Gathering
Deadline August 31st, 2025
For this third issue, we’re thinking about Drink & Gathering: the drinks that anchor our rituals, inspire our stories, and shape our connections. Drinks can celebrate beginnings and soften endings, toast successes and mend heartaches. They can be communal or solitary, comforting or chaotic. Sometimes, it’s less about the drink itself and more about what it brings out—the memories, the stories, the conversations.
Some potential ideas are: a personal essay on the first drink you ever had—when and where, what happened to you and the people around you. A memory of sharing your first drink with your parents—what kind of drink, what kind of food, and what kind of moment was it? A cultural exploration of the tea ceremony at a traditional wedding. Or a funny poem about an afternoon gossip session with a friend over “non-herbal, but highly volatile” tea, spilling secrets and sipping slowly.
We’d love a cultural history of toasting rituals and their significance. A story about the bar you keep returning to because it feels like home, or about the unexpected connection you made over coffee on a cold day. A poem about drinking alone after a long week—how “gathering” with yourself can feel like. Or a history of drinks as symbols of rebellion and social change (coffeehouses and revolutions, anyone?).
We also welcome translated literature—stories, poems, or essays that explore drinks and gatherings across different cultures. If you have a family recipe for a special drink that was passed down through generations and needs translation, we’d love to see it along with the story behind it. Or interview your grandmother (or any elder) about the role of drinks in their traditions—whether it’s ceremonial tea, a home-brewed remedy, or a favorite café from their youth—help preserve their memories and rituals for new audiences.
We’re also interested in book and film reviews related to drinks and gatherings:
A movie where the bar becomes its own character, or a series centered around a café where everything happens.
A review of a cookbook, memoir, or novel that revolves around drinks—be it tea, wine, cocktails, or something totally unexpected.
Gatherings can be joyful, messy, bittersweet, or sacred. It can happen in a crowded bar, a quiet kitchen, or through the glow of a screen. We’re interested in pieces that explore the complexity of these moments—whether they’re about shared drinks, missed connections, or the rituals that surround them.
We welcome submissions in many forms: personal essays, cultural commentary, memoirs, poetry, short stories, flash fiction, interviews, creative recipes, and reviews. Bring us something surprising—something that blends the personal with the historical, the funny with the thoughtful, or the deeply intimate with the communal.
We read every submission and promise to reply to each one. However, we are a small team, so please expect some delay.
How to Submit
Email:
Subject Line Format: "Issue III Submission _ [Genre of Work] _ [Your Name]_[Title of Submission]"
Send your submission to writefoodandfeelings@gmail.com
OR Submit via Google Form
Submission Requirements
General Guidelines:
Maximum 5 original and unpublished works per submission across any accepted medium.
If submitting a collection of works, submit them in one email and one document with the collection title.
If submitting multiple separate works for the same issue, send each individually.
Submissions related to food/drink must include:
A recipe or the way of making in writing with detailed steps for the food, drink, or other item.
Written Submissions
Poetry: 1-5 poems.
Prose: Up to 2,500 words (maximum 2 works).
Historical deep dives connecting food and feeling or food/drink; 1,500 - 2,000.
Flash Fiction: 700-1,500 words (maximum works).
Fiction: Up to 3,000 words.
Literary translation: with original author’s consent - poetry 1-5 poems; prose & fiction up to 2,500 words (maximum 2 works). [notice: we do not accept previously published translated works.]
Other Written Works [Interviews, reviews on restaurants or food writing or food related shows/podcasts/movies, personal essays, cultural criticism, etc.]:
Maximum 2,500 words.
Screenplays: Up to 5 pages double-spaced.
File Format:
Submit as a Word document, Google Docs, or PDF.
Visual Submissions
We welcome all visual mediums that can be printed.
Accepted formats: Art, comics, prints, collages, etc.
Maximum 5 pages (up to 2 works).
Art Specifications:
Food & Feeling dimensions: 17cm x 24cm with a [bleed specification].
Additional Requirement
A short bio about yourself as a writer, artist, or creator no more than 250 words.
Payment Rates
We pay our contributors! As a self-funded publication, we offer flat rates per accepted piece. Contributors also receive a free digital copy of the issue.
$20 per interview, essay, review, or work of fiction.
$10 per poem (included translated poems).
$20 per literary translation.
$20 per artwork.
$5 per recipe.
Deadline
August 31st, 2025