WEIRD duck zine is a quarterly publication where trans writers can explore and share their perspectives on gender, sexuality, pleasure, joy, rage, and the strange terrain in between.
We welcome trans writing broadly defined. Send us lyrical prose that moves like poetry, innovative verse, analytical or academic prose, personal essays, experimental work, and fictional worlds. We are especially drawn to writing grounded in tangible experience and shaped by embodied authenticity.
WEIRD duck publishes work by transgender, nonbinary, Two-Spirit, gender-expansive, and otherwise gender-nonconforming writers.
Our Ethos
WEIRD duck celebrates the variety, contradiction, intimacy, humor, anger, imagination, and intellectual life of trans communities. We do not require contributors to explain transness for a cisgender audience. We are interested in work that is specific, curious, honest, unruly, thoughtful, and alive.
What to Submit
We accept:
- poetry (<10 pages)
- fiction
- creative nonfiction
- academic or critical prose
- hybrid work
- black & white art
Submissions may be no longer than 2,000 words total, excluding references or citations where applicable. Please send only one submission at a time. Do not submit additional work until you have received a response to your current submission.
Payment
WEIRD duck currently pays $10 for each accepted work. Each contributor will also receive one complimentary print copy of the issue in which their work appears. Payment and contributor copies will be provided after publication. Contributors are responsible for providing accurate payment and mailing information when requested.
Where to Submit
Email submissions to: weird.duck.zine@gmail.com
Please attach your work as a standard file attachment. We accept:
.doc
.docx
.rtf
We cannot accept Apple Pages files, Google Drive links, or document links.
Your email should include:
- Your name or pen name
- Your pronouns, if you would like them included
- The title and genre of your submission
- A brief third-person biography (100 words)
- Any relevant content notes
- Confirmation that the work is yours and has not been written using AI
Simultaneous Submissions
Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please notify us promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere so that you can withdraw it from consideration.
Previously Published Work
Unless a submission call states otherwise, we prefer work that has not been previously published in a print or digital publication.
Personal websites, social media posts, newsletters, workshops, classroom circulation, and informal community sharing do not necessarily count as prior publication. Please disclose any previous public appearance of the work in your submission email.
ai
Submitted work must be written by the person submitting it. We do not accept work written, rewritten, expanded, or substantially generated using artificial intelligence tools. Basic spelling, grammar, accessibility, and proofreading tools, including programs such as Grammarly, are permitted when they assist with editing rather than creating the work. Submitting AI-generated work will result in the submission being declined or withdrawn from publication.
Editing
Accepted work may receive light editing for grammar, punctuation, spelling, clarity, accessibility, and consistency with the zine’s style. We will consult contributors before making substantial changes to meaning, structure, voice, or content. Contributors will have the opportunity to review and approve significant edits before publication.
Publication Rights
Contributors retain the copyright to their work. By accepting publication, contributors grant WEIRD duck zine:
First North American serial rights for the work’s initial publication
- The nonexclusive right to publish the work in the print and digital editions of the issue
- The nonexclusive right to keep the published issue available in WEIRD duck’s archives
- The nonexclusive right to use brief excerpts from the work for promotion of the issue or zine
After the work is published, all first-publication rights return to the contributor. Contributors may republish the work elsewhere, including in collections, books, websites, or other publications.
We ask that future publications acknowledge WEIRD duck zine as the work’s place of first publication when applicable.
WEIRD duck will not sell, license, adapt, translate, or substantially alter a contributor’s work outside the agreed publication and promotion uses without obtaining permission.
Author Representations
By submitting, you confirm that:
- You created the submitted work
- You have the legal right to submit and publish it
- It does not infringe another person’s copyright or other legal rights
- Any quotations, images, research, or other third-party materials are appropriately credited or used with permission
- Any identifiable personal information about others has been included responsibly and lawfully
- The work has not been substantially created using generative AI
Withdrawal
Writers may withdraw work at any time.
After acceptance, please notify us as soon as possible if you need to withdraw your work. Because print production involves financial commitments and fixed deadlines, withdrawal may not be possible once an issue has entered final layout or printing
WEIRD duck reserves the right to withdraw an acceptance if a submission is found to violate these guidelines or if serious legal, ethical, or attribution concerns arise.