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Foglifter Press & Journal
@foglifterpress.bsky.social
420 followers 540 following 150 posts
San Francisco based LGBTQ+ journal and press—we publish powerful, intersectional writing that queers our perspectives. 🌈 🌉
https://linktr.ee/foglifter
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foglifterpress.bsky.social
Call for submissions! 📢

Foglifter welcomes daring and thoughtful poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, and art that is cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive.

🔗 foglifter.submittable.com
[image description: background is a Castro St intersection shot from above with rainbow crosswalks. foglifter logo at top or bottom. text and images are in the center for each slide. 1. text: Issue 11.2 Call for Submissions! February 1 - April 1. Art, fiction, poetry, nonfiction, hybrid, drama. [image description: background is a Castro St intersection shot from above with rainbow crosswalks. foglifter logo at top or bottom. text and images are in the center for each slide. text: Meet our Issue 11.2 Guest Editors" with three photos. [image description: background is a Castro St intersection shot from above with rainbow crosswalks. foglifter logo at top or bottom. text and images are in the center for each slide. 3. text reads, "Fargo Nissim Tbakhi. Guest Hybrid, Nonfiction, and Drama Editor. Fargo Nissim Tbakhi is a Palestinian performance artist, and the author of TERROR COUNTER (Deep Vellum, 2025) and ANTIGONE. VELOCITY. SALT. (Deep Vellum, 2027). [image description: background is a Castro St intersection shot from above with rainbow crosswalks. foglifter logo at top or bottom. text and images are in the center for each slide. text: Maya Salameh is the author of Mermaid Theory (Haymarket Books, 2026) and How to Make an Algorithm in the Microwave (University of Arkansas Press, 2022), winner of the Etel Adnan Poetry Prize. Salameh is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship and the Markowitz Award for Exceptional New Writers. Her work has appeared in The Offing, Poetry, Gulf Coast, The Rumpus, AGNI, Mizna, and the LA Times. She can be found @mayaslmh or mayasalameh.com.
February 1, 2026 at 2:00 AM
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Sand Bodied Florida Boy is a love song to the first moment you felt believed in, when hope wasn't a question, but an answer in every breath you chose to take. - Grayson Thompson

Available in our shop: buff.ly/kGWnb41

Cover Art by Frankie Sanchez
orange cover with alligator illustration and text, "Sand Bodied Florida Boy" and "grayson thompson" in script. For Anyone Holding Their Breath this is a love poem for all boys who have never been told they were beautiful for people who do not know they smile in their sleep for the adult children who can’t call home this is a page in a story that places bets on the weight on bobcats heavy handed with a softness each pound a metaphor for you are not alone I want to tell you in the same century grief was first spoken so was breviary a word for hymn and this is a truth, god honest some of us have applied for the vacancy of being alive since before we were born our resumes half spent lifetimes never making it to the top even if we stopped ourselves from being propelled by everything that hates us I do not know who interviewed you but in that round, the one where you painted yourself a crisis someone should have told you the job responsibilities were never to hold it all in grayson thompson from sand bodied florida boy Sand Bodied Florida Boy is a love song to the first moment you felt believed in, when hope wasn't a question, but an answer in every breath you chose to take. grayson thompson. available from foglifter press.
January 24, 2026 at 9:04 PM
foglifterpress.bsky.social
in honor of aquarius season, creative prompts on liberation for your sign. 🌠 ♒ 🏺
aquarius symbol and foglifter logo. text reads, "creative prompts for aquarius season." yellow half circle graphics. text reads, "aquarius as a creative energy. the urge to question, challenge, experiment, reform, rebel, disrupt, liberate, be unique, invent, organize with others, imagine the future, break free, radicalize, QUEER THINGS UP." text reads, "creative prompts. aquarius season invites you to consider liberation. AQUARIUS: liberation as a gesture, expression, or movement. PISCES: liberation as dreams or messages from ancestors. ARIES: liberation as uniting for a common good. TAURUS: liberation as the role(s) people might play. GEMINI: liberation as beliefs, philosophies, or sacred entities. CANCER: liberation as grieving, intimacy, or mutual aid." text reads, "creative prompts. aquarius season invites you to consider liberation. LEO: liberation as relating or relationship. VIRGO: liberation as service, work, or ritual. LIBRA: liberation as joy, play, or fun. SCORPIO: liberation as loved ones and what feels like home. SAGITTARIUS: liberation as neighbors and neighborhood. CAPRICORN: liberation as values & what someone has to offer."
January 22, 2026 at 2:50 AM
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This year, we’re trying something new! We’ll be moving up our submission periods by one month: so save the dates and start thinking about what work you might like to send our way!

✨ Print Issue 11.2 ✨
February 1 - April 1, 2026

✨ Digital Issue 1.2 ✨
February 15 - April 15, 2026
purple graphic with teal circle and Foglifter logo. The header reads, “Save the Date.” text reads, “Call for Print Issue 11.2, Feb 1 - Apr 1” purple graphic with teal circle and Foglifter logo. The header reads, “Save the Date.” text reads, “Call for Print Issue 11.2, Feb 1 - Apr 1”
January 18, 2026 at 2:07 PM
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✨ foggie flashback ✨

"it's easily lost, our principle magic"
- Arisa White, "We've Been Shaped By Instruments" (Issue 1.1)

for the rest of this poem and issue 1.1, check out ebook, available at no cost on our website.
www.foglifterjournal.com/shop-11

cover art: Now We’re Strange
January 17, 2026 at 1:13 AM
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Thank you to our amazing judges Zara Jamshed, Dani Putney, and Grayson Thompson!
Text reads, “Thank you to our judges! Zara Jamshed. Dani Putney. Grayson Thompson.” Includes headshots of judges. Text reads, “Start a Riot! Chapbook Prize. In response to rapid gentrification and displacement of QTBIPOC+ literary artists in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in celebration of these communities’ revolutionary history, Foglifter Press and Still Here San Francisco joined forces to create a poetry chapbook prize for local emerging queer and trans Black writers, indigenous writers, and writers of color. Each year, one poetry chapbook author is awarded publication, a $3,000 prize, and $1,000 to support their book tour/promotion.”
January 16, 2026 at 1:15 AM
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Please also join us in congratulating our wonderful finalists, Artie Patel & Eden Julia Sugay! ❤️🔥
Text reads, “Start a Riot! Chapbook Prize Results. finalists. Artie Patel. I WONDER IF BOYS CAN SING. Eden Julia Sugay. Bakla.” Header reads, “Artie Patel" with author bio. Artie Patel (they/them) is a trans nonbinary mixed South Asian American born and raised in Santa Clara County. They attended UCLA, where they were on the senior staff of FEM Newsmagazine. They are currently a graduate student and teacher at San José State University in the English department. 5. Header reads, “Eden Julia Sugay" with author bio and headshot. Eden Julia Sugay (they/them) is a QTPOC writer and editor based in Oakland. They hold a BA in Creative Writing from Mills College and MFA in Writing from University of San Francisco. Their work has been supported by Kearny Street Workshop, Berkeley Poetry Festival, The Writers Grotto, Folkways Press, Four Leaf Collective, Kissing Dynamite, and The Walrus.
January 16, 2026 at 1:15 AM
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📣 Congratulations to our 2025 Start A Riot! Chapbook Contest winner, Reggie Edmonds-Vásquez! 📣 We're excited to publish their chapbook, ECOLOGY OF THE HOOD! 🎉
Text reads, “Start a Riot! Chapbook Prize Results. Selected for Publication. Reggie Edmonds-Vásquez, ECOLOGY OF THE HOOD. Forthcoming June 2026.” Header reads, “Reggie Edmonds-Vásquez" with author bio. Reggie Edmonds-Vásquez (they/them) is a poet, educator, and cultural curator from Richmond, CA. Their work explores Black, queer, and gender-diverse identities and has earned recognition from Nomadic Press, Afro Urban Society, and the Museum of the African Diaspora. A two-time Berkeley Grand Champion and national finalist, they direct programming at Rich Oak Events.
January 16, 2026 at 1:15 AM
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That's all folks! We're officially sold out of Issue 10.2! 🤠🌵

A very special thanks to our cover artist Anthony Hurd, our guest editors Summer Farah (Poetry), Steven Archer (Fiction), & Noam Keim (Hybrid/Nonfiction); all of our contributors; and the Foglifter team!
[image description: Cover of Foglifter Journal featuring two cowboys embracing, wearing blue jean jackets, pink scarves, and white cowboys hats. 10.2. text reads, "We're sold out of Issue 10.2."]
January 15, 2026 at 12:50 AM
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✨🎉 Subscribe to our newsletter & share your good literary news! We want to celebrate your work! 🌿🎉

Cheers, Queers! is a celebratory roundup of good news submitted from our Foglifter community.

🔗 buff.ly/P6aLFJG
orange graphic with abstract confetti. Header reads, “Cheers, Queers!” Footer reads, “Want to share your good news? Subscribe to our newsletter.” Foglifter logo. Text reads, “Cheers, Queers! ICYMI: good literary news from the foggie community”
January 14, 2026 at 1:09 AM
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meet our staff! ✨ Lee Baird recently joined Foglifter's team as print production manager!
foglifter logo with abstract blue, teal, and cream colored graphics. header reads "meet our staff" header reads "Lee Baird. Print Production Manager" followed by Lee's bio. Lee Baird (they/them) is a yonsei artist and craftsman raised on rural Miwuk land and based in the bay area, ca. Their work, which dissects transness, grief, and japanese-american incarceration, has been featured in the Shade Journal, Winter Tangerine, and Violet, Indigo, Blue, Etc. Magazine. They are a triple virgo, and you may find them at www.baird.carrd.co. header reads "Who or what inspires you creatively?" followed by Lee's answer. "I owe much of my politic and education to other japanese-american writers and artists, especially fellow descendants of those incarcerated in the second world war, who are always re/imagining what our community might move towards in the face of repetitive instances of state-sanctioned trauma. I want to make a well at which we might all drink... I like to look back at the past; I like to repeat things over and over again! For these reasons I also find inspiration in natural history museums, digital family trees, the loop function on my music app, microblogging platform archives, romantic love, and sashiko mending."
January 13, 2026 at 3:26 AM
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"The poems within these pages are like breaths in a chest as it rises and falls: a reminder that life is happening, that within us is its fierce capacity."

- Gabrielle Grace Hogan's review of BOY MAYBE by W.J. Lofton

buff.ly/UKclG1u
foglifter logo. cover of "boy maybe." headshot of W.J. Lofton. header text "Reviews" followed by text "Review of BOY MAYBE by W.J. Lofton by Gabrielle Grace Hogan"
January 9, 2026 at 2:12 AM
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Help lift up the next decade of queer and trans writers with an end-of-year gift or an auto-renew subscription to our journal.

That, and other ways to support our work, are linked here:
linktr.ee/foglifter
December 22, 2025 at 9:13 PM
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✨ Introducing The Yearning Hour—a poetry workshop for Bay Area LGBTQ+ writers (ages 18–26) led by poet, community birth worker, and Foglifter 7.1 contributor Briana Grogan (she/they).
3. Text reads, "Submissions are open. The Yearning Hour. Poetry workshop for Bay Area writers ages (18-26). Deadline: Jan 12th. Writers of all genres welcome." 3. Text reads, "Submissions are open. The Yearning Hour. Poetry workshop for Bay Area writers ages (18-26). Deadline: Jan 12th. Writers of all genres welcome." 4. Text reads, "12 sessions (1x/week). Jan 29 - Apr 16. Participants to be published in Issue 11.2. foglifter.submittable.com/submit" ]
December 18, 2025 at 1:15 AM
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Anthony Zedan reviews Aaron Shurin’s poetry collection ELIXIR for the Foglifter blog.

🔗 buff.ly/KMgoAWd
gray-green background. orange foglifter logo at top left. header text reads, "REVIEWS." 1. cover image of "Elixir" by Aaron Shurin. text reads: "The Many Secret Joys of Aaron Shurin's Poetic Legacy by Anthony Zedan. 2. Text reads: “Aaron Shurin the alchemical poet who found his place and voice in mystical San Francisco has discovered the Elixir of life—it is found in an amalgamation of imagist poetry mixed with philosophical wanderings inspired by the wonders of male lovers and being out in nature... - Anthony Zedan, on Aaron Shurin’s poetry collection Elixir" “Gay poets, we never wanted to be equal with straight desire—we aspire to exceed it and celebrate our uniqueness. - Anthony Zedan, on Aaron Shurin’s poetry collection Elixir”
December 16, 2025 at 11:47 PM
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Jenny Molberg white with a selection from their poem "Grape Jelly."
10. Graphic includes a headshot and bio of the poet Jenny Molberg white with a selection from their poem "Grape Jelly."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
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marion eames white with a selection from their poem "clever boy."
9. Graphic includes a headshot and bio of the poet marion eames white with a selection from their poem "clever boy."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
foglifterpress.bsky.social
Haley Bossé with a selection from their poem "In Which Water Becomes Audible."
8. Graphic includes a headshot and bio of the poet Haley Bossé with a selection from their poem "In Which Water Becomes Audible."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
foglifterpress.bsky.social
Gray Agpalo with a selection from their poem "Hole Theory."
7. Graphic includes a headshot and bio of the poet Gray Agpalo with a selection from their poem "Hole Theory."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
foglifterpress.bsky.social
Ranudi Gunawardena with a selection from her poem "Rituals of August."
6. Graphic includes a headshot and bio of the poet Ranudi Gunawardena with a selection from her poem "Rituals of August."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
foglifterpress.bsky.social
Ellie Howard with a selection from her poem "Rolling Cinder Blocks in the Summer."
5. Graphic includes a headshot and bio of the poet Ellie Howard with a selection from her poem "Rolling Cinder Blocks in the Summer."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
foglifterpress.bsky.social
Rayan Al-Awar with a selection from his poem "Let Me Hold It While You Pee."
4. Graphic includes a headshot and bio of the poet Rayan Al-Awar with a selection from his poem "Let Me Hold It While You Pee."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
foglifterpress.bsky.social
Janine Mogannam with a selection from her poem "Burning Haibun for the Diasporic Mind."
Graphic includes a headshot and bio of the poet Janine Mogannam with a selection from her poem "Burning Haibun for the Diasporic Mind."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
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Joshua Zeitler with a selection from their poem "You Are Here."
2. Graphic includes a headshot and bio of the poet Joshua Zeitler with a selection from their poem "You Are Here."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
foglifterpress.bsky.social
🌵 🤠 Our last Issue 10.2 poetry round-up! Including sneak peeks from contributors Joshua Zeitler, Janine Mogannam, Rayan Al-Awar, Ellie Howard, Ranudi Gunawardena, Gray Agpalo, Haley Bossé, marion eames white, and Jenny Molberg.

Issue 10.2 is now available!
www.foglifterjournal.com/shop-102
Cover of Foglifter Journal featuring two male cowboys embracing, wearing blue jean jackets, pink scarves, and white cowboys hats. Text reads, "Poetry Sneak Peeks from Volume 10, Issue 2."
December 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM