In tandem with our special double issue New Southern Writing, the High Beams section of The Headlight Review is sending out a call for a series of short meditations on specific southern experiences and how they inform your craft as a southern writer. Why do you have an affection for a particular memento of your southern experience and how has that token affected your craft as a writer and, in particular, your identity as a southern author? Do you have a published piece of writing that this southern token inspired? If so, please include a link to the published piece in your submission. Please keep the meditations under one thousand words. No submission fee!
Types of Southern Mementos
· Postcards
o Meditation on a particular place in the south
o Can be a landscape and/or manmade establishment
o Please include a photograph of the place in your submission
· Recipe Cards
o Meditation on a particular southern food
o Can be an entire meal or a side dish or a dessert
o Please include a photo of the dish(es)
· Color Palettes
o Meditation on a piece of southern art
o Can be a sculpture or painting or drawing or pottery or engraving
o Please include a photo of the art
· Sheet Music
o Meditation on a particular piece of southern music
o Can be one song a certain instrument or singer
o Please include an audio file and/or a photo of the instrument/musician/singer/album cover
· Sewing Patterns
o Meditation on a particular piece of southern clothing
o Can be one article or an entire outfit
o Please include a photo of the clothing
· Portraits
o Meditation on a particular person in the south
o Can be someone you know personally or an icon
o Please include a photo of the person
· Seed Packets
o Meditations on a particular garden plant in the south
o Can be a flower or food crop or herb
o Please include a photo of the plant
· Junk Drawer
o Meditation on a particular southern object
o Can be a family heirloom or an artifact or a mundane object of everyday life
o Please include a photo of the object
The Headlight Review seeks flash fiction and prose poems of 400 words or fewer for our second volume of “Mighty Micros.” Read the first volume here. We will review submissions until August 31.
We are open as to what a story or poem looks and feels like to each writer.
We love to be surprised.
Submit up to 3 pieces in a single document.
We aim to expedite review in two weeks or less. For this reason, we will not be offering fee waivers for this project.
Pieces will be published on a rolling basis with the issue closed September 1.
Submission fee $5.
The Headlight Review: Special Double Issue on "New Southern Writing"
As new forms of Southern writing continue to emerge, The Headlight Review seeks to shine a spotlight on the literary South and what it means to be a Southern writer today in a special double issue of the review to be published in 2026.
This double issue invites work that attempts to answer or even challenge that question and explore the shape that Southern writing takes. We seek pieces that are nuanced, complex, and rich in tradition, showing meaningful relationships to the South not just as a static backdrop but as an important theme or subject holding weight, memory, and meaning.
From the Gothic South to stories of the Southern person, we welcome the full spectrum of Southern writers who explore the South through the eyes of those who call it home, those who have left, and those who are remaking it. Through this issue, we aim to reflect, challenge, and expand the definitions of Southern writing and identity with work that captures the evolving landscapes, voices, and experiences of the South.
Fiction Guidelines:
In fiction, the South might find expression in a place, an identity, a character, or a conflict. Stories might be set in the region or feature characters from the South who find themselves elsewhere. Writers might also consider a particularly Southern aesthetic or engagement with Southern traditions, history, and/or renaissance. We are open to short fiction, flash-fiction, and experimental fiction in all styles.
General Guidelines
The Headlight Review is deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity amongst the staff and its contributors. We value varying editorial experience levels and consider aspects of identity, including race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, veteran status, or disability status, a pivotal part of artistic work. We encourage submissions from marginalized and underrepresented communities and perspectives, including emergent creators of color and those from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Please submit your manuscript with a short (1-3 sentences), third-person bio. For all submissions, please ensure that you do not include your name or other identifying information on your submission attachment. We reserve First North American electronic serial rights only; all rights revert back to the author upon publication. We ask that any reprints include the acknowledgment of first publication in The Headlight Review. THR does not offer compensation for regular publication.
Current students and recent graduates of Kennesaw State University, contest judges, and masthead members are not eligible to submit. KSU graduates become eligible to submit once 2 years have passed since graduation.
Submissions for this special issue are open until Summer/Fall of 2026. The Headlight Review staff reads for our Fall/Winter issue in August – November and the Spring/Summer edition in February – May of each year. Please expect responses to occur within those reading windows.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted when noted in your cover letter.
Thank you for your interest in The Headlight Review!
The Headlight Review: Special Double Issue on "New Southern Writing"
As new forms of Southern writing continue to emerge, The Headlight Review seeks to shine a spotlight on the literary South and what it means to be a Southern writer today in a special double issue of the review to be published in 2026.
This double issue invites work that attempts to answer or even challenge that question and explore the shape that Southern writing takes. We seek pieces that are nuanced, complex, and rich in tradition, showing meaningful relationships to the South not just as a static backdrop but as an important theme or subject holding weight, memory, and meaning.
From the Gothic South to stories of the Southern person, we welcome the full spectrum of Southern writers who explore the South through the eyes of those who call it home, those who have left, and those who are remaking it. Through this issue, we aim to reflect, challenge, and expand the definitions of Southern writing and identity with work that captures the evolving landscapes, voices, and experiences of the South.
Creative Nonfiction Guidelines
We welcome literary nonfiction stories, memoirs, and essays reflecting on the South that have a distinctive personal voice, attentiveness to language, rich details, and lyrical phrasing. We want to read a story that introduces us to a fresh perspective. We do not publish political rhetoric or academic essays.
Writers might consider some of the following themes:
- The South: Then & Now
- The New South
- Southern Aesthetics
- Who is a Southerner?
- The Urban South
- The Gothic South
- The Southern Exile
- The Postmodern South
- Migration
- Inclusivity
- Nature and Environment
- Southern Tradition
- Religion & the South
Please send one story or essay per submission. Manuscripts should be no longer than 5,000 words, double-spaced, and in standard MLA manuscript format. All genres are welcome.
General Guidelines
The Headlight Review is deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity amongst the staff and its contributors. We value varying editorial experience levels and consider aspects of identity, including race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, veteran status, or disability status, a pivotal part of artistic work. We encourage submissions from marginalized and underrepresented communities and perspectives, including emergent creators of color and those from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Please submit your manuscript with a short (1-3 sentences), third-person bio. For all submissions, please ensure that you do not include your name or other identifying information on your submission attachment. We reserve First North American electronic serial rights only; all rights revert back to the author upon publication. We ask that any reprints include the acknowledgment of first publication in The Headlight Review. THR does not offer compensation for regular publication.
Current students and recent graduates of Kennesaw State University, contest judges, and masthead members are not eligible to submit. KSU graduates become eligible to submit once 2 years have passed since graduation.
Submissions for this special issue are open until Summer/Fall of 2026. The Headlight Review staff reads for our Fall/Winter issue in August – November and the Spring/Summer edition in February – May of each year. Please expect responses to occur within those reading windows.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted when noted in your cover letter.
Thank you for your interest in The Headlight Review!
The Headlight Review: Special Double Issue on "New Southern Writing"
As new forms of Southern writing continue to emerge, The Headlight Review seeks to shine a spotlight on the literary South and what it means to be a Southern writer today in a special double issue of the review to be published in 2026.
This double issue invites work that attempts to answer or even challenge that question and explore the shape that Southern writing takes. We seek pieces that are nuanced, complex, and rich in tradition, showing meaningful relationships to the South not just as a static backdrop but as an important theme or subject holding weight, memory, and meaning.
From the Gothic South to stories of the Southern person, we welcome the full spectrum of Southern writers who explore the South through the eyes of those who call it home, those who have left, and those who are remaking it. Through this issue, we aim to reflect, challenge, and expand the definitions of Southern writing and identity with work that captures the evolving landscapes, voices, and experiences of the South.
Poetry Guidelines
Our journal prefers work that pushes the envelope conceptually, technically, or visually, challenges our perspectives, and meets us at the intersections of genres, artistic disciplines, and modes of thought. From subtle to paradoxical, we want to publish work that captures and reimagines the world in moving ways. We are open to traditional and contemporary forms.
Please send only three poems maximum per submission, formatted however the poem needs to be formatted to achieve the effect you desire. We’ll do our best to reproduce it, or we will work with you to readjust the format for our platform. All genres are welcome.
General Guidelines
The Headlight Review is deeply committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity amongst the staff and its contributors. We value varying editorial experience levels and consider aspects of identity, including race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, veteran status, or disability status, a pivotal part of artistic work. We encourage submissions from marginalized and underrepresented communities and perspectives, including emergent creators of color and those from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Please submit your manuscript with a short (1-3 sentences), third-person bio. For all submissions, please ensure that you do not include your name or other identifying information on your submission attachment. We reserve First North American electronic serial rights only; all rights revert back to the author upon publication. We ask that any reprints include the acknowledgment of first publication in The Headlight Review. THR does not offer compensation for regular publication.
Current students and recent graduates of Kennesaw State University, contest judges, and masthead members are not eligible to submit. KSU graduates become eligible to submit once 2 years have passed since graduation.
Submissions for this special issue are open until Summer/Fall of 2026. The Headlight Review staff reads for our Fall/Winter issue in August – November and the Spring/Summer edition in February – May of each year. Please expect responses to occur within those reading windows.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted when noted in your cover letter.
Thank you for your interest in The Headlight Review!