It’s almost fall, y’all! That means LLZ is opening up submissions for our fourth issue!

This issue has NO THEME! I likely will not be doing another theme again for a long, long time. However, it is fall and I would love to see more seasonal submissions! I thought about doing a Halloween theme, but two themed issues back to back seemed like a lot. Maybe next year!

We also have some amazing events coming up in the NJ/NYC area! Check those out below!

Also…. our new bookmarks are in! If you missed it, we had a bookmark design contest! Two wonderful designs were chosen, and if you buy a copy of LLZ now, you will be receiving one of those bookmarks for free!

Submission Guidelines!

Literary Submissions

• Work will be printed as a 5.5x8.5 inch booklet.

• We accept poetry, essays, short stories… anything that can be written out! Plays, fiction, excerpts from longer works… etc.

• The goal of LLZ is to capture lesbian history, culture, present, and pleasure of being a lesbian.

• You may send up to two written works, but no piece should be longer than 5,000 words.

• No annoying fonts, no colors, no images!!

• $3 submission fee! (option for waived fee!) See form for more details.

• Compensation: You will be given a free copy of the zine and a writer’s spotlight on our Instagram with your bio and a few words about your piece (if you would like to).

  Submit Here!

Cover Art Submissions

• Art will be printed as a 5.5x8.5 inch, perfectly bound book. Please ensure your work fits this size or it will automatically be tossed!

• Image is preferable at 300 dpi

• Any style of art is fine as long as it is sent to us as a PDF for print file.

• We will take collages, line art, photos, paintings, cross stitch, quilting, chalk, anything!

• I would prefer SFW, lets (try to) keep it PG-13. But if it’s NSFW but really good... submit it and see what happens.

• Compensation: You will be given a free copy of the zine and an artist spotlight on our instagram with your bio and a few words about your piece (if you would like to).

  Submit Here!

LLZ Tea
LLZ Tea is our Q&A segment for our readers!

Fall 2026 question: Queer in the Kitchen! What’s Cookin’, good lookin’?

LLZ wants to know what recipes you’re bringing to the potluck! Is there a lunch you’re obsessed with meal prepping? A soup you can’t wait to make in the fall? A cookie recipe you’ve been passing down in your family for generations?

Submit Here!

Sapphic Shelf
What is on your sapphic shelf?

We want to know what else our readers are reading! Whether it’s other zines, substacks, the latest fantasy book, or a letter your friend sent. Tell us!

For our Fall issue... maybe give us some spooky horror recs??

Submit Here!

Advice Column- Ask Em Dash!
Advice for lesbians, by lesbains!

Are you struggling to deduce the best way to seduce that hot butch at your gym? Need help figuring out how to navigate a situationship with your ex’s situationship? Struggling to navigate family ties amidst the current geopolitical context Look no further - your local dyke is here to advise on any shenanigans or serious matte going on in your life!

If your question is chosen, it will be answered in our next issue!
Submit Here!

Events coming up!

September 5th- Lavender Market
BOYFRIEND co-op café + bar
Brooklyn, NY

Join us September 5th for our medieval edition of Lavender Market! Think Ren Fair, lesbian edition. Featuring 14 lovely vendors, community crafts (we’re making felt crowns and garlands!), tarot, raffles/giveaways, games, and yummy treats from Boyfriend Co-Op... you won’t want to miss it! Bring a date, some friends, or just yourself ;)

September 12th- Lunar Faire
Middlesex County Fairgrounds
East Brunswick, NJ

Shopping, potions, attractions, food, public transportation, & the best night you’ve had in at least a moon!

***September 17th- Mini Zine Workshop!

Essex County, NJ

Shh… you all are hearing it first! I will be running a mini zine workshop at my dance studio! I do not have more info yet… but save this date!

October 3rd- NYC Queer Zine Fair
The Center, NYC

It’s all in the name! A fair for queer zines in NYC!

October 10th- The Great Big Bookswap
Dover Sportsplex
Dover, NJ

For book lovers and passionate readers! Swap pre-loved books, enjoy music, merch, & treats at this indoor swap with coffee house vibes.

October 24th- Lunar Faire
The Sussex County Fairgrounds
Augusta, NJ

Halloweekend!!!! Your favorite witchy and weird night market is going to be jam-packed with the best stuff around! How do I know it’s your favorite faire and/or festival? Because we’ve been voted Sussex County’s best fair/festival 4 years in a row thanks to you all! We’ve sent the Sussex County Fair and the Christmas Market and the Sparta Ren Faire our condolences.

November 7th- The Great Big Book Swap
Dover Sportsplex
Dover, NJ

For book lovers and passionate readers! Swap pre-loved books, enjoy music, merch, & treats at this indoor swap with coffee house vibes.

PLEASE let me know if you are coming to any of our events! I love to meet with you all!

Happy writing!

Hi dykes!

LLZ 3 is off to the printers! After a long and exhausting editing period… our Summer 2026 issue is finally coming to life at my local book printer.

When I dubbed LLZ 3 as the ‘loser lesbian issue’… and received a lot of confusion… I knew that couldn’t be the title. So what would be the title? With Sanctuary, I stole the title of the cover art. When Dez told me the title of their art piece, I knew it would be the perfect title for that issue. But with this issue, nothing seemed right.

So I put titling the issue aside and focused on editing. Once all the pieces were in place and the cover art was selected… I scrolled through the table of contents and landed on the last poem. That poem is called ‘Positively Electric’ by Riley Woo. Her poem is the perfect representation of what I wanted out of this issue and so that is what this issue is called! I cannot wait for you all to read her poem and the rest of this issue!

SUMMER 2026 TITLE: POSITIVELY ELECTRIC

I had a similar issue with our cover art. I had no idea what direction I even wanted to go in. And then… Asher (@clampubo) sent her illustration in. This piece is called ‘bathrooms aren’t just for crusin’ and celebrates everything I wanted for this issue. Community, friendship, everyday life, and the beauty of lesbianism outside of romantic relationships. And I think Asher’s work is a beautiful depiction of those ideas!

So, this is the cover for LLZ’s third issue! Isn’t she just stunning? One might say she is… positively electric….

I am so freaking excited for this one! There are so many amazing pieces in store… a tarot spread, a song from a local NJ band, a field guide, dyke magic and mayhem… this issue has everything!

Table of Contents

Biggest Loser in Hobby Lobby by Alaire Walker

Super Moon Friendship Ritual by Sarah Heitler

Four Feet Tall by Mimi Noelle

Lesbian Tarot Spread by Rachel Gaylord

High School Musical Made Me Gay! by Fiona McCoppin

yes fats, yes femmes by Laura Wagner

Subway Saints by O.H. Bernhard

black fat dyke: try saying that three times fast by Mari Tomlinson

To Jan Moore by Lucia Assenza

Space for Lesbians by Corivelle

Pickle Dusted Pretzels by Liberty Brooke

If I Could Gays into the Future by Renaissance Alexandre

NYC Dykes by Jesse Rusche

Self-Portrait As Door Guy At The Friday Night Drag Show by A.D. Warrick

Lesbian Identities: Pornography, Perversions, and Persecutions by Lee Klodner

femme & butch loser friendship by August

Field Guide to Solitude Lesbiana wandera (George, 2026) by Allie George

After the Funeral by Raisa Rahman

Losing a Marriage and Finding Myself by Katie McClung

Sweet Potato of a Stoned Cliff by S.E.D.

Not What the Game Intended: Butch Masculinity and the Character Creator by Caleb Weinhardt

Life after college by Eden Burrow

Mona by The Band Palm

Men’s Clothes by Caelan Sutcliffe

Garden for Lesbians by Charlotte Olivia Panicoe

Positively Electric by Riley Woo

So when will this issue be out??

Positively Electric will be available for purchase Friday, July 24th!

You all will be the first to know when this issue is available so keep an eye out for that email.

Until then, enjoy this beautiful artwork and follow us on Instagram for more sneak peaks about LLZ 3!

Subscribe now

I typically do donations based on the run of an issue… but this month I wanted to do something more for Pride Month. I was going to do a discount or something, but fuck that. Lets do some real work!

Pride Month cannot be celebrated in isolation from protesting.

Pride is a protest. Pride is a fight. Pride is an acknowledgment of how far we have come and the carving of path for how much more work we have to do.

Pride is not a party while our friends, loved ones, neighbors, and families are in literal internment camps.

All profits from our June sales will be going to various causes supporting the legal funds, food funds, and needs of the protestors at Delaney Hall.

Delaney Hall is one of the biggest ICE facilities on the East Coast, and it is located right in my own county in Newark, New Jersey. There have been protestors outside for months. There is a hunger strike going on inside. The conditions are disgusting. ICE is inciting violence against the protestors. Our governor is doing jack shit. State police have been deployed there. The protestors need help. Those detained need support.

Our goal is $300 but I believe we can do better than that. LLZ was started on the goal of raising funds for important causes and creating a resource for mutual aid and I would like our impacts to keep growing.

I am so proud of the community we have built, so lets use our numbers for some important work this month.

I know that is a lot of money to raise in a month. I am not waiting to donate either. I will be sending money in every few days. So far, we are on day 3 and we have raised $58! Lets keep it going!

Any of the zines on my website, LLZ or my own work, are included in this fundraiser!

Shop LLZ Here!

The submission period for our Summer 2026 issue aka LLZ III aka the Loser Lesbian Issue is closing on 11:59PM on Sunday the 24th!

All links to submissions can be found here!

I would still love some more submissions for our LLZ Tea segment, where we want to know how you found, create, and sustain community with other queer folk! Do you run a gay crafting circle? Organize food drives for those in need? Create a monthly dyke book club? Sew binders for trans youth? Give talks about queer history? Community is vital to our health and wellbeing. There is little more importaint than finding your people, helping your people, and letting your people help you. There are many ways to help, sustain, create, embpower, and enjoy your communities! Tell LLZ how you found your place within community and/or what you do to enjoy/aide/be a part of it!

We also have quite a few recommendations from our Sapphic Shelf segment as well! But if you have a book/Substack/podcast/whatever rec, send it in!

As for literary submissions and cover art submissions…. We would still love to see your work! Send in your poetry, essays, and short stories asap! Send in your art asap!

Events:

May 27th The Night Before Pride Makers Market at 3BR Distillery

May 31st Lunar Faire New Moon at Vasa Park

For Issue II, I received a lot of work regarding relationships, sex, love, and all that jazz. I, a self proclaimed loser lesbian, posted a joke on my story that the next issue would be for the loser lesbians because I am sick and tired of only reading relationship stuff.

There was a good response to this post, and I saw a seemingly necessary opportunity to use the next issue to explore lesbianism outside of the context of romance and relationships, because being a lesbian is so much more than love or sex!

Hence the loser lesbian issue. The ‘loser lesbian’ is a common lesbian joke, or so I thought. I am a loser lesbian. I love loser lesbians. We are important!

I hope you can see that I am not trying to be mean or insulting, I just needed a break from the bad sex poetry or I was going to gauge my eyes out (we all know how amazing lesbian sex is- I don’t need to read 70 poems trying to reinvent the orgasm! Bold words from someone who wrote bad sex poetry yesterday).

Anyway, most of you understand this but I wanted to clear things up. If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, please move along and come back in the fall for our next issue (which I am currently planning a more clear and spooktacular theme!)

Loser Lesbian will probably not be the title of the issue, unless it goes really well with the work but that is a problem for future Julia to figure out. I usually like to title a collection of work based off a piece within that collection.

Theme Ideas!

• dyke joy!

• lesbianism as a gender

• creativity and expression

• gender euphoria!

• finding community

• friendships

• healing energy

• growth themes

• historical lesbians

• your dyke idols!

• partaking in community

• organization and community care

• feeling pride all year round

• summer short stories!

• themes of water and flowers

• self care and wellness

• academic essays!

• community roles and work

• gender and sexuality theory

Submissions close May 24th! We accept literary work in all forms… essays, academic papers, poetry, short stories, personal work.

Welcome lesbians!

I have decided to create a Substack because I was bored at work last week but also because Substack will allow me to do more fun things that my little gmail newsletter can’t.

So, what is happening right now?

LLZ is currently open for submissions for our Summer 2026 issue! The theme, based off of a joke I made in the winter, is Loser Lesbians! Aka no sex poetry, no 3k work essay about how much you love your partner, and no heartbreak stories.

Okay but what else is there to write about?

Write about these things:

• gender identity and expression

• your dyke idols

• lesbian friendships

• feeling pride year round

• dyke joy!

• community building

• art and hobbies

• community roles & responsibilities

• healing

• lesbian as a gender

Our main submissions are literary submissions! Give me academic papers! Essays! Poetry! Short stories!

Literary submission form here!

Cover art submissions are also open! I am hoping to find art that does revolve around our theme. Aka no couples, love, sex, or relationship art.

Cover art submission form here!

Ask Em Dash! Our advice column is back! Have a question you need to ask? Answers lie with Em Dash!

Submit your question here!

LLZ Tea- our reader question segment! This issues question is ‘how do you do community?’ Let us know how you create, sustain, or enjoy the community you’ve found!

Answer here!

What is on your sapphic shelf? Our once LLZ Tea question is now a reoccurring segment! We want to know what our readers are reading!

Submit here!

Submissions for all are open now though May 24th.

Reading fee.

Our big update for Issue III is our reading fee for literary submissions. Our last issue received over 300 submissions. Which meant I had to read over 300 submissions. I am beyond grateful for all of the love, support, and trust everyone has given LLZ over the past six months! But it became overwhelming. And on top of the fact that my printing costs rose unexpectedly and by a lot (I changed manufactures to a more reasonably prices and local printer and I am so excited to share the new books with you all!), I decided a reading fee would be the best option to keep LLZ on a path to sustainability.

There is a waived fee option for those who need it! No explanations needed, no questions asked! If you need the waived fee, please take it! If you don’t, please don’t!

Fee is $3. Unless you use the waived fee obviously. These fees help keep the cost of the zine down for our readers and keep our zine on the path to becoming something sustainable so I am not drowning in debt. :)

Events: (all NJ)

Lunar Faire!

(New Jersey’s weird and witchy night market!)

Next: May 16th (Freehold)! (They are twice a month and I am hoping to be at as many as possible!)

I have been attending LF for a few years now and I am absolutely over the moon about vending this year! It is a dream come true and I cannot wait to begin market season. If you don’t know Lunar Faire... what are you doing with your life?? Come check it out this spring, summer, fall... and say hi to me at my booth! So far, I am booked for May 2nd (Burlington) and May 16th (Freehold). But I plan to go to as many as possible!

My booth is slowly but surely coming together. I am going in a mystical, library, grotto direction and… it’s a work in progress but I am excited to share it this weekend in Burlington!

LF Tix!

Books and Blooms at Calgo Gardens

May 17th from 11am-4pm in 462 Adelphia Road in Freehold

This event is being run by our friends over at Bound for Adventure Books! This event will host guest authors, indie writers, vendors, and more! Books and Blooms is a celebration of local and indie authors, and I cannot wait to see everyone there! Books and Blooms will take place May 17th from 11am-4pm in 462 Adelphia Road in Freehold. (shout out to my cousin Kim for letting me crash on her couch the night between Lunar Faire and Books and Blooms.)

Books and Blooms Tix

Our first two issues are out now!

If you haven’t ordered your copies yet, bundle both for $31!

Support print media! Support lesbian literature!

If you would like to keep up with LLZ, subscribe! This will be how you receive all announcements, updates, and more!

Subscribe now