Autofocus is now accepting submissions for our fall 2023 online issue. Going forward, we’ll be doing three issues a year: fall (early September), themed (mid-January), and summer (late May). Submissions will open for two months and then close for two months, ongoing. This period ends June 20.
Autofocus is a place for any form of artful autobiographical writing: personal essay, memoir, confessional poetry, journals & diaries, letters & e-mails, bits & pieces of each of these, or some other thing that makes art from your life. Since all autobiographical work—due to the nature of memory and self-perception—is in some way fictional, we do welcome autofiction. But since writing on the site is not labeled by genre, please know readers may interpret your piece as memoir.
For our fall issue, we want to highlight work focusing on a specific person, place, or object that acts as a reflective surface for the writer. These works can be prose, poetry, or in-between. Mixed media is welcome if you have permission to use or created it yourself. We are open to interpreting “objects” broadly (but do like specificity).
Please send one piece up to 8,000-ish words.
Simultaneous submissions are expected. Unpublished work only please.
Single-authored submissions only for this issue.
Our theme for the January 2024 issue will be Correspondences, and we anticipate opening submissions for that issue in August 2023.