If you’ve been following along and thinking I love this project but I’m not a writer, this one’s for you.

Other ways to contribute

Narrate. If you have a voice and a microphone, we want you. Accepted fiction and poetry will be published as podcast episodes — and narrators bring those pieces to life for listeners who experience stories best through sound. You’d work directly with the writer, record a reading of their accepted piece, and become a permanent part of how that work reaches the world. No professional setup required; quality home recording is absolutely fine.

Illustrate. We’re looking for visual artists to create work for the anthology — standalone pieces, story illustrations, and cover art candidates. If a specific piece moves you, you can pitch to collaborate with its author directly. Visual work that can’t be reproduced in print will be linked via QR code in the physical anthology, which means your art travels with the book even off the page.

Compose or create audio. Original music, soundscapes, ambient pieces — if you make sound, there’s a place for it here. Composers can score specific stories, create standalone pieces that respond to the theme, or collaborate with other artists on multimedia work. Everything gets published both on the platform and as podcast episodes.

Sensitivity read. This is skilled, important work. We prioritize matching accepted pieces with readers who have relevant lived experience — immigration, LGBTQ+ identity, disability, racial justice — to make sure the work is authentic and free of harmful representation. If this is something you can offer, we’d be grateful.

Promote. Share the call. Post about the project. Tell your communities. Word of mouth is how small projects like this find the contributors and readers they need, and every signal boost matters.

Come find your collaborators

If any of this sparked something — if you want to find a writer whose story you’d like to illustrate, a narrator for a piece you wrote, a musician to score something you made, or just want to talk through an idea with people who care about this project — the Discord Server is where that happens.

Join us on Discord

Here’s what’s waiting for you:

• #collaborations — post what you’re looking for, find what you need. Writer seeking an illustrator, narrator looking for a story, musician wanting to score something: this is where those connections happen.

• #visual-team — a dedicated space for illustrators and visual artists to develop the anthology’s visual direction together, share work-in-progress, and coordinate on cover art and story illustrations.

• Voice channels for sprints and brainstorming — drop in when you need company while you work, or when you’re stuck and want to think out loud with people who get it. Writing sprints, brainstorm sessions, or just ambient creative company while you make something.

It’s also where project updates land first and where works-in-progress get discussed — confidentially, among contributors.

Come say hello. Tell us what you’re making, or what you’re hoping to make, or just that you’re here.

We’re glad you are.

Join us on Discord

The Organizers

— Epic Fantasy & Dark Speculative Fiction Author

— Editor & Speculative Fiction Author

For questions and inquiries send us a message.

Share This Project

Know a writer, artist, musician, narrator, or reader who believes in love and art as resistance?
Get them involved!

Share

NOICE is a volunteer-run charity anthology. All proceeds go to immigration justice organizations. Contributors keep full rights to their work.

If you felt like that, this is for you.

First things first:

Resistance doesn’t have to look like a protest

Resistance is what happens when a person refuses to stop being human in conditions that are designed to strip that away.

It’s a grandmother teaching her granddaughter the language that was once illegal to speak. It’s two people falling in love across a border that insists they shouldn’t exist near each other. It’s a community garden planted in a lot the city wrote off. It’s a teenager drawing on her arm in class because creating something—anything—is the only way she knows how to survive the day.

None of these are dramatic in the Hollywood sense. All of them are acts of profound defiance.

This anthology isn’t looking for stories where love defeats an oppressive system. It’s looking for stories where love endures despite one. Where art persists. Where connection refuses to be severed even when everything is working to sever it.

What counts as “love” here?

All of it.

• Romantic love, sexual love, love that’s messy and complicated and not easily named

• Parental love, filial love, the grief of missing someone who was taken

• Chosen family — the people who become your people when the people who were supposed to be your people couldn’t or wouldn’t

• Community love — the neighbor who brings food, the stranger who drives you to the clinic, the group chat that keeps people sane

• Love of place — the home you were displaced from, the home you made somewhere new, the patch of ground that means something

• Self-love — which is sometimes the hardest act of resistance of all

What counts as “art” here?

Creation in any form. The song someone sings to stay calm. The story a parent tells to explain the inexplicable to a child. The mural painted on a wall that keeps getting whitewashed. The journal. The letters. The embroidery. The act of writing this submission.

Art doesn’t have to be capital-A Art to be resistance. It just has to be making something—insisting that beauty and meaning belong to you, regardless of what a system says.

Micro-prompts to jog your mind:

These aren’t constraints, just ideas. Be inspired by one, or use them to find your own.

A room where people are safe. What does it feel like inside? Who made it safe, and how, and at what cost? Who do they let in?

Two people who should not, according to some authority, be together. A border. A classification. A law. A family. They are together anyway. What does that look like on an ordinary Tuesday?

Something beautiful made in a terrible place. A song in a detention center. A garden on a rooftop in a city that’s hostile to its residents. A love letter written in secret. What does making it cost? What does it give back?

A language that nearly died. Someone speaks it, or sings it, or teaches it to a child who doesn’t want to learn it yet. The child will want to later.

The thing they couldn’t take. A memory. A recipe. A way of moving through the world. Something intangible that survived displacement, imprisonment, loss. How does the character carry it? How do they pass it on?

Chosen family at a table. It doesn’t have to be a dinner table. It can be a Discord server, a corner of a park, a van on a highway. Who is there, and why did they choose each other, and what does the ordinary texture of that love feel like?

After. Not during the crisis, but after. The unglamorous, grinding, tender work of surviving it. What does love look like when the emergency is over and the long middle begins?

Art as the thing that keeps someone alive. The specific music, story, image, or act of creation that a character returns to when that’s the only thing they can do. What is it? Why that?

The inheritance. Something passed down through generations that the system tried to interrupt. How does it arrive? What shape is it in?

A small defiance. Not a revolution. Not a manifesto. The quiet, specific, daily acts of refusing to be less than human. Someone wears the color they were told not to wear. Someone uses their name, their real name, in a place that wants another. Someone makes a joke and everyone laughs, and for a moment the weight is off.

A note on scope

The anthology will be raising funds for immigration justice, but the theme is bigger than one issue on purpose — because resistance takes many forms, and the people who need to tell (and read) these stories exist across many communities and many experiences.

You don’t have to write about immigration to belong here. If you’re writing about LGBTQ+ survival, disability justice, racial justice, anti-authoritarian defiance, or any other experience of marginalization where love and art become acts of survival — you belong here.

What holds all of it together —all of us together— is the orientation: toward connection, toward creating, toward persisting. Toward doing the human thing, and being the human thing, even when systems are doing their best to deny us.

Still not sure your idea fits?

Send us a message. A sentence about your idea is enough — we’ll tell you if we think it fits, and if we think it doesn’t, we’ll tell you that too.

The Organizers

— Epic Fantasy & Dark Speculative Fiction Author

— Editor & Speculative Fiction Author

For questions and inquiries send us a message.

Share This Project

NOICE is a volunteer-run charity anthology. All proceeds go to immigration justice organizations. Contributors keep full rights to their work.

• The Timeline

• The Theme: Love and Art as Resistance

• What We Are NOT Looking For

• What We Accept

  • Fiction

  • Poetry

  • Visual Art, Comics & Illustration

  • Music & Audio

  • Hybrid & Experimental Work

• Submission Requirements

• Rights and Publication

• Beyond Writing: Other Ways to Contribute

• How Publication Works

• Our Fundraising Model

• Editorial Standards

• FAQ

• Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

• The Organizers

• Share This Project

SUBMIT NOW

Submission Guidelines

‘ Noice ‘ is a community-powered charity anthology about love and art as resistance. We’re collecting fiction, poetry, visual art, music, narration, and hybrid work centered on connection, sanctuary, chosen family, and survival across borders—literal and metaphorical.

Every accepted piece will be published here as its own free, public post. Contributors keep full rights to their work.

If you received a welcome email when you subscribed, you’ve already seen a brief version of these guidelines. This is the complete reference.

Our Timeline

Submissions open March 1, 2026

Submissions close April 21, 2026

Work begins publishing online May 21, 2026

Anthology launch + print window opens June 20, 2026 — World Refugee Day

Print window closes July 20, 2026

The Theme: Love and Art as Resistance

We’re looking for work that explores love and art as forms of resistance against oppression, marginalization, dehumanization, and hostile systems.

What resistance looks like:

• Connection that defies systems designed to isolate or separate

• Sanctuary spaces—created, defended, offered

• Chosen family protecting each other from hostile forces

• Love surviving surveillance, displacement, or state violence

• Care as an act of defiance against systems that demand cruelty

• Belonging and home-making in hostile territory

• Beauty and creation as refusal to be erased

Contexts we welcome: This anthology is not limited to one kind of resistance or one marginalized community. We welcome work that explores:

• Immigration, borders, and displacement

• LGBTQ+ identity and rights in hostile environments

• Disability justice and mutual aid

• Racial justice and anti-racism

• Anti-authoritarian resistance

• Any experience of marginalization where love and art become acts of survival and defiance

  MORE ON THE THEME

What we are NOT looking for:

• Trauma porn (exploitation of suffering for shock value)

• Savior narratives (stories that center privileged rescuers over marginalized communities)

• Work that centers oppressors sympathetically

• Hopelessness without resistance or agency

• Work that is substantially AI-generated

• Work that celebrates violence, racism, xenophobia, hatred, or any form of oppression

If you’re unsure whether your idea fits, send us a message. We’re happy to discuss.

What We Accept

Fiction

Word counts:

• Flash fiction: 500–1,000 words

• Short stories: 2,000–5,000 words

• Novelettes: up to 8,000 words

Genres accepted: Love has many faces—romantic, familial, communal, chosen family, friendship, self-love, love for place and home. All are welcome here.

• Contemporary fiction

• Romance (contemporary, historical, speculative)

• Erotica (consensual, agency-focused)

• Literary fiction

• Speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, alternate history)

• Magical realism

• Family drama

• Coming-of-age / YA (age-appropriate)

• Horror (if it fits the theme)

• Genre-bending and hybrid work

Own voices: When writing about experiences of marginalization—immigration, LGBTQ+ identity, disability, racial justice, or any other lived experience of oppression—we strongly encourage submissions from writers with that lived experience. This is not a requirement, and we welcome all voices. But authenticity matters to us.

If you’re writing from outside a marginalized experience, your work should demonstrate genuine understanding, respect, and attention to avoiding harmful tropes.

Poetry

Any length, any form, any style.

(We love epic ambition, but pieces under 200 lines are easier to publish effectively—if your epic poem is longer, reach out and we’ll discuss.)

Visual Art & Illustration

High-resolution files (we’ll discuss technical specs when you submit). This includes:

• Standalone pieces published as their own posts

• Illustration for specific stories—interested in collaborating with a writer? Find partners in the #collaborations channel on our Discord.

• Cover art candidates

• Sequential art or comics

• Photography

• Digital art

• Mixed media

A note on print: The print anthology will include QR codes linking to visual work that accompanies specific stories, as well as art pieces that cannot be reproduced in print. This means your work can be part of the print edition if you so wish, even if it can’t appear on the page directly.

Music & Audio

Original music and audio pieces are welcome—songs, soundscapes, and audio experiments of all kinds.

Music and audio works will be published in two places: as their own standalone posts on the Noice platform, and as episodes of the Noice podcast feed. We’ll work with you on format and embedding.

Interested in collaborating with writers (original scores, audio adaptations, soundscapes for specific stories) or other artists (video, visual accompaniment)?

Find partners in the #collaborations channel on our Discord.

Join the Community on Discord

Narration

We encourage narrators to participate.

If you’d like to record a reading of an accepted fiction or poetry piece, we welcome audio submissions for narration once acceptance of the piece is confirmed.

Narrations will be published as podcast episodes and embedded directly on the written work’s original post, so every reader can find them.

Voice requirement: Only human voices will be accepted for narrations. AI-generated voice work will not be published, regardless of quality or editing.

If you’re interested in narrating, find writers looking for collaborators in the #collaborations channel on our Discord—or reach out after acceptance decisions are announced.

Collaborate on Discord

Hybrid & Experimental Work

Tell us what you’re making. If it fits the theme, we’ll figure out how to publish it.

Submission Requirements

What to include:

• Your work as a document, image file, or audio file — submit edited, polished work ready for publication. We will not be doing heavy editing for grammar, spelling, or structure, though our editor may suggest light revisions before publication.

• Your name and/or pen name for attribution — pen names are absolutely accepted and will be used exactly as you provide them.

• Where we should link you (Substack, website, social media) — or let us know if you prefer no link. We respect that some authors prefer anonymity.

• Print preference — let us know if you’re okay with your work appearing in the printed anthology, or if you prefer online-only publication. Both are fine.

• A brief note (1-2 sentences) about your connection to the theme or why you’re submitting this piece. (optional)

SUBMIT YOUR STORY

We confirm receipt of all submissions within 48 hours, and acceptance of the work by May 7th, 2026.

Rights and Publication

You will keep full rights to your work. By submitting, you grant us:

• Non-exclusive publishing rights on the Noice Substack platform

• Non-exclusive publishing rights in the printed anthology editions

• Non-exclusive rights to publish audio work as podcast episodes

What this means:

• Your work will appear on our platform and (unless you opt out) in the print anthology

• You can cross-post or share the Substack post containing your work anytime after it’s published on our platform

• You can republish the work itself on other platforms after the anthology volume containing your work is released .

• If you opted out of print publication, you can republish after your work goes live on our Substack.

• If you want to republish before these dates for specific reasons, contact us.

Print publication: We will endeavor to publish all accepted written work and as much visual art (properly formatted) as possible in printed format. This may require multiple volumes.

The organizers will choose and assemble works for each anthology volume based on thematic coherence and production constraints.

QR codes in the print edition will link to audio, visual, and multimedia work that ties in with specific pieces or cannot be reproduced on the page.

Beyond Writing: Other Ways to Contribute

This anthology needs more than stories. You can offer your time and experience as:

Sensitivity readers — readers with lived experience in the marginalized communities being depicted (immigration, LGBTQ+ identity, disability, racial justice, etc.) who can ensure work is authentic and free of harmful representation.

Editors — developmental editing for longer pieces, copyediting across the anthology.

Narrators — audio recordings of accepted fiction and poetry for podcast publication. Only human voice recordings will be accepted.

Illustrators — we need cover art for the anthology, and we welcome illustrators who want to create work for specific stories.

Cover designer — one person or a team to create the anthology’s visual identity and promotional materials.

Promoters — help spread the work through your platforms and communities.

Musicians and audio artists — original work on the same terms as written submissions.

How Publication Works

Every accepted submission is going to be published on this platform as its own post—free and public.

Each post will include:

• The work itself

• A short bio and links

• Information about the anthology and our charity partners

• A direct donation link (when available)

• For written work: any associated narration, music, or audio as an embedded podcast episode

Audio and music will be published both as standalone posts and as episodes of the Noice podcast feed, so they’re discoverable by readers and listeners through both channels.

Our Fundraising Model

We are currently finalizing our partnership with our chosen immigration justice organization. All updates about partners, fundraiser details, and donation mechanisms will be shared through this platform as they’re confirmed.

What we are aiming for:

A digital ebook: The complete anthology available through a dedicated fundraiser page. Purchase = direct donation, tracked and receipted.

A limited print edition: Purchasable June 20–July 20, 2026 only. The print edition will include QR codes linking to audio narrations, music, and visual work associated with specific pieces, as well as artwork that cannot be reproduced in print.

Ongoing free digital publication on this platform, with permanent donation links.

Transparency: We will share clear information about where money goes, how much is raised, and what it supports. You’ll know exactly what your work is funding.

Editorial Standards

Quality: We’re looking for work that’s polished, purposeful, and emotionally resonant. This is a professional publication supporting a serious cause. Submit your best work.

Editing: Submit edited, publication-ready work. Our editor may suggest light revisions for clarity or flow, but we do not have capacity for heavy developmental editing or line-by-line grammar corrections.

Sensitivity reading: We prioritize sensitivity reading for work depicting marginalized experiences (immigration, LGBTQ+ identity, disability, racial injustice, etc.) and will match pieces with sensitivity readers who have relevant lived experience whenever possible. Authors must be willing to incorporate feedback when sensitivity reading is provided.

Authenticity over exploitation: Work can explore resistance in many contexts—not all pieces need to center a specific marginalized experience. But for work that does center experiences of marginalization, those stories should center humanity and agency—not use marginalized experiences as emotional backdrop or trauma tourism. Show survival, defiance, and connection—not just suffering.

Hope and resistance: We want work that acknowledges reality while centering survival, connection, and defiance. Not despair without agency.

Final decisions: The organizers and editors have final say on which work is accepted for publication. Acceptance decisions are not subject to appeal, though we’re always happy to discuss feedback directly.

FAQ

Read our FAQs HERE

Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

By submitting to Noice, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which outline how we handle submissions, publication rights, and your personal information.

These are linked at the bottom of every page on the non-mobile version of the site as Publisher Privacy and Publisher Terms.

The Organizers

— Epic Fantasy & Dark Speculative Fiction Author

— Editor & Speculative Fiction Author

For questions and inquiries send us a message.

Share This Project