Ezine/Print This Thing Called Love
Opportunity Description
International Deadline: July 10, 2026 – The Buckham Fine Arts Project announces its second literary call for submissions to be considered for publication in an anthology, This Thing Called Love, juried by Kelsey Ronan.
We often speak of love as a destination or a fixed state, but in practice, it is living, breathing, and occasionally volatile. It can be more like a state of flux, a long journey, a mad vortex, or a series of experiments. It is the “thing” that occupies the space between two people—sometimes a bridge, sometimes a barrier, and often a mystery even to those held within its grip.
For this anthology, we are seeking work that strips away the greeting-card gloss to examine the mechanics, the mess, and the marvel of romantic connection. We want to see love not just as a feeling, but as a verb, a haunting, or a hard-won negotiation.
The publication and release event is scheduled for May 2027, to be held at Buckham Gallery, Flint, Michigan
ELIGIBILITY
Artists must be 18 years of age or older. Angles to consider:
- The Anatomy of Attraction: That inexplicable “thing”—the chemistry that defies logic or the slow-burn realization that a friendship has shifted its axis.
- Modern Rituals: How love translates through the digital veil, the exhaustion of the “search,” and the strange intimacy of shared screens.
- The Quiet Endurance: Beyond the “happily ever after”—the romance found in the mundane, the heavy lifting of long-term partnership, and the beauty of being truly known.
- Love as a Haunting: The lingering presence of “the one that got away” or the way past romances dictate the shape of current ones.
- The Unconventional: Love that doesn’t fit the standard mold—platonic romances, queer perspectives, and the radical act of self-love in a world that demands we pair up.
JUROR
Kelsey Ronan grew up in Flint, Michigan. Her work has appeared in Lit Hub, Michigan Quarterly Review, Indiana Review, Electric Literature, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. She is the author of the novel Chevy in the Hole (Holt, 2022), which was a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, a Michigan Notable Book, and the 2022 selection for the Flint Community Read and Michigan Public Reads. She lives in Metro Detroit.
AWARD
The top piece will receive an award of $25 and a complimentary copy of the publication.
Selected semifinalist will be included in the anthology publication. US contributors will receive 1 printed copy. Overseas contributors will receive 1 digital copy.
ENTRY FEE
$10 reading/submission fee per work*
* Those experiencing an economic hardship should reach out to receive a voucher to cover the $10 reading fee.
APPLY ONLINE
We will not consider submissions written, developed, or assisted by AI (Artificial Intelligence).
About:
Founded in 1984, Buckham Fine Arts Project | Buckham Gallery is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the vision to support and nurture artists, build community and inclusivity, while challenging our audience to engage with contemporary art in new ways.
Buckham Gallery
121 West Second Street
Flint, Michigan 48502
810.239.6233
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