Submissions & Contributor Guidelines
Torch & Tinder Press is an independent publisher dedicated to cultural resistance. We invite contributions that speak to freedom, resilience, resistance, and community.
We Believe
Freedom is a practice — lived daily, not stored away.
Resistance is an ecosystem — many roles, many contributions.
Culture keeps resistance alive — through stories, art, and imagination.
What We Publish
Substack Lanes & Anthologies
Signal Dispatch & Signal Dispatch Monthly — Signals from the field
Signal Dispatch is our current-events and announcements lane: short essays, reflections, and updates that track the pulse of cultural resistance. Each dispatch signals what’s happening now—whether in politics, community struggles, or our own projects—and connects it to deeper patterns of freedom, resilience, and memory. This is where we surface urgent questions, spotlight partner efforts, and keep the press accountable to its role as a living signal flare in darkening times.
Signal Dispatch Monthly is coming soon.
Torchlight Praxis & Torchlight Praxis Monthly — Tools you can carry
Torchlight Praxis is our practical lane: frameworks, guides, and methods you can put to work right away. From how-to pieces and field-tested strategies to reflections on craft and community practice, each entry equips readers with tools they can adapt in their own contexts. Praxis is about carrying knowledge forward—not as abstract theory, but as gear for survival, resilience, and freedom. If Signal Dispatch tells you what’s happening, Torchlight Praxis helps you respond.
Torchlight Praxis Monthly is coming soon.
Embers & Embers Quarterly — Warmth for the long winter
Embers is our cultural and creative lane: essays, art, poetry, fiction, and critical reflections that sustain us through long nights of struggle. The Embers Quarterly anthology is both a zine and a collaborative space, gathering many voices—artists, thinkers, and everyday people—into a shared fire. Embers is where we explore meaning, beauty, and imagination as essential parts of resistance. It is warmth, but also spark: a reminder that culture itself is a battleground, and that tending the embers of human freedom keeps the torchlight burning.
The first print and digital edition of Embers Quarterly arrives later this fall. Submissions are currently open (see below).
Core Collections
Handbooks, Field Guides, Memoranda, Quests.
Books & Longform Projects
Single-author works.
We release free Community Editions under Creative Commons, with paid print and supporter editions helping sustain our work.
What We’re Looking For
Short and longform work for Signal Dispatch, Torchlight Praxis, and Embers.
For Embers, we welcome a wide range of creative and cultural work: essays, art, poetry, fiction, hybrid forms, visual pieces, and critical reflections.
Longer analytical or practical manuscripts for Core Collections. Please review our published Core Collection works (on Ko-fi) before submitting.
Full-length books, poetry collections, chapbooks, or zines (by invitation or open submission).
We welcome work that aligns with our ethos: freedom as practice, resistance as ecosystem, and culture as resilience.
Contributor Commitments
Rights & Licensing
Contributors retain copyright.
Nonexclusive license: TTPress may publish accepted works on Substack, in anthologies, and for promotion.
Reprint freedom: You can republish anywhere else anytime, with courtesy credit.
Example: “First published by Torch & Tinder Press in Embers Quarterly, 2025.1.”Default: Contributor work is published under standard copyright (all rights reserved). It may be shared as published but not remixed, adapted, or reused without permission.
Core Collections & Torchlight Praxis: Published under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
Art & Visuals: Artists keep copyright; TTPress holds a perpetual license for use in publications/promotion.
Compensation & Royalties
Lane-only publication: No royalties. Piece appears on Substack; free to readers.
Anthology publication: Contributors share in 25% of Net Receipts from anthology sales, divided by unit (per poem, per 1,000 words of prose, per artwork).
Single-author works: Authors receive 25% of Net Receipts across all formats. This applies to all book-length or longform projects, even if released in parts.
Quarterly statements & payouts ($25 minimum; balances roll forward).
Contributors may donate royalties back to TTPress.
Net Receipts = cash received by TTPress, minus retailer/distributor discounts, payment processing fees, print/manufacturing costs, and taxes (not general overhead).
Editorial Values
We will not publish work that promotes bigotry, hate, disinformation, authoritarian propaganda, or dehumanization. We value:
Dignity over dehumanization.
Accuracy over spectacle.
Clarity over virality.
Shared freedom over silence.
Editorial Process
Light copyedits only; no substantial changes without consent.
Contributors choose credit name (real, pseudonym, or anonymous).
Accessibility: All works are prepared with basic WCAG-compliant formats.
Safety & Corrections
TTPress will promptly correct factual errors.
If safety/privacy concerns arise, works can be removed from Substack (anthology/print copies already sold remain).
DMCA/takedown policy is observed.
How to Submit
Send submissions or pitches to info@torchandtinder.org.
Please include:
A short note about yourself.
The lane you’re submitting to (Dispatch, Praxis, Embers).
Any safety or privacy preferences (pseudonyms welcome).
A short contributor bio (2–3 sentences).
Rolling submissions: We accept work year-round.
If accepted, you’ll be invited to join the Torch & Tinder Substack team as a contributor (ensuring your name or pseudonym appears at the top of your piece).
Community Membership: All contributors published with Torch & Tinder will also be invited to join Refuge Bonne Foi — part of the wider community ecosystem.
Note on AI use: Torch & Tinder Press does not accept fully AI-generated writing or artwork. Contributors may use assistive tools (editing, formatting, transcription, etc.), but the creative work itself must be their own. If AI tools were part of your process, please disclose this when submitting.
See our latest calls for submissions → Submission call for Embers Quartey Issue 1.
Your words matter. Your voice matters. Every submission helps build something stronger.
You are the signal.
Keep your torchlight burning.