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Blue Fire

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Dive Into Blue Fire

Blue Fire is GSW's annual, student-edited journal of literature and art. Submissions open yearly for creative works including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, art, and comics. Submissions are open to anyone who wishes to participate, including non-students and faculty.

Want to get involved?

  • Be on the lookout for the yearly deadline for submissions, which will be reflected through email communications and on the GSW website. Guidelines for submissions are listed below.

  • Enroll in English 3500: Publishing Practicum to gain hands-on experience editing, designing, and distributing the journal! Not able to take the class? Reach out to bluefire@gsw.edu to learn about other opportunities.
  • Not interested in submitting or editing but would still like to support? Donate to the Blue Fire fund! For information about ad space purchases, reach out to bluefire@gsw.edu.

Current Publication

Cover of Blue Fire

To pick up a free hard copy of the newest volume, please contact the editorial team at bluefire@gsw.edu or Dr. Alaina Kaus at alaina.kaus@gsw.edu.

Meet the Editors Donate to the Blue Fire Fund

Contact

Blue Fire

Alaina Kaus, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English

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alaina.kaus@gsw.edu

Social Info


Support Blue Fire
Keep the creativity flowing by donating or purchasing ad space to support Blue Fire.
Donate Now

Past Volumes

Interested in Submitting Your Work?

Please review these submission rules and guidelines:

  • You may submit up to three poems, two works of art, and one submission each for all other categories. Please submit to each category in a separate email with the appropriate genre in the subject line.
  • We accept only unpublished work. Your work must not appear on social media or other platforms prior to submission or publication.
  • Please do not submit work generated by AI.
  • Submitting is free, but our publication is not able to pay contributors.
  • We accept simultaneous submissions. However, if your piece gets accepted for publication elsewhere, notify us immediately to withdraw your submission.
  • Remove all identifying information from your file submission (e.g., the Word or JPEG file) to allow for anonymous review.
  • Submit your work to bluefire@gsw.edu and include the genre of your work in the subject line (art, comics, creative nonfiction, fiction, or poetry). In the body of the email, include your name, a short contributor’s bio, and the title of your work.

Genre-Specific Instructions

Prose

Prose is limited to 5000 words. Fiction and creative nonfiction submissions must be double-spaced and in 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Attach your submission as a Word (.docx) file.

Poetry

Poetry should be single-spaced. Attach your submission as a Word (.docx) file or, if the formatting is particular, as a PDF file.

Comics

Comics should be submitted as a high-resolution JPEG file. We accept up to ten pages of comics.

Visual Art

Visual art, including but not limited to photography or images of paintings and drawings, should be submitted as a high-resolution JPEG file.

2026 Release Party

The second volume of Blue Fire is here! Georgia Southwestern and the Blue Fire team celebrated the release with refreshments and readings from featured authors at the 2026 release party.