Submissions & Contributor Guidelines
Torch & Tinder Press (TTPress) is an independent publisher dedicated to cultural resistance. We invite contributions that speak to freedom, resilience, resistance, and community.
What 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 arrives Spring 2026.
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 arrives Spring 2026.
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.
Core Collections
Handbooks, Field Guides, Memoranda, Quests.
Books & Longform Projects
Single and multi-author standalone works.
Note:
We release free Community Editions under Creative Commons, with paid print and supporter editions helping sustain the 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.
We especially welcome work that aligns with our ethos.
Contributor Commitments
Rights & Licensing
You retain copyright.
Non-exclusive license: TTPress may publish accepted works on Substack, include them in applicable anthologies, and reference them for promotion.
Reprints welcome: You may republish anywhere else anytime; please include a 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.
Art & Visuals: Artists keep copyright; TTPress holds a perpetual, non-exclusive license for use in publications/promotion.
Compensation & Royalties
Lane-only publication (online): No royalties; piece appears on Substack, free to readers.
Anthology publication (paid): Contributors share in 25% of Net Receipts from anthology sales via a unit system designed to keep things fair across forms:
Poetry: 3 poems = 1 unit (1 poem = ⅓ unit)
Prose (short/essay): ~1 unit per ~1,000 words
Visual art / photography: 1 work = 1 unit (series typically 1–3 units, based on scope)
Payout = (your units ÷ total units) × 25% of Net Receipts for that issue.NOTE: We do not enforce word counts at submission; we allocate units at production
Single-author works: Authors receive 25% of Net Receipts across all formats (applies to book-length or longform projects, even if released in parts).
Quarterly statements & payouts with a $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 your consent.
You choose credit name: real, pseudonym, or anonymous.
Accessibility: We prepare works with basic WCAG-aligned formats (clear headings, alt-text, mobile readability).
Safety & Corrections
Corrections: We promptly correct factual errors.
Safety & privacy: If safety or privacy concerns arise (e.g., doxxing risk), lane pieces can be removed or anonymized on Substack (anthology/print copies already sold remain).
DMCA / takedowns: Observed and honored.
How to Submit
Send submissions or pitches to submissions@torchandtinder.org.
Please include:
A short note about yourself.
The lane you’re submitting to (Dispatch, Praxis, Embers) or Standalone Work.
Any safety or privacy preferences (pseudonyms welcome).
A short contributor bio (75–100 words).
If a reprint, disclose prior publication and confirm no exclusive grant prevents republication.
Rolling submissions: We accept work year-round.
Pitches welcome: You may submit a short pitch or a full draft.
Simultaneous submissions welcome: If accepted elsewhere, please let us know.
Response window: We aim to reply within 21–30 days. If you haven’t heard by day 30, feel free to nudge us in the same thread.
If accepted, you may be invited to join the Torch & Tinder Substack as a contributor (ensuring your chosen 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.
Your words matter. Your voice matters. Every submission helps build something stronger.
You are the signal.
Keep your torchlight burning.