Beatdom 26 and 27
Some updates regarding the next issues of Beatdom.
We normally publish Beatdom in May and then take a few months’ break before announcing the reading period for the next issue, but this year we put out Beatdom #25 in October to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the 6 Gallery reading. That was just two weeks ago and already we’re looking to the next one.
Beatdom #26 will be a special issue focused on Allen Ginsberg and we will publish it on his 100th birthday: June 3, 2026. We are open to submissions for the next issue, so please feel free to send them anytime between now and the start of April. If you are unsure about anything, you can send us a query.
Our submission guidelines are here. We generally look for essays, interviews, reviews, poems, and so on that are strongly related to the topic for that issue. We are quite open in terms of what we consider and we like to show different voices, ideas, and styles. Here are a few considerations:
We like essays on subjects of academic interest but written in a non-academic (i.e. readable, engaging, enjoyable) way.
We prefer original research. Essays that just rehash details from other books are not particularly interesting. Go find something no one else has seen.
We tend to favour essays on less-well-known Beat figures. Of course, this issue is about Allen Ginsberg but we would be pleased to read an essay on his relationship with a lesser-known writer or artist, for example.
There is no definite word limit. We’ve published 500-word essays and 15,000-word essays. What matters is that your work is interesting enough to justify its length.
In terms of poetry, please don’t bother submitting any updated versions of “Howl.” Every other submission is something like “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by TikTok…” This is not really of interest to us. Write something original.
Personal essays and memoirs are great but please keep in mind that a lot of people submit these, so we do have to be selective.
Not everything has to be overly positive. We’re not trying to make Ginsberg into a saint and say that every poem he wrote was a masterpiece. At the same time, be fair and reasonable in your criticism.
We are open to reviews. If you have a book about Ginsberg coming out in 2026 or 2027, get in touch. Likewise, if you have something you want to review, let us know. We may be able to help get you an early review copy.
We can publish photos and artwork but keep in mind that it is a black-and-white publication.
If you have further questions, get in touch at editor (at) beatdom [dot] com.
In 2027, we will put out Beatdom #27 and go back to our usual May publication date. The theme for that issue will be art. We are looking for essays on the Beats as visual artists. Think of Burroughs’ shotgun paintings and Ginsberg’s photographs, for example. There are countless other examples of the Beat writers drawing, painting, taking photos, and so on. We are also interested in the Beat-related arts scene, which includes the likes of Jay DeFeo, Wally Hedrick, Joan Brown, and Deborah Remington. As I mentioned above, we like essays on people who are a bit overlooked or which look at previously neglected parts of Beat writers’ lives.
I should also mention that Beatdom #27 will mark our 20th anniversary. I can hardly believe Beatdom has been around for so long. I wrote an essay on our 18th anniversary that gives some history.
For those who missed it, we recently put out two publications: Beatdom #25 and A Remarkable Collection of Angels: A History of the 6 Gallery Reading. We have another coming in about a week: Stewart Meyer’s The Bunker Diaries. Next year, we will put out Marc Olmsted’s Beat Dharma and Thomas Antonic’s The Three Wives of Queer William S. Burroughs.
We also have a long list of essays lined up for this Substack. These will be long-form, discursive, investigative essays that dig into overlooked or misunderstood parts of Beat history. (See our archive page for examples.) Consider subscribing if you want to keep up to date.