Some English teacher friends and I have started a litmag for high school students (9th -12th grade) called The WEIGHT Journal.

It has been widely circulated on social media that Shakespeare likely composed Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and King Lear in the midst of the Black Death. Usually this factoid is shared as a challenge for writers to continue producing work in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. No pressure.

Taking its title from the ending of Lear, The WEIGHT is a literary blog for high school students who may similarly find themselves in need of a creative outlet. Students with something heavy to get off their chest, and those bored out of their minds at home.

We welcome all sorts of creative writing: poetry, flash fiction, short fiction, creative non-fiction, hybrid, and whatever else you have.

“The weight of this sad time we must obey,
Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say."
― William Shakespeare, King Lear

Submission guidelines:

We're looking for writing that has something honest to say. Something that releases the WEIGHT/WAIT. That's it. No topic is off-limits. This is not about being "school appropriate."

We are always accepting new submissions from 9-12 grade students (homeschoolers are welcome).
We are publishing on a rolling basis (as we read, review, and accept new material, goes up).
Please submit works not previously published elsewhere (your personal website/blog/social media do NOT count).
Please include a short bio (100 words max) about yourself, including things like where you are, what you do, any past publications, hope and dreams, glass half full/empty.

Poetry: 1-3 poems, up to 6 pages of poetry

Flash Fiction: 1-2 pieces, up to 500 words each

Short Fiction: 1 piece at a time, max 2000 words

Creative Nonfiction: 1 piece at a time, max 2000 words

Something you can’t even classify: 1 piece 1 at a time, max 2000 words

Email your submissions as a doc., docx., or pdf. attachment (not in the body of an email) to theweightjournal@gmail.com