
THE CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY RELATIONSHIPS
Strengthening Relationships in the LGBTQ+ Community Since 2014

PROUD OUTTAKES
Story Guidelines
We are assembling a collection of true short stories from the queer community that are inspirational, funny, heartwarming, and hopeful. We look forward to reading and considering your story for this publication. Guidelines:
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1. Your story must be true, based on an experience that happened to you. No fiction or stories told to you by someone else.
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2. Your story should be written in English and in the first person.
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3. Your story should be relational. It can be a story about you and a friend, spouse, family member, child, co-worker, or any other important person in your life.
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4. Your story is limited to 1,500 words or less, no exceptions. Do not rush the writing of your story or create it on our submission page. Instead, take time to thoughtfully write and edit your story in the word processing program of your choice (Microsoft Word, Pages, etc) until you are completely happy with the final product. Check your story thoroughly for spelling and grammar before submitting. When ready, click the "submit" button, then cut-and-paste your story where prompted.
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5. Your story should be action-oriented. Start in the action and tell a story that causes the reader to have a powerful and heartfelt emotional experience. It might be a humorous adventure that involves a friend; a moving narrative about coming out or surviving the loss of a loved one; a tale about an act of kindness, service, love, or courage; or a brief account that focuses on triumph over adversity. The goal is to help the reader connect and resonate with you as the writer. Your story should reduce loneliness and inspire strength and resilience.
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6. Your story must be an original work that has not been previously published elsewhere, other than your own blog.
Please Note:
1. You can only submit your story online and will be asked to sign our release agreement that gives us the non-exclusive rights to publish your story. You retain ownership of your story but you give us permission to publish it. You will receive a confirmation message once your story has been successfully submitted.
2. We will contact you by email if your story is selected for this project. We do not send rejection emails. Please do not contact us for updates. Our goal is to publish this collection of stories in late 2025, or early 2026, and we will update selected authors as the process unfolds.
3. Stories selected will include the name of the author in the contents section as well as the chapter title page. We do not pay for submissions or for the stories selected for publication.
4. We reserve the right to edit the title of your story and correct for grammar and spelling as needed. If we have any questions, we will contact you for clarification.
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