We welcome submissions for the third quarterly issue of SEXTET, Offerings. Our third edition will be published online in tandem with Six Foot Gallery’s 2026 Spring Open Call.

Following an HIV diagnosis in 1986, artist and activist Derek Jarman moved to Prospect Cottage, Dungeness, an abandoned fisherman’s hut on a nuclear power site. Neighbours told him nothing would ever grow. Yet he planted his first rose, staked with a piece of driftwood, and spent his remaining years nurturing a flourishing garden, making offerings to the future. Jarman passed away in 1994 from AIDS-related complications, but Prospect Cottage endures as a sanctuary of creativity and inspiration. As the AIDS Memorial Quilt returns to Glasgow in September 2026, we are reflecting on themes of hope, ritual, sanctuary, and remembrance.

We invite writers to explore the ways hope and creativity take root in hostile environments. Inspired by queer histories of creating against all odds and by the ways communities nurture possibility and make offerings for the future, we’re looking for work that carries warmth and a sense of renewal; works that consider how ritual sustains us in times of crisis, how small repeated acts can become forms of resistance; writing that gestures towards endurance, growth, or even defiance – no matter how harsh the winter, the flowers will bloom again. What does it mean to remember well?

Email us up to three pieces of poetry, flash fiction, creative non-fiction, or short essays. We welcome hybrid forms and experimental works.

If your work is selected for inclusion you will also have the option of sending us a recording of your piece, to be played in the gallery space.

-attach your work as a .PDF, .DOC, or .RTF file (do not paste it into the body of your email)
-do not include your name or any personal information in your attached document
-include a short third person bio in your email (max 150 words)
-include your website address and/or social media handles you wish to be shared
-we do not accept work previously published in print or online
-we do not accept simultaneous submissions

We value the diversity and authenticity of lived human experiences, writing, and expression. We will not consider any submissions generated by AI.

By submitting to SEXTET you agree to having your work and accompanying bio published on our website and our social media platforms if your submission is accepted. You retain all rights to your work.

We’ll be in touch to let you know if your submission was successful on 24.03. Due to the volume of submissions we regret we cannot offer personalised feedback.