Every year, I wait until October to announce the topic of the next issue of Beatdom, which is published the following May. The reading period is usually from October to March.

However, this year I would like to break with tradition and announce the next three topics, which shall be:

IssueTopicExpected Publication Date
Beatdom #24West Coast Beat Scene1st May, 2024
Beatdom #25San Francisco Renaissance7th October, 2025
Beatdom #26Allen Ginsberg Centenary Special3rd June, 2026

As you can see, we will not be sticking to the previous May publication schedule. The reason is that the 25th and 26th issues will commemorate special occasions and we will aim to publish on those exact dates. (The San Francisco Renaissance issue will be published on the 60th anniversary of the Six Gallery Reading, which was arguably the event that kicked off that movement.)

Importantly, there will be no set reading period for each of these issues. We are open to submissions for all three issues from now until two months prior to the expected publication date of each. Submission info can be found here.

As always, we are interested in:

  • Essays
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • Poetry
  • Art

Whilst we are fairly liberal in how we interpret the given theme of an issue, as well as considering other countercultural but non-Beat writers, we do give preference to submissions that are directly on topic and about Beat Generation participants. (The latter will not apply, of course, to the SF Renaissance issue, for which we will gladly consider essays on Robert Duncan, Jack Spicer, and other non-Beat writers.)

You may submit a completed work (see the submissions guidelines) or send a query outlining a proposed submission. If you believe you will not make the submission deadline, please e-mail me to let me know.

And what of Beatdom #27?

The year 2027 will mark the 20th anniversary of Beatdom’s founding, so we may put together a special edition for that particular landmark. It will likely be an open call, with any Beat-focused submissions considered. For now, there are no definite plans but any information about this event will be posted here and on our social media accounts whenever a decision is made. We will also update people via our mailing list.