#IndieLitMagGala 2025 Spotlight: Door Is A Jar Literary Magazine
Alan Parry
October 10, 2025
Founded in 2015 and still standing strong a decade later, Door Is A Jar Literary Magazine isn’t trying to be edgy, obscure,
There’s something rare and steady about a journal that knows exactly what it is—and makes no apologies for it. ALOCASIA is one of those journals. A space for queer plant-based writing, ALOCASIA isn’t just a niche press—it’s a root system. Deep, deliberate, and thriving.
This nomination arrived quietly, but with unmistakable respect:
“Alocasia is a journal of nature writing, and recently they published an all-Indigenous issue. Their vibe is thoughtful, grounded poetry about the world we live in.”
“They’ve been actively uplifting (and paying) marginalised writers while curating high-quality content with a coherent theme.”
Let’s take a moment to honour that work.
Nature writing, yes. But not the kind that romanticises the wild in abstract. ALOCASIA focuses on queer, anti-colonial, plant-centered storytelling—writing that’s grounded, intimate, political, and often deeply personal. The garden, the forest, the pot on a windowsill—these aren’t just backdrops, they’re living characters, cultural touchpoints, acts of resistance.
And if you’re not writing about plants? Don’t bother. This is a journal with boundaries—because boundaries allow for depth.
They publish across genres: poetry, prose, experimental hybrids. They welcome both traditional forms and the weird, the erotic, the explicit. They don’t fear risk. They demand relevance.
Sarah Clark, the editor at the helm, brings a lifetime of editorial experience and deep-rooted community connection. They are a disabled, two-spirit Nanticoke editor, writer, and cultural consultant, based in Philadelphia. And they don’t just run ALOCASIA—they’ve shaped some of the most influential editorial projects in the lit world, from ANMLY to beestung, Apogee, and more.
Their work always centres justice, care, and the messy beauty of marginalised experiences. ALOCASIA isn’t a side project. It’s an extension of their politics and their poetics.
ALOCASIA’s All-Indigenous Issue is a standout moment—not just for the journal, but for the wider lit landscape. It features Indigenous writers telling plant-based stories that centre ancestry, land, survival, and sovereignty. It’s a lush, grounded, and deeply moving collection.
And yes—it’s paid work. Contributors are given $50 for their writing. No submission fees. No AI-generated content. Just real, human words from voices that are too often erased.
ALOCASIA doesn’t chase prestige. It doesn’t bend to mainstream algorithms. It grows in its own direction—slowly, purposefully, and with radical attention to both craft and context.
In a lit world that still too often sees “nature writing” as the domain of cis white men on mountaintops, ALOCASIA plants a different seed. One rooted in queerness, indigeneity, accessibility, and love for the living world in all its forms.
So to Sarah Clark and everyone who has ever published, read, or supported ALOCASIA—this is your moment. This is what it looks like when a press does the work not for clout, but for connection.
#IndieLitMagGala is about gratitude. About catching lit mags off-guard with the kind of recognition that can’t be faked. ALOCASIA, you deserve this—and then some.
Founded in 2015 and still standing strong a decade later, Door Is A Jar Literary Magazine isn’t trying to be edgy, obscure,
In a lit world still groaning under the weight of gatekeepers, binary boxes, and pay-to-play submission models, new words {press} is a
In the sea of indie presses, few walk their talk like Arachne Press. Founded in 2012 and still run largely solo by
The Broken Spine is a poetry and arts collective proudly published on the coastal edge of North-West England. Founded in 2019 by Alan Parry and Paul Robert Mullen – two school friends reunited after twenty years through a mutual love of poetry.