Hey, so glad you’re here!
I’m Jerry Portwood, the founder of The Queer Love Project. Our presence on Substack is part of my larger Queer Love Project mission, which I hope allows people to find, accept and explore love and commitment among gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people in queer relationships. We’re also exploring the elasticity of queer friendships, pansexuality, as well as asexuality and aroace stories. Basically, this is a fluid and open community welcome to anyone who feels they are on the LGBTQ+ spectrum or questioning.
We also have a podcast and a zine, and you can find those parts on other platforms, including YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts (as well as other podcast platforms). We also have an Etsy page where you can find some of our merch!
In an effort to put more attention on growing QLP in more satisfying ways—and to claw back more of my time from the attention economy controlled by the corporate tech goliaths—I’ve decided not to create new Queer Love Project social accounts at this time (beyond a Bluesky), but you can find and follow me on Instagram and LinkedIn, where I share links and other insights related to The Queer Love Project to amplify our voices.
We are committed to keeping all of our words free at QLP, because we want the personal essays, questionnaires and interviews to be as accessible as possible. While we have rigorous standards, I strive to be different than other gatekeepers and welcome anyone with a story they want to share to reach out and let me know. The easiest way is by email at queerloveprojectsub at gmail dot com. You can also check out and submit answers to the QLP questionnaire here.
Here are a few personal essays to give you a sense of what we’ve shared:
We pay our contributors, so your paid subscription and support is valuable!
Why subscribe?
This is a platform for us to share personal stories of struggles and happy endings, of poor romantic decisions and how we try to make better and better ones. It will include interviews and advice, and seek to provide insights to those just starting out in their lives as well as highlight the queer elders who have figured out how to thrive. It will span queer couplings, pansexual polycules, asexual romantic relationships and the multiplicity of ways we put ourselves together.
Why The Queer Love Project?
The Queer Love Project was founded by writer, editor and instructor Jerry Portwood in the summer of 2024. As the Executive Editor at Out magazine (2011-2015), he published thousands of pieces about LGBTQ+ people on a variety of topics, including launching the first Love Issue in February 2012 with Editor Aaron Hicklin—which got shelved as “porn” in multiple newsstands because it showed two men (husbands Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka) nuzzling on the cover.
He’s made sure to queer every place he’s worked, starting at Creative Loafing in Atlanta (2001-2003), where he published a cover story on drag queens in the city titled “Power of the Wig.” During his time as Editor in Chief of New York Press (2006-2011), he launched weekly personal essay columns (“Flavor of the Week” and “8 Million Stories”) that resulted in thousands of emerging writers getting their start and many were optioned for books and movies.
While at Rolling Stone as Digital Editorial Director (2016-2021), Jerry not only grew the staff into a more diverse and robust news room, they covered a wide array of progressive topics, such as trans youth finding happiness in the South and how queer communities were organizing during the Covid pandemic.
Whether through interviews, personal essays or other formats, he’s always amplified the queer experience—especially the political act of expressing our love for one another openly in defiance of persecution. The Queer Love Project is the next stage in that editorial mission: to share our stories and create an archive for others.
At the moment, all Queer Love Project essays and content is free to read and will be emailed to subscribers weekly. In the future, paid subscribers to this newsletter will receive exclusive access to bonus content—so stay tuned!
A few of our questionnaires to get you started:
From Editor Jerry Portwood:
“Over the years, I’ve been obsessed with interviewing couples about how they made it work: old, young, transgender, interracial, celebrities, full-time military, families with children. I was thrilled to meet Edie Windsor, Jim Obergefell and other notable people who had been fighting legal battles for human rights for us all. I wanted to hear all the reasons they decided to tie the knot — or not.
“I seek for this newsletter to be a platform for us to share personal stories of struggles and happy endings, of poor romantic decisions and how we try to make better and better ones. It will include interviews and advice, and seek to provide insights to those just starting out in their lives as well as highlight the queer elders who have figured out how to thrive. It will span queer couplings, pansexual polycules, asexual romantic relationships and the multiplicity of ways we put ourselves together without role models in family lineage or media or mainstream culture.
“Same-sex and queer relationships are not the same as heterosexual ones — and shouldn’t pretend to be — and we must never forget that. In fact, it’s time to come out and celebrate it.”
Read his full post that sums up the mission of The Queer Love Project.
How to Submit
The Queer Love Project is open for submissions from all interested writers. We publish essays that are original and not previously published on any other platforms, unless those platforms are defunct and the material is 100% available for use.
Topics: We accept personal essays that reveal heartbreaks, happiness, secrets, reflections on coming out, sexual encounters and the realities of dating. The intersection of families and other versions of “love” all make sense to answer the question: “What do you know about love?” There should be a clear take away from the experience, so it’s not just an anecdote but shows that there was some growth or lesson learned. Think “Modern Love”—but only queer stories.
How to Pitch: You must be a subscriber to pitch. (It’s free!) Pitches should include a working headline (it’s a good idea to use that in your subject line as well), a paragraph or two that summarize (outline) why the story matters. Also give a bit of biographical information—which means that you should tell us a little about who you are and why you're the right person to write this story. Is it pegged to a current event or something people are talking about? Make sure to include that as well.
Format: Attach your completed essay as a Google doc link or word doc and also paste it in the body of the email below your pitch. Use Times New Roman or Arial font at 12pt and double spaced for ease of reading.
Word length: 1,500-3,000 words is ideal. Longer essays are welcome, too, but try to keep it under 3K.
Original work and first serial rights: The Queer Love Project will have exclusive rights to the piece for two years if accepted. We pay $75 for original essays upon publication (typically via Venmo, Zelle or PayPal). After which, you can publish elsewhere as long as you link to the original piece published on QueerLoveProject.substack.com.
Excerpts and previously published work: We do publish original work that is excerpted from memoirs and anthologies and will provide pre-order links and other citations. *We do not pay for excerpts or previously published works.
When to expect a reply: We hope to reply within 5 days from first submission. Do not follow up before that time. It doesn’t have to be perfect! We will offer feedback and edits for your essay. If you haven’t heard back within 7 days, please feel free to reply to your original email so that it is threaded with your original pitch email.
Can it be previously published? Yes, we will read and consider previously published material as long as you retain the copyright and have permission to publish it again. If it was previously on Medium or your own Substack but you wan to revise, expand, reconsider—even better! Don’t be shy about sharing. We’ll let you know if it’s not a good fit and probably suggest other places where you might be able to submit the piece.
We do not publish: Any content that was written by or with the assistance of generative AI.
Can I pitch an interview with someone? Yes! If there is a person you think would add to the conversation, please feel free to pitch the interview subject with as much information as you have available. Please let us know if you already have access to the subject of the interview or if you are seeking a way to contact this person (their publicist, etc.). We’d love to have you participate in this way if it’s your preferred method.
A few of our original interviews with authors, filmmakers, and other creatives:
How can I contact the Queer Love Project?
Email the Queer Love Project and editors Jerry Portwood and Michael Narkunski!
Or you can always like, comment on a post, share a Note or DM us via Substack.
We pay our contributors, so your subscription and support is valuable! Thanks for reading.
