Vol. 4: ¡Queens is the Future!

Background: Queens has been an important, yet overlooked part of the Latin American and Latinx literary tradition since the 1960s and 70s, when a surge of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean began arriving in New York City. Eventually, a thriving community of writers, poets, and playwrights found a home in Queens. Much of this creativity was harnessed by the Ollantay Center for the Arts in Jackson Heights, which was founded by Cuban playwright Pedro Monge-Rafuls. From the 1970s onwards, Ollantay produced a theater magazine, a literary press, workshops, conferences, events, stage productions, and more. Huellas seeks to contribute to this literary tradition, and expand upon its principles of inclusivity and multiculturalism. 

Abstract: In 1964, Queens hosted the World’s Fair. With over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations, the event was quite literally a glimpse into the future. More than 51 million people visited the fair, which provided a showcase of mid-century American culture, technology, and most prominently, corporate branding. The following year, U.S. president Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Just two weeks later, the World’s Fair closed as immigrants began to arrive in Queens en masse. In the ensuing years, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, where the fair was held, became an essential place for immigrant families to gather on weekends and holidays. Meanwhile, many of the structures erected for the World’s Fair decayed. Symbols of the future now relics of the past. Decades later, we still acknowledge that Queens is the future, even amid the ruins. Our immigrant spirit is one of renewal and rebirth. It is perhaps not the future imagined at the World’s Fair, where white Anglo-American exceptionalism staked its claim on the global imagination. Today, more people than ever live in a country other than the one in which they were born, according to the UN. Mostly for work and by extension, survival, dignity, and opportunity. We live in a world in transit, with Queens as an example for what once homogenous societies can look forward to, for better or worse. Here in Queens, we say with pride that we are the future, your future. Here in Queens, we have no choice but to coexist as the World’s borough, with an abundance of languages, foods, cultures, histories, and so on. For this special issue of Huellas, we are looking for stories that convey the essence of Queens, stories that begin or end here—at an airport, in a cemetery, on the 7 train, etc.  In short, what are the stories of home in a place that is home to all?

Guidelines: 

• Please submit the following a pitch (250 words or less), your pronouns, a brief summary of your connection to Queens (200 words), and a short bio (100 words) to huellas.mag@gmail.com no later than September 1, 2022. *Final drafts will be due by November 1, 2022. 

• The special issue will feature nonfiction narrative articles of 2,000 to 3,500 words. Contributors receive $300 upon publication. A public launch event, in-person or virtual, will be held upon completion of the special issue. 

• Huellas seeks to publish the work of emerging Latinx and Latin American writers based in Queens, with roots in Abya Yala, particularly Afro and Indigenous communities underrepresented in long-form, non-fiction narrative writing, otherwise known as crónicas narrativas. Please visit our website for examples: www.huellasmag.com

• We are seeking original non-fiction narrative storytelling; we do not accept articles that have been previously published. We are most interested in atypical stories where authors transmit to the reader a sense of their excitement and interest in a given topic. *We do not accept fiction submissions at this time.