Our Story
T. James and Jay Watts are longtime friends (and occasional frienemies) with a shared passion for the arts. T loves words; Jay loves design. Together, they wanted to create a space where “other” voices are elevated—voices that aren’t always heard, people who aren’t always seen, and stories that don’t easily fit into a single bucket.
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Neon & Smoke exists to build community—between contributors, between readers, and across the hazy, glowing space in between. We hope artists come here to see their work celebrated, and readers come here to experience a blend of artistry that’s rich with texture and glow, clear yet mysterious.
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We love emails. We appreciate feedback. We’re always down for a good discussion—and we do our best to be responsive.
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We also know we’re doing a few things differently, and we’ll probably make a few mistakes along the way. That’s part of the experiment.
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Thank you for your interest, your contributions, and your voices. Thanks for joining us on this journey—however long it lasts.
See you in the Smoke,
T & J
Neon & Smoke
Neon & Smoke is a home for bold, voice-driven fiction with emotional weight and narrative fire.
We publish stories that don’t sit quietly—tales where the plot might thrill, chill, or make you laugh, but always reveals something deeper. We crave characters who leap off the page, language that crackles, and stories that blur the line between genre and literary not for the sake of novelty, but it’s the most honest way to tell the truth.
We believe in the power of contradiction: softness and grit, humor and horror, beauty
and decay. Our name is a nod to contrast—to the glow and the haze, the seen and the
obscured. If your story doesn’t fit neatly into one box… good. It probably belongs here.
We're looking for:
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Literary stories wearing genre coats
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Genre stories with literary hearts
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Stories that say something without preaching
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Characters who won’t shut up in your head
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Fiction that feels like a punch, a prayer, or a party—sometimes all three
We don’t shy away from difficult topics—but we look for depth, not edge. We’re drawn to
emotionally resonant stories, vivid voices, and characters that feel real in all their flawed
glory.
We are readers, writers, artists, misfits, and meaning-makers. If your fiction blurs
boundaries, breathes fire into forgotten places, or makes the familiar strange, we want
to read it.
Revised Policy: Our Evolving Approach to Visuals and AI
At Neon & Smoke, every word you read is written by a human being.
After listening closely to feedback from our contributors and readers, we’ve decided to pause the use of AI-assisted visuals in our own design work. Our focus, first and always, is to honor writers in the ways they want to be honored.
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That said, we recognize that technology continues to reshape how art is made. We’re not here to draw hard lines — we’re here to listen, learn, and evolve. If a contributor chooses to submit their own image (AI-assisted or otherwise), we remain open to reviewing it for inclusion, provided it aligns with our publication’s aesthetic and values.
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We also believe these conversations matter. AI isn’t going away, and as artists, editors, and curators, we should be asking thoughtful questions about how it intersects with creativity, ownership, and ethics. Our goal is not to take sides, but to create space for reflection and respectful dialogue.
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As Neon & Smoke grows, we’ll continue exploring new ways to collaborate with illustrators and visual artists — and to engage our community in shaping what creative integrity looks like in a changing world.
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.
