HerStry's Winter 2027 issue will be organized around the theme 'Light,' a provocation that resists easy optimism. The editors seek narratives that explore illumination and its absences—explosions of color, rebuilt hearts, places where light cannot reach and places where it burns too bright. This is a call for fiction that operates at the extremities of experience, where light is both subject and formal principle. The magazine publishes fiction of up to 10,000 words, encompassing both long-form stories that linger in the mind and micro fiction that delivers immediate, visceral impact. HerStry reads blind, ensuring that manuscripts are evaluated solely on their literary merit, without regard to publication history or identity. This commitment to blind reading reflects a curatorial vision that prioritizes the quality of the work itself, not the reputation of its author. There is a $3.00 submission fee. HerStry explicitly welcomes new writers, and the absence of a cover letter requirement underscores the editors' focus on the manuscript. The journal seeks writing that weaves 'tingling sentences and unforgettable characters,' aiming to 'make us hurt in the best way.' This is an invitation to submit fiction that is emotionally resonant and stylistically distinctive, where light functions as both theme and craft.