Submissions for the 2026 issue of Yonder will open on November 16th and close on January 21st, 2027.

What We Owe Each Other
For this year’s edition of Yonder, we invite writers and artists to explore the ties that connect us to one another. We seek thoughtful, surprising, and imaginative responses to a question as old as humanity and as immediate as everyday life.
Ask yourself: What do we owe the people who raised us? What do we owe the places that shaped us? What do we owe ourselves? What do we owe those we cannot understand or relate to? What do we carry forward, and what do we leave behind?
Every life is shaped by others. The friend who stayed. The parent who could not. The teacher who changed how we saw the world. The stranger whose kindness lingered. The people we have loved. The family we lost.
While What We Owe Each Other serves as the guiding theme for this issue, submissions are not required to engage with it. We welcome outstanding work on any subject. Because print space is limited, submissions that thoughtfully respond to the theme will receive priority consideration for inclusion in the print edition. All submissions will be considered for the Graduate Literary Contest regardless of subject matter, provided the author opts in for contest consideration at the time of submission.
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Yonder welcomes submissions from all graduate students enrolled at Western Carolina University.
By accepting publication, authors grant Yonder first serial rights and the nonexclusive right to publish the work in print and digital formats. All rights revert to the author upon publication.
Authors may also elect to have their submission considered for the Graduate Literary Contest in addition to print and web publication. Please indicate your interest at the time of submission. Awards will be granted to the top three entries, with cash prizes for each winner.

Eligible Categories include: Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Essay, and Black-and-White Digitized Art.

Submission Limits: Authors may submit up to three works total across all categories. Each work must be submitted as a separate Submittable entry and may not be combined with other works in a single submission. Individual poems are considered separate submissions. Written submissions should not exceed 2,500 words per submission.

Formatting Requirements: Written submissions should adhere to the following guidelines.

  • Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format
  • Times New Roman, 12pt font
  • Double-spaced
  • File names formatted as LastName.FirstName.Genre (e.g., Smith.Jane.Nonfiction)
To ensure a blind review process, please do not include your name or any identifying information within the body of the document. Submissions that do not conform to these guidelines may be deemed ineligible for consideration.

Editorial Review and Copyediting: By submitting to Yonder, contributors acknowledge that accepted works may undergo minor copyediting for grammar, spelling, formatting, punctuation, and consistency of style. Any substantive editorial changes will be discussed with and approved by the author prior to publication.

Artificial Intelligence: We do not accept work generated wholly or in-part through generative artificial intelligence tools.

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