Caring, Connecting, Supporting, and Sustaining Our Communities and Ourselves in this Crucial Time
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS to Saint Paul Almanac—The Magazine Spring/Summer 2026, Issue 3!
Saint Paul Almanac - The Magazine is seeking submissions for its Spring/Summer 2026, Issue 3! ***
Minnesotans are living through an unprecedented time in our state’s history. Due to the recent federal occupation of the Twin Cities based on the federal government’s immigration and customs enforcement policies and procedures, thousands of Minnesotans have encountered fear, pandemonium, and trauma, to say the least. Therefore, economic, emotional, mental, and social consequences abound. These consequences are far-reaching and rippling. Yet tens of thousands of Minnesotans—media reported fifty thousand—demonstrated an indomitable spirit, exhibiting solidarity and strength in support of our neighbors while protesting in sub-degree temperatures. On January 23rd, the whole world witnessed our courage, hope, and love, and many became inspired.
Daily national news about Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities reveal the consideration that we have for each other’s wellbeing regardless of color, race, and national origin. Minnesotans are protecting our neighbors, feeding our neighbors, caring for our neighbors’ families, raising funds to aid our neighbors; the list is long. The things we’re doing to uphold each other’s humanity and to nourish each other’s spirits are wondrous. We’re better neighbors now than we were months ago!
How are you being resilient and helping your neighbors be resilient during this time? How are you and your communities unifying to stay creative and strong in the face of danger, disruption, and hardship? What are you learning from challenges that can equip you to move forward with others in cooperation and peace? Given the incalculable impact of the recent upheaval in our Twin Cities, our collective work must persist. To recover and rebuild, we must continue to love our neighbors with fearlessness, intentionality, and generosity.
This unprecedented time must be documented. This call is an invitation for you to offer your meditations, poems, and stories in helping to build community. Let’s gather our collective voice so we can connect and sustain our unique, diverse, and vibrant communities.
We want to see work from YOU, from those living in the Twin Cities and around Minnesota, from those in the following communities and movements, who are experiencing and want to respond to the current historical, social, and political circumstances regarding the recent federal occupation of the Twin Cities:
· writers of immigrant generations (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)
· writers from/of refugee spaces
· writers from displaced populations
· writers who are neighborhood witnesses/legal observers
· writers who are community activists /social justice activists
· writers who sing, dance, and perform in protest
· BIPOC writers
· LGBQIA+ writers
· writers with disabilities
· writers living in tent cities
· writers experiencing homelessness
· writers facing food insecurity
· writers who can envision how we can work together to dismantle our discordant society and create a harmonious future
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES – Ready Closely
For this call, we’re seeking CNF (i.e., creative nonfiction, such as personal essay and short memoir), poetry, and fiction (including speculative fiction). We welcome a range of emotions from sorrow to celebration and from outrage to humor, and themes that vary from struggle to triumph. Our editors look for work that makes us think, moves us, or surprises us. We're especially interested in those voices that are often missing.
1. Number of submissions: You may submit both prose and poetry, previously unpublished. Submit one work of prose (either CNF or fiction, not both) and one poem. Only the best work per writer will be accepted for publication.
2. Submission Name: Use the title of your work(s) as the file name(s) in the Submission Name Block on the submission form. Please don’t use your personal or author name on the file or anywhere on your manuscript to avoid being disqualified.
3. Number of words for prose submissions: for CNF and Fiction, submit up to 1000 words or fewer, previously unpublished. You can submit either CNF or fiction, but not both.
4. Work written in a language other than English: If you wish to submit in a language other than English, you must include a translation in English. You can submit either CNF or fiction, but not both.
5. Specifications for Poetry Page Numbers, Font Type, and Font Size: You may submit 1 previously unpublished poem, no longer than two pages, using Times New Roman or Calibri, 12-size font. If you also submit a prose piece, only the best of the two works will be published. Anything over the two-page count will be disqualified.
6. Specifications for Prose Font Type and Font Size, and Line Spacing: Submit a word document double spaced using fonts Times New Roman or Calibri, 12-size font. Anything over the 1000-word count will be disqualified. Please write or type the word count in the upper left-hand corner of your prose manuscript. You can submit either CNF or fiction, but not both.
PLEASE REMEMBER: The community editors read only blind submissions. Therefore, to avoid being disqualified, The Submission Name should be the title of your work. Personal or author names should not appear as the file name, or on the manuscript, or with the title of the submission.
DEADLINE SUBMISSION: April 3, 2026, 11:59 PM CST
TIME-SENSITIVE: A Generative Prompt-Based Writing Workshop
Saint Paul Almanac will host a complimentary writing workshop offering:
- a safe, collective space in which to process what has happened since the recent federal occupation of the Twin Cities
- writing prompts to generate ideas regarding the call for submissions
Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon - Complimentary coffee, tea, and ice water will be served.
Place: Carondelet Event Center, Room 101 - Complimentary off-street parking available.
1890 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105, 651-696-2795
The Carondelet Event Center is in Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, next door to St. Catherine University.
Workshop Facilitator: April Be is a lover of words and music. A facilitator, circle keeper, certified mediator, and intrinsic coach, she has committed over twenty years to justice and conflict resolution, and to being an intentional community member.
NOTE: RSVP by March 2, 2026, 11:59 PM for “A Generative Prompt-Based Writing Workshop” at submissions@saintpaulalmanac.org The workshop will host up to 50 attendees.
Some Recommended Resources:
· Check out our digital magazine to see the types of stories we have published:
Saint Paul Almanac-The Magazine | literary arts magazine https://www.saintpaulalmanac-themagazine.org
*** The first issue of our digital publication debuted in October 2023 as another publishing opportunity for Saint Paul poets, writers, and visual artists as well as for those living beyond St. Paul, Minnesota, in the Twin Cities, around the state, across the nation, and throughout the world. This publication also serves as another way to extend our audiences globally. The Magazine alternates every other year with our printed Almanac anthology.
· Check out Guante.info/resources
Guante offers plenty of ideas and much inspiration for writers encountering discouragement and writer’s block during troubling times.