SPIRALS IN THE STONE
Stories of Memory, Land & Endurance
Priority Reading Period: August 1 – August 31 2026
General Submission Window: September 1 – October 15, 2026
Genres: Literary fiction, personal essay, mythic realism, place-based narratives
Priority Submissions (August)
Submissions received during the Priority Reading Period receive:
-
priority consideration,
-
a 75–150 word editor’s note, and
-
a guaranteed 3-week response.
Notes highlight strengths and areas of potential; they are not full critiques.
Prizes
Grand Prize — $100
Awarded to one piece from any category. Winner receives:
-
$100 cash prize
-
Lead placement in the anthology
-
Author spotlight in the introduction
-
Consideration for Pushcart, Best Small Fictions, and other annual anthologies (where eligible)
Category Winners — $25 each
One winner per category receives:
-
$25
-
Featured placement within their section
-
Mention in the anthology introduction
Honorable Mentions
Publication + recognition in contributor notes.
Categories
Impressions (Haiku / 5–7–5)
Up to three haiku per submission. Quiet, imagistic moments rooted in land, memory, or history.
Field Notes (<750 words)
Brief but complete stories or essays grounded in place, memory, and personal or regional history.
Fragments of insight. Weathered narrative moments.
Witness Narratives (750–3,000 words)
Fully shaped stories or personal essays exploring endurance, landscape, ancestry, loss, belonging, or transformation.
Voice-driven, intentional, place-rooted.
Triptych (Optional)
Three linked stories or perspectives (up to 5,000 total words) that explore layered histories, generational echoes, or multiple angles on a place or memory.
What We Want
Stories carrying the weight of memory and the presence of land — personal histories, quiet myths, regional echoes, generational stories, and moments where landscape becomes witness.
Work that feels weathered, lived-in, enduring.
Cultural Integrity
Stories involving Indigenous history, culture, or lived experience must be written by Indigenous authors from their own communities.
​
How to submit:
Click the “Submit” button below to get to the Duosuma submission portal. Please send us your work as a Word document or PDF via the submission form linked below. This link will take you to our submission portal on Duosoma.