descant seeks high-quality work in either innovative or traditional forms. We usually prefer works of creative nonfiction to be 5000 words or fewer, but we do, however, occasionally accept submissions exceeding this length. descant specifies no particular subject matter or style. Please submit only one work of CNF per submission period.. 

Writers must confirm that work accepted by descant has not been previously published and that they will credit descant as the original publisher whenever and wherever else the work may be placed.

Submissions are considered from 2/1 to 4/1/26.

The process for reviewing submissions can take time, and the editors appreciate your patience as we look over your work. Decisions on submissions can take between four and six months. Please do not query before five months have passed.

descant seeks high-quality work in either innovative or traditional forms. We usually prefer poems to be sixty lines or fewer, but we do, however, occasionally accept submissions exceeding this length. descant specifies no particular subject matter or style. Please submit no more than five poems at one time. 

Writers must confirm that work accepted by descant has not been previously published and that they will credit descant as the original publisher whenever and wherever else the work may be placed.

Submissions are considered from 2/1 through 4/1/26.

The process for reviewing submissions can take time, and the editors appreciate your patience as we look over your work. Decisions on submissions can take between four and six months. Please do not query before five months have passed.

descant seeks high-quality work in either innovative or traditional forms. We usually prefer fiction to be 5000 words or fewer, but we do, however, occasionally accept submissions exceeding this length. descant specifies no particular subject matter or style. Please submit only one story. 

Writers must confirm that work accepted by descant has not been previously published and that they will credit descant as the original publisher whenever and wherever else the work may be placed.

Submissions are considered from 2/1 to 4/1/26.

The process for reviewing submissions can take time, and the editors appreciate your patience as we look over your work. Decisions on submissions can take between four and six months. Please do not query before five months have passed.

Richard Wright once passionately declared, “All literature is protest”. In a reality where even typeface fonts are politicized, the sheer power of the word, and efforts to stymie that power, have never been more evident. However, the people resist. Whether through boycotts, walk-outs, reading and writing banned literature, celebrating singular voices that cultural dominance would sweep away, or holding vigils to mourn the martyred, the people always find ways to push back against threatening regimes. At the height of liberation movements in the 1970s, Nobel laureate Toni Morrison said that since she couldn’t join protesters in the street, she had to find a way to resist with her pen. The pen is an apt weapon and, when a pen is not available, an utterance can communicate dissent as well.

With these truths in mind, descant invokes a clarion call for "Works in Resistance". We invite authors to submit (up to 5) poems and works of prose—both fiction and nonfiction (up to 5000 words)—that embody resistance in some way. This is not limited to protest stories, so think broadly and deeply about ways that even the mundane can waylay the systemic. Where is resistance found in families, schools, places of worship, and communities? Join us in offering creative moments that motivate us to keep fighting, even when the days are bleak.

This Special Call is open from February 1 – April 1, 2026

Writers are welcome to send to both the Special Call and general submission call.

If you do this, please send only one work or packet to each call.