Category Archives: Call For Submissions

Many years ago, Descant discussed an issue centered on Toronto’s buried waterways. We began with Taddle Creek, and then Garrison Creek, a 12,000-year-old stream that was “buried” beneath the city’s downtown streets nearly a century ago, but which can still be glimpsed, whether trickling beneath a sewer grate or rushing through the city’s imagination. Toronto’s creeks are the progenitors of The Hidden City, an issue dedicated to that which escapes first notice in the world’s myriad urban landscapes. From buried rivers to underground habitats to the city’s silent/silenced citizens to the city transformed by darkness, we want your best creative work on the creatures, geographies, and societies that elude our surface experience. What do we cover over? What escapes us? What have we forgotten or missed? The Hidden City wants  you to show us the unexamined corners of the world’s living cities.

In Indian cooking, masala is a delicate and savoury fusion of spices that changes from region to region. So the peoples of India, scattered throughout the world today, display a fusion of cultures and histories. Descant is looking for the stories of the Indian Diaspora, its triumphs and its tragedies. Essays, poems, fictions, memoirs, and art work which show the ways in which the Indian peoples connect with one another worldwide and also differentiate themselves from and yet are still linked to modern India.

Submission deadline for this issue: August 15th 2012

Attention writers: the deadline for our two upcoming themed issues — BOSNIA, BETWEEN LOSS AND RECOVERY and RENOVATIONS — is March 15, 2011. We are requesting submissions of unpublished fiction, poetry, essays and photography.

BOSNIA, BETWEEN LOSS AND RECOVERY, will be released in Fall 2012 as Descant 158, under the supervision of our wonderful guest editor, Amila Buturovic.

RENOVATIONS, with the guidance of guest editors Scott McIntyre and Rebecca Payne, will be the 159th issue of Descant. It is planned for release in the Winter of 2012.

For submission guidelines, visit: descant.ca/submit.html

Any question about submissions can be directed to: info@descant.ca

Descant is seeking submissions of fiction, poetry, essays and visual art for our forthcoming themed issue: Bosnia, between Loss and Recovery.

The deadline for submissions to this themed issue is March 15, 2011. The issue will be released in the fall of 2012 as Descant 158, under the guidance of our wonderful guest editor, Amila Buturovic.

Read on for more information!

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Since the end of the war in 1995, Bosnia & Herzegovina has been places / countries / territories in transition, torn between narrow nationalist narratives and expansive possibilities; suspended loss and recovery, pain and longing. Janus-faced, Bosnia still haunts our memories, raises our concerns about the future, but also intrigues and inspires us in the present. What does Bosnia evoke and epitomize for you? What do you see in Bosnia, and what do you not see? How does the language of image, poetry, and prose capture the complexities of Bosnia, from within and without? Descant is soliciting memories, concerns and present realities in submissions of unpublished fiction, poetry, essays, photography and previously unpublished works of translation.

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Don’t forget to review our guidelines before submitting!

Any questions regarding submissions may be directed to: info@descant.ca

Attention writers: the deadline for our upcoming Sicily themed issue is June 1, 2010 (packages postmarked on or before June 1 will be accepted for review). We are requesting submissions of unpublished fiction, poetry, essays, photography and previously unpublished works of translation from the Sicilian! This is an open call for all who have been influenced by Sicily to write. You may be of Sicilian descent or simply have been touched and inspired by Sicily in some way! Our D155 issue will be released next winter 2011 — what better way to pass the cold winter than with beautiful images and stories from the island?

Under the guidance of our talented guest editors Michelle Alfano and Venera Fazio, our Sicily issue is going to be one to remember! Sicily has always conjured up vivid images of beautiful landscapes, blue waters and enticing foods. It isn’t a surprise that the island has become an inspiration and muse for many writers. Descant would like to hear what Sicily is to you. How has it changed over the years? What about Sicily today? Sicily is now a thriving metropolitan of sacred traditions and an influx of modern influences. Tell us your story, whether it be past down from generations or relevant to current times today.

My grandfather was a chef for a Baron in Sicily before he came to America. I grew up with him. I used to do my homework at one end of the kitchen table while he cooked at the other end.  – Vincent Schiavelli

We look forward to seeing and reading your work!

For submissions guidelines, check out: descant.ca/submit.html

Any questions about submissions can be directed to: info@descant.ca

Attention writers: you still have a few days to submit your poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and drama to D152, Descant‘s forthcoming Ghosts and The Uncanny issue!

Packages postmarked on or before March 1, 2010 will be accepted for review. D152 is slated for publication in Spring 2011, under the guidance of our talented guest editors Alex Maeve Campbell and Christina Francisco.

We look forward to receiving — and reading — your work!

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An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.

— Charles Dickens

For this special issue, Descant turns ghost hunter and dares to explore the murky connections between life and death, science and superstition, folk beliefs and fictions. We are looking for apparitions of all kinds. Do you have paranormal poetry? Are you haunted by the past? Do you have a ghost of an idea? Perhaps you’d like to address the role of ghosts in literature and film. We want to document the existence of ghosts, both literal and metaphorical, on our pages.

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For submissions guidelines, check out: descant.ca/submit.html

Any questions about submissions can be directed to: info@descant.ca