For the Spring 2025 issue of Shenandoah, editorial fellow Stevie Billow seeks CREATIVE NONFICTION that explores the relationship between language and identity. Send your personal essays that bend and break the “rules” of grammar, tackle the translation of self between and beyond languages, ruminate on verbal code-switching, your bilingual and multilingual writing, your emojis and emoticons where words won’t suffice, the words that fail you, the words that feel like home. 

Stevie is especially interested in promoting the work of emerging writers from marginalized backgrounds, communities, and experiences and highly encourages folks who don’t have an extensive publication history to submit! 

Pieces between 1000 and 4000 words are preferred. Shenandoah contributors are paid $80 per 1000 words up to $400. 

Some general logistics: We’ll only consider one submission per author at a time; no multiple submissions in different genres, please! We'll also consider only one submission per reading period. In other words, if you submit a piece of nonfiction and it isn't accepted, please wait until our next reading period to submit a new piece unless you've been specifically invited to resubmit. Submitted work should be previously unpublished in English. Work simultaneously submitted elsewhere will be considered, but we ask that you withdraw the work immediately if it is accepted (and congratulations, by the way!). 

This portal is for COMICS submissions only. Any other genre will be declined without being read. Please see the Submit page on our website for reading periods in all genres. COMICS, considered by editor Chris Gavaler, can be in black and white or color and should be submitted as PDFs. 

Chris will only consider one submission per author at a time (no multiple submissions in different genres, please), and will delete multiple submissions without reading them. Please decide what you’d like us to read most, submit that, and wait for a response before submitting additional work. Submitted work should be previously unpublished in English. Work simultaneously submitted elsewhere will be considered, but we ask that you withdraw the work immediately if it is accepted (and congratulations, by the way).