Penumbra Special Teaching Edition 2026
Ends on
Call for Submissions
Penumbra Special Teaching Edition 2026
Theme: Teaching Lives
Teaching is more than a career. It is a way of inhabiting the world—a practice of curiosity, uncertainty, human connection, obsessive self-reflection, and continual becoming. It unfolds in classrooms and labs, studios and stages, libraries and field sites, offices, coffee shops, and hallways, and in the moments that shape both teacher and student, even after a course has ended. For this special edition, Penumbra, the journal of literature and art at Stanislaus State University, invites academics and educators across the globe, especially those hailing from the Central Valley, to reflect creatively on the theme Teaching Lives. We seek work that explores the textures of teaching: the moments of discovery and doubt, connection and transformation, humor and pain, inspiration, lamentation, failure, and reengagement; the rocky pursuit of knowledge and awareness and the creative products that emerge therefrom. We welcome pieces that consider the craft of teaching, the communities we build, the lives we encounter, and the ways our work continually recalibrates our asymptotic understanding of ourselves and the world. The theme is meant to be expansive, encompassing classrooms both literal and metaphorical, the visible and invisible labor of teaching, mentorship, scholarship, creativity, service, memory, or imagination, so long as it speaks meaningfully to the experience of teaching and learning. Contributors may submit one of the following:
- Up to three poems
- One short story
- One creative nonfiction piece
- One hybrid work
- One one-act play
- Up to three works of visual art
- Up to three photographs
As always, Penumbra is edited and produced by Stanislaus State students, who are honored to read, curate, and present the creative work of the faculty who inspire the local university community. However, we seek submissions from teachers near or far, college professors,teaching assistants, lecturers, adjunct faculty, secondary school teachers, and so on. If you teach and love to create, then we want to hear from you. We look forward to sharing this conversation with our campus and beyond. Please adhere to the following guidelines:
- Each work must be submitted separately as an individual piece (i.e. upload one piece per submission). Those who include multiple pieces in one submission (by uploading 3 poems in one document, for example) will not be considered for inclusion in Penumbra.
- Poetry: avoid the urge to submit “epic” or narrative poems of several hundred lines. Because of space restrictions in our print journal, we need to keep poems relatively short—between haiku length and 150 lines.
- Hybrid/Fiction/Non-Fiction: We will not consider individual works in these genres that exceed 1500 words in length.
- Art: Images must be submitted in jpeg format, with a minimum resolution of 200 dpi.
- All works must be submitted through Submittable. Again, each work must be uploaded individually.
- The deadline for submissions is October 28th, 2026 before midnight.
For more information, refer to Penumbra’s submissions guidelines.