Calls for submissions
We are open for submissions during the following periods.
- July 2024 issue: 1st May – 14th June 2024
- November 2024 issue: 1st September – 14th October 2024
- March 2025 issue: 8th January – 14th February 2025
For our July 2024 issue, we have chosen the theme of ‘Cities.’ Other forthcoming themes will be announced in due course.
July 2024 issue: Cities
Opens for submissions 1st May 2024 and closes for submissions 14th June 2024.
City: /ˈsɪti/ origin: Middle English: from Old French cite, Latin civitas, and civis ‘citizen.’ Noun 1. A large town or place with a large population. 2. A large urban centre incorporated by the state, province, or Crown. 3. An ancient Greek city-state; polis. 4. The people of a city collectively.
Please see our FAQs and Submissions pages for more information, and for specific sections and submission length and information, read on below. All submissions should follow our Style Guide. We will not accept queries or pitches, only completed works previously unpublished, with the exception of visual arts and book excerpt selections.
Sections open to the public for the CITIES issue:
Travel memoir: we seek works of nonfiction travel memoir with a strong narrative arc. 1500 to 6000 words. Please send completed works to Nonfiction Editors Kerry Beth Neville, Samuel Autman, and Joelle Renstrom through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Cities/Travel Memoir.
Decolonising travel: For this issue, we’re seeking essays or visual stories that take us into, around, atop, or below the city. Sensory maps that offer new ways of experiencing neighbourhoods. Guides to navigating contested urban territories. Passage through ancient cities and floating cities. New takes on mythologised cities that have lured travellers for centuries. Meditations on megacities and temporary cities. Portraits of cities as characters. We are committed to working with underrepresented voices and those from the global majority, and seek writing that interrogates travel privilege and imperialist language. Please send completed works (preferably 1,000-3,000 words) to Decolonising Travel Editor Faith Adiele through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to the work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Cities/Decolonising Travel.
General and speculative nonfiction: we seek all forms of nonfiction writing. For CITIES, we are particularly interested in the crossing-over that travel provides, whether in the aspect of the journey or the destination. Share your literal or metaphorical journey. 1500-6000 words. Please send completed works to Nonfiction Editors Sarge Lacuesta, Tolu Daniel, and Tanya Ward Goodman through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Cities/Nonfiction
New nature writing is a genre-fluid form that encompasses memoir/travel/and nature writing with an especial foregrounding of the challenges of the Climate Crisis. It is a form that loves to transgress borders. We would be delighted to receive writing with an ethical dimension and ecological awareness that encourages the reader to mindfully negotiate the shared landscapes of the human and more-than-human. 1500-3000 words. Below your title include a 50-word ‘taster’ paragraph that captures the essence of the piece in italics. Think of this as the carny pitch to hook curious passersby. What will they experience inside? Please send completed works to the New Nature Writing Editor, Dr Kevan Manwaring through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Cities/New Nature Writing.
Travel flash: we seek short works of travel memoir and nonfiction for the Travel Flash section. Pieces must be between 150 and 300 words, after edits, and no longer than 350 words before edits. Preference will be given to those pieces that present a strong sense of detail and place and a fleshed-out narrative. Make every single word count. For the Cities issue, we are looking for work that highlights urban existence, in all its forms. There should be a focus on human travel’s interaction with urban areas, large or small, past, present, or future. Of special interest is a look at how urban areas are changing or have changed due to demographic and environmental influences. Submit your work to Flash Editors Paula Read and Kristin Winet via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected] with the title Cities/Travel Flash.
Eaten: Eaten is Panorama’s take on blending gastronomy with travel. For this section, we are specifically looking for nonfiction pieces which explore a specific meal eaten while travelling, or a particular dish and its history as connected to travel. Personal narrative is encouraged and these are primarily experiential essays, although other approaches might be relevant in some works. We are especially interested in global and diverse perspectives for this section. Eaten requires self-awareness, a lack of exoticism, and an openness to sharing an experience, culture, or tradition, paired with travel. These in-depth glimpses inside place through food offer something fresh to our readers. In your Submission, please include the food you are writing about and be specific about the way it is associated to either your own travel or travel in a historical context. Word length is from 1500-3000 words. All submissions via Submittable. Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Cities/Eaten.
Streetview: we seek views from your own street, your neighbourhood, your town, or village. Travelling is more than visiting another place – it can happen anywhere, even close to home. We look forward to receiving essays that take familiar surroundings and everyday experiences, transforming them into something momentous, poignant, and universal. Pieces run from 1500 words to 2000 words. All submissions via Submittable. Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Cities/Streetview.
Travel fiction: we seek works of fiction that reimagine cities. Fictional works must include a journey to a place. Hybrid works (a blending of fiction and nonfiction) will be considered as well as experimental works. We are open to science fiction submissions for this issue as well as earth-land sea-air fantastical journeys of any kind, as long as they are travelogue style and modelled on traditional journeys. 1500-3000 words. Please send completed works to Fiction Editor Vimi Bajaj through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], and title email Cities/Travel Fiction.
Flash fiction: we also seek flash fiction works for the Flash Fiction section. Pieces must be between 150 and 300 words, after edits, and no longer than 350 words before edits. Preference will be given to those pieces that present a strong sense of place and tell a story. For the Cities issue, we will look for works that explore connections, interactions, and impacts between cities (real or imagined), humans, living beings, however large or small. Make every word count. Submit your work to Flash Editors Paula Read and Kristin Winet using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected] with the title Cities/Flash Fiction.
Poetry: we seek poetry with a strong eco-narrative. 1-2 pages. Please send completed works to Senior Poetry Editors David Ishaya Osu and Devi Laskar and Poetry Editor Amanda White through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Cities/Poetry.
Book reviews: we encourage reviews of all books that respond to cities literally or metaphorically. Reviews of recent titles are particularly encouraged, but we are also open to others. We would love to cover something by Alessandro Baricco, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Antonio Tabucchi, Barbara Kingsolver, Pat Barker, Shehan Karunatilaka (The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida), and Siri Hustvedt. Homages and tributes may be considered, if they convey the spirit of the manuscript they refer to. Poetry collection reviews are also welcome. Please submit your book reviews to Book Editor Nicolas Sampson via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your review in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title the email: Cities/Book Review.
Book excerpts: we seek an excerpt from a book with a strong travelogue and city theme, which we will reprint in the CITIES issue, max. 12 pages. We prefer material from an upcoming or recently published title, though older material will also be considered if it responds particularly well to the theme. Please submit your book excerpts to Book Editor Nicolas Sampson via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to the excerpt in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title the email: Cities/Book Excerpt.
Photography: each issue, we publish two photo essays, one with accompanying text and one with an interview with the photographer. In this issue we are looking for many and varied responses to CITIES including but not limited to topographic works, and photojournalism. Please see past issues to get a sense of the images and direction, and send ten sample images or full photo essay—previously published or not—your portfolio website, an introduction to the work you have selected, and its connection to travel and the issue theme to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Cities/Photo Essay or Cities/Photo Interview.
Art moving image: artists who work with video are strongly encouraged to pitch their work for the journal. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Cities/Art Moving Image.
Documentary film: documentary film provides a powerful, accessible narrative storytelling format. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Cities/Documentary Film.
Video essays: following the success of Samuel Autman’s The Train Rolls On, we are delighted to open a general call for video essays. We are particularly looking for intensely personal, honest, and open responses to the world around us. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Cities/Video Essay.
Exhibition reviews: have you visited an exhibition recently which has prompted ideas, thoughts, different ways of seeing? We would love to receive personal responses to exhibitions, group or solo shows which have inspired or challenged you. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Cities/Exhibition Reviews.
Guidance
We require a cover letter for all submissions, with certain information provided [introduction, background, publication history, social handles]. We also ask that all submitted work be sent as a Word Doc attachment, double-spaced, with page numbers. We are unable to accept work within emails, or sent as PDFs. We regret that due to the number of submissions we receive, submissions that do not meet our guidelines are declined. For more on our guidelines, read our FAQs and Submissions page. All emails should be sent to the section editor as indicated, and titled as requested. By following our guidelines, you can help us accept your work more quickly. Thank you.
Due to the number of submissions we receive, and our goal of publishing as many writers as possible, writers may only submit or query one work per issue. If your submission or query is declined for an issue, and the submission call is still open, you can submit another work or query again to that issue. Please submit all work via Submittable.
Previous calls for submissions
Issue 11: Ecology
March 2024 issue: Ecology
Opens for submissions 8th January 2024 and closes for submissions 14th February 2024.
Ecology: /ɪˈkɒlədʒi, ɛˈkɒlədʒi/ origin: late 19th cent. oecology, from Greek oikos ‘house.’ Noun 1. The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings. 2. The political movement concerned with protection of the environment.
For this issue, we seek stories that respond to ecology in all its forms, from its earliest roots to present-day ecologies which span people, organisms, systems, and worlds. Work that follows in the footsteps of authors such as John Muir, Rebecca Solnit, and David Olusoga is encouraged.
Please see our FAQs and Submissions pages for more information, and for specific sections and submission length and information, read on below. All submissions should follow our Style Guide. We will not accept queries or pitches, only completed works previously unpublished, with the exception of visual arts and book excerpt selections.
Sections open to the public for the ECOLOGY issue:
Travel memoir: we seek works of nonfiction travel memoir with a strong narrative arc. 1500 to 6000 words. Please send completed works to Nonfiction Editors Kerry Beth Neville, Samuel Autman, and Joelle Renstrom through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Ecology/Travel Memoir.
Decolonising travel: In this issue, we’re not interested in service articles about ecotourism or sustainable travel, but rather in essays that use travel to complicate our relationships with our surroundings or to redefine natural or constructed environments. For example, investigations into hidden ecologies beneath the surface, migrations/returns to altered landscapes, or narrative maps that offer new ways of seeing place. As always, we encourage voices from the global majority and writing that’s aware of power dynamics in travel and challenges imperialist tropes and language. Roughly 1,000-3,000 words. Please send completed works to Decolonising Travel Editor Faith Adiele through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Ecology/Decolonising Travel.
General and speculative nonfiction: we seek all forms of nonfiction writing. For ECOLOGY, we are particularly interested in the crossing-over that travel provides, whether in the aspect of the journey or the destination. Share your literal or metaphorical journey. 1500-6000 words. Please send completed works to Nonfiction Editors Sarge Lacuesta, and Tolu Daniel through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Ecology/Nonfiction.
New nature writing is a genre-fluid form that encompasses memoir/travel/and nature writing with an especial foregrounding of the challenges of the Climate Crisis. It is a form that loves to transgress borders. We would be delighted to receive writing with an ethical dimension and ecological awareness that encourages the reader to mindfully negotiate the shared landscapes of the human and more-than-human. 1500-3000 words. Below your title include a 50-word ‘taster’ paragraph that captures the essence of the piece in italics. Think of this as the carny pitch to hook curious passersby. What will they experience inside? Please send completed works to the New Nature Writing Editor, Dr Kevan Manwaring through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Ecology/New Nature Writing.
Travel flash: we seek short works of travel memoir and nonfiction for the Travel Flash section. Pieces must be between 150 and 300 words, after edits, and no longer than 350 words before edits. Preference will be given to those pieces that present a strong sense of detail and place and a fleshed-out narrative. Make every single word count. For the Ecology issue, we are looking for work that highlights interactions between humans and their surroundings. There should be a focus on human travel’s impact on the environment, be it urban or wilderness, real or imaginary, large or small, past, present, or future. Submit your work to Flash Editors Paula Read and Kristin Winet via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected] with the title Ecology/Travel Flash.
Eaten: Eaten is Panorama’s take on blending gastronomy with travel. For this section, we are specifically looking for nonfiction pieces which explore a specific meal eaten while travelling, or a particular dish and its history as connected to travel. Personal narrative is encouraged and these are primarily experiential essays, although other approaches might be relevant in some works. We are especially interested in global and diverse perspectives for this section. Eaten requires self-awareness, a lack of exoticism, and an openness to sharing an experience, culture, or tradition, paired with travel. These in-depth glimpses inside place through food offer something fresh to our readers. In your Submission, please include the food you are writing about and be specific about the way it is associated to either your own travel or travel in a historical context. Word length is from 1500-3000 words. All submissions via Submittable. Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Ecology/Eaten.
Streetview: we seek views from your own street, your neighbourhood, your town, or village. Travelling is more than visiting another place – it can happen anywhere, even close to home. We look forward to receiving essays that take familiar surroundings and everyday experiences, transforming them into something momentous, poignant, and universal. Pieces run from 1500 words to 2000 words. All submissions via Submittable. Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Ecology/Streetview.
Travel fiction: we seek works of fiction that reimagine ecology. Fictional works must include a journey to a place. Hybrid works (a blending of fiction and nonfiction) will be considered as well as experimental works. We are open to science fiction submissions for this issue as well as earth-land sea-air fantastical journeys of any kind, as long as they are travelogue style and modelled on traditional journeys. 1500-3000 words. Please send completed works to Fiction Editor Vimi Bajaj through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], and title email Ecology/Travel Fiction.
Flash fiction: we also seek flash fiction works for the Flash Fiction section. Pieces must be between 150 and 300 words, after edits, and no longer than 350 words before edits. Preference will be given to those pieces that present a strong sense of place. For the Ecology issue, we will look for works that explore connections, interactions, and impacts between humans and other living things, however large or small. Show us what eco-fiction can do, and make every word count. Submit your work to Flash Editors Paula Read and Kristin Winet using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected] with the title Ecology/Flash Fiction.
Poetry: we seek poetry with a strong eco-narrative. 1-2 pages. Please send completed works to Senior Poetry Editors David Ishaya Osu and Devi Laskar and Poetry Editor Amanda White through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Ecology/Poetry.
Book reviews: we encourage reviews of all books that respond to ecology literally or metaphorically. Reviews of recent titles are particularly encouraged, but we are also open to others. Homages and tributes may be considered, if they convey the spirit of the manuscript they refer to. Poetry collection reviews are also welcome. Please submit your book reviews to Book Editor Nicolas Sampson via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your review in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title the email: Ecology/Book Review.
Book excerpts: we seek an excerpt from a book with a strong travelogue and ecological theme, which we will reprint in the ECOLOGY issue, max. 12 pages. We prefer material from an upcoming or recently published title, though older material will also be considered if it responds particularly well to the theme. Please submit your book excerpts to Book Editor Nicolas Sampson via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to the excerpt in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title the email: Ecology/Book Excerpt.
Photography: each issue, we publish two photo essays, one with accompanying text and one with an interview with the photographer. In this issue we are looking for many and varied responses to ECOLOGY including but not limited to topographic works, and photojournalism. Please see past issues to get a sense of the images and direction, and send ten sample images or full photo essay—previously published or not—your portfolio website, an introduction to the work you have selected, and its connection to travel and the issue theme to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Ecology/Photo Essay or Ecology/Photo Interview.
Art moving image: artists who work with video are strongly encouraged to pitch their work for the journal. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Ecology/Art Moving Image.
Documentary film: documentary film provides a powerful, accessible narrative storytelling format. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Ecology/Documentary Film.
Video essays: following the success of Samuel Autman’s The Train Rolls On, we are delighted to open a general call for video essays. We are particularly looking for intensely personal, honest, and open responses to the world around us. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Ecology/Video Essay.
Exhibition reviews: have you visited an exhibition recently which has prompted ideas, thoughts, different ways of seeing? We would love to receive personal responses to exhibitions, group or solo shows which have inspired or challenged you. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Ecology/Exhibition Reviews.
Issue 10: Intimacy
November 2023 issue: Intimacy
Opens for submissions 1st September 2023 and closes for submissions 30th September 2023.
Intimacy: /ˈɪntɪməsi/ origin: late Middle English from late Latin intimare ‘impress, make familiar,’ from intimus ‘inmost.’ Noun 1. Close familiarity or friendship. 2. A cosy and private or relaxed atmosphere. 3. Sexual intercourse. 4. An intimate remark. 5. Closeness of observation or knowledge of a subject.
‘Intimacy with the earth apparently awakens in us, at some wordless level, a primal knowledge of the nature of our attachments to physical landscapes.’
― Barry Lopez
‘I hate solitude, but I’m afraid of intimacy. The substance of my life is a private conversation … I have never wanted a communion of souls. It’s already hard enough to tell the truth to oneself.’
― Iris Murdoch
‘And there was this life-giving, very, very strong sustenance that people got from the neighborhood. One lives, really, not so much in your house as you do outside.’
― Toni Morrison
‘They slipped briskly into an intimacy from which they never recovered.’
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
The pandemic tore through economies, livelihoods, and lives. It also brought many communities together.
In some cities, neighbours spoke to each other for the first time. No longer were we able to travel, to go to our workplaces, schools and sites of learning. Instead, we helped collect groceries for those who had to isolate and discovered that we lived beside professors, artists, musicians, dentists, doctors, teachers, and gardeners. New communities were born, replete with messaging groups sharing the various local bulletins from the latest street party to the lost cat. Those we couldn’t reach in proximity became images on a screen, seemingly available to all.
We all crave connection. Bonds form through family, sports, arts, school, and literature, connecting through a common cause or common interest. In isolation, kinship may even come through celebrities and their seeming proximity or closeness. In this issue, we will explore all forms of intimacy however found, sustained, lost, and reclaimed between people, their surroundings, and the land.
For this call we will not accept queries or pitches, only completed works previously unpublished, with the exception of visual arts and book excerpt selections. Please see our FAQs and Submissions pages for more information, and for specific sections and submission length and information, read on below. All submissions should follow our Style Guide.
Travel memoir: we seek works of nonfiction travel memoir with a strong narrative arc. 1500 to 6000 words. Please send completed works to Nonfiction Editors Kerry Beth Neville, Samuel Autman, and Joelle Renstrom through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Intimacy/Travel Memoir.
Decolonising travel: In this issue, we’re particularly interested in essays on finding intimacy and community in unexpected places. 1000-1500 words. Please send completed works to Decolonising Travel Editor Faith Adiele through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Intimacy/Decolonising Travel. Following Faith’s series of lectures and workshops in Morocco this summer, it would be splendid to see writing from Morocco, set in Morocco, and/or written by Moroccan authors.
General and speculative nonfiction: we seek all forms of nonfiction writing. For INTIMACY, we are particularly interested in the crossing-over that travel provides, whether in the aspect of the journey or the destination. Share your literal or metaphorical journey. 1500-6000 words. Please send completed works to Nonfiction Editors Sarge Lacuesta, and Tolu Daniel through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Intimacy/Nonfiction.
New nature writing is a genre-fluid form that encompasses memoir/travel/and nature writing with an especial foregrounding of the challenges of the Climate Crisis. It is a form that loves to transgress borders. We would be delighted to receive writing with an ethical dimension and ecological awareness that encourages the reader to mindfully negotiate the shared landscapes of the human and more-than-human. 1500-3000 words. Below your title include a 50 word ‘taster’ paragraph that captures the essence of the piece in italics. Think of this as the carny pitch to hook curious passersby. What will they experience inside? Please send completed works to the New Nature Writing Editor, Dr Kevan Manwaring through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Intimacy/New Nature Writing.
Travel flash: we also seek shorter works of travel memoir and nonfiction for the Travel Flash section. Pieces must be between 150 and 300 words, after edits, and no longer than 350 words before edits. Preference will be given to those pieces that present a strong sense of detail and place and a fleshed-out narrative. Submit your work to Flash Editor Marie Baleo using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected] with the title Intimacy/Travel Flash.
Eaten: Eaten is Panorama’s take on blending gastronomy with travel. For this section, we are specifically looking for nonfiction pieces which explore a specific meal eaten while travelling, or a particular dish and its history as connected to travel. Personal narrative is encouraged and these are primarily experiential essays, although other approaches might be relevant in some works. We are especially interested in global and diverse perspectives for this section. Eaten requires self-awareness, a lack of exoticism, and an openness to sharing an experience, culture, or tradition, paired with travel. These in-depth glimpses inside place through food offer something fresh to our readers. In your Submission, please include the food you are writing about and be specific about the way it is associated to either your own travel or travel in a historical context. Word length is from 1500-3000 words. All submissions via Submittable. Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Intimacy/Eaten.
Streetview: we seek views from your own street, your neighbourhood, your town, or village. Travelling is more than visiting another place – it can happen anywhere, even close to home. We look forward to receiving essays that take familiar surroundings and everyday experiences, transforming them into something momentous, poignant, and universal. Pieces run from 1500 words to 2000 words. All submissions via Submittable. Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Intimacy/Streetview.
Travel fiction: we seek works of fiction that reimagine intimacy. Fictional works must include a journey to a place. Hybrid works (a blending of fiction and nonfiction) will be considered as well as experimental works. We are open to science fiction submissions for this issue as well as earth-land sea-air fantastical journeys of any kind, as long as they are travelogue style and modelled on traditional journeys. 1500-3000 words. Please send completed works to Fiction Editor Vimi Bajaj through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], and title email Intimacy/Travel Fiction.
Flash fiction: we also seek flash fiction works for the new Flash Fiction section. Pieces must be between 150 and 300 words, after edits, and no longer than 350 words before edits. Preference will be given to those pieces that present a strong sense of detail and place and a fleshed-out narrative. Submit your work to Flash Editor Marie Baleo using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected] with the title Intimacy/Flash Fiction.
Poetry: we seek poetry with a strong intimate narrative. 1-2 pages. Please send completed works to Poetry Editors David Ishaya Osu and Devi Laskar through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Intimacy/Poetry.
Book reviews: we encourage reviews of all books that respond to intimacy literally or metaphorically. Reviews of recent titles by Annie Ernaux, Haruki Murakami, and Robin McLean are particularly encouraged, but we are also open to others. Homages and tributes may be considered, if they convey the spirit of the manuscript they refer to. Poetry collection reviews are also welcome. Please submit your book reviews to Book Editor Nicolas Sampson via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your review in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title the email: Intimacy/Book Review.
Book excerpts: we seek an excerpt from a book with a strong travelogue and intimate theme, which we will reprint in the INTIMACY issue, max. 12 pages. We prefer material from an upcoming or recently published title, though older material will also be considered if it responds particularly well to the theme. Please submit your book excerpts to Book Editor Nicolas Sampson via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to the excerpt in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title the email: Intimacy/Book Excerpt.
Photography: each issue, we publish two photo essays, one with accompanying text and one with an interview with the photographer. In this issue we are looking for many and varied responses to INTIMACY including but not limited to topographic works, and photojournalism. Please see past issues to get a sense of the images and direction, and send ten sample images or full photo essay—previously published or not—your portfolio website, an introduction to the work you have selected, and its connection to travel and the issue theme to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Intimacy/Photo Essay or Intimacy/Photo Interview.
Art moving image: artists who work with video are strongly encouraged to pitch their work for the journal. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Intimacy/Art Moving Image.
Documentary film: documentary film provides a powerful, accessible narrative storytelling format. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Intimacy/Documentary Film.
Video essays: following the success of Samuel Autman’s The Train Rolls On, we are delighted to open a general call for video essays. We are particularly looking for intensely personal, honest, and open responses to the world around us. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Intimacy/Video Essay.
Exhibition reviews: have you visited an exhibition recently which has prompted ideas, thoughts, different ways of seeing? We would love to receive personal responses to exhibitions, group or solo shows, and are particularly interested in essays on Isaac Julien (Tate Britain), Ajamu: The Patron Saint of Darkrooms (Autograph, London), and Chosen Memories (MoMa, NY), No Verbo do Silêncio a Síntese do Grito (CCBB, Brasília), and any others which have inspired or challenged you. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Intimacy/Exhibition reviews.
Issue 9: Borders
July 2023 issue: Borders
Border: /ˈbɔːdə/ origin: Late Middle English, from Old French bordeure; ultimately of Germanic origin. Noun 1. A line separating two countries, administrative divisions, or other areas. 2. A district near the border between two areas. 3. The edge or boundary of something, topic, or field. 4. A decorative strip around the edge of something. Verb. 1. To form an edge along or beside (something). 2. To provide (something) with a decorative edge. 3. To be adjacent to (another country or area). 4. Come close to or be developing into (an extreme condition).
‘It takes so little, so infinitely little, for someone to find himself on the other side of the border, where everything – love, convictions, faith, history – no longer has meaning. The whole mystery of human life resides on the fact that it is spent in the immediate proximity of, and even in direct contact with, that border, that it is separated from it not by kilometers but by barely a millimeter.’ ― Milan Kundera‘Geographic shifts were mirrored and amplified into emotional, mental and even sexual ones. Each time I cross a border, I feel the push and pull in my body, a cacophony of competing desires.’ — Minal Hajratwala
Deserts and seas, marshlands and mountain ranges can be formidable borders to cross. So, too, are border officials, if they do not like your name, passport, paperwork, or a long-forgotten entry stamp to a red-listed country. Pass through, beyond the turnstiles and wired fences, however, and you will be greeted with a new panorama, new sites to visit, and perhaps even a new language to learn. To be beside (to border) and to be set apart, not quite known, grasped, is a tantalising prospect for the curious.
Borders can be trivial if traversed daily, but we don’t all have the permission or resources to pass through alike. Yet, for many, even the borders encountered frequently are not straightforward, and can be rather dangerous. The global majority have never flown. Borders extend to civic buildings and other public spaces where one feels welcome and wanted or unwelcome and unwanted. Yet, each time we cross new frontiers to new places, through the gilded gates of hallowed halls, through the draw bridges of fortress nations, stadia, schools, or colleges, there is hope for us all.
We grow up looking at maps and globes with borders, thinking this is how the world is ordered, but on the ground, borders are often invisible. Borders have oft been drawn up arbitrarily, and Mercator’s projection gives us a rather skewed view of the world. For this call, we seek stories of the real borders encountered in life, in artificial, human-made barriers, in fiefdoms, and in folly, as well as in stories of cross-border connections that have changed the world. We also ask for stories that tie the body to the border and vice versa, how crossing borders or learning of them changes us, or the way others perceive us .
For this call we will not accept queries or pitches, only completed works previously unpublished, with the exception of visual arts and book excerpt selections. Please see our FAQs and Submissions pages for more information, and for specific sections and submission length and information, read on below. All submissions should follow our Style Guide.
Sections open to the public for the Borders issue:
Travel memoir: we seek works of nonfiction travel memoir with a strong narrative arc. 1500 to 6000 words. Please send completed works to Nonfiction Editors Kerry Beth Neville, Samuel Autman, and Joelle Renstrom through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Borders/Travel Memoir.
Decolonising travel: In this issue, we are particularly interested in essays that focus on the connection between the body and the border. 1000-1500 words. Please send completed works to Decolonising Travel Editor Faith Adiele through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Borders/Decolonising Travel.
General and speculative nonfiction: we seek all forms of nonfiction writing. For BORDERS, we are particularly interested in the crossing-over that travel provides, whether in the aspect of the journey or the destination. Share your literal or metaphorical journey. 1500-6000 words. Please send completed works to Nonfiction Editors Sarge Lacuesta, and Tolu Daniel through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Borders/Nonfiction.
New nature writing is a genre-fluid form that encompasses memoir/travel/and nature writing with an especial foregrounding of the challenges of the Climate Crisis. It is a form that loves to transgress borders. We would be delighted to receive writing with an ethical dimension and ecological awareness that encourages the reader to mindfully negotiate the shared landscapes of the human and more-than-human. 1500-3000 words. Below your title include a 50 word ‘taster’ paragraph that captures the essence of the piece in italics. Think of this as the carny pitch to hook curious passersby. What will they experience inside? Please send completed works to the New Nature Writing Editor, Dr Kevan Manwaring through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Borders/New Nature Writing.
Travel flash: we also seek shorter works of travel memoir and nonfiction for the Travel Flash section. Pieces must be between 150 and 300 words, after edits, and no longer than 350 words before edits. Preference will be given to those pieces that present a strong sense of detail and place and a fleshed-out narrative. Submit your work to Flash Editor Marie Baleo using the Submittable Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected] with the title Borders/Travel Flash.
Eaten: Eaten is Panorama’s take on blending gastronomy with travel. For this section, we are specifically looking for nonfiction pieces which explore a specific meal eaten while travelling, or a particular dish and its history as connected to travel. Personal narrative is encouraged and these are primarily experiential essays, although other approaches might be relevant in some works. We are especially interested in global and diverse perspectives for this section. Eaten requires self-awareness, a lack of exoticism, and an openness to sharing an experience, culture, or tradition, paired with travel. These in-depth glimpses inside place through food offer something fresh to our readers. In your Submission, please include the food you are writing about and be specific about the way it is associated to either your own travel or travel in a historical context. Word length is from 1500-3000 words. All submissions via Submittable. Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Borders/Eaten.
Streetview: we seek views from your own street, your neighbourhood, your town, or village. Travelling is more than visiting another place – it can happen anywhere, even close to home. We look forward to receiving essays that take familiar surroundings and everyday experiences, transforming them into something momentous, poignant, and universal. Pieces run from 1500 words to 2000 words. All submissions via Submittable. Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Borders/Streetview.
Travel fiction: we seek works of fiction that reimagine borders of the past, present, and future. Fictional works must include a journey to a place. Hybrid works (a blending of fiction and nonfiction) will be considered as well as experimental works. We are open to science fiction submissions for this issue as well as earth-land sea-air fantastical journeys of any kind, as long as they are travelogue style and modelled on traditional journeys. 1500-3000 words. Please send completed works to Fiction Editor Vimi Bajaj through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], and title email Borders/Travel Fiction.
Flash fiction: we also seek flash fiction works for the new Flash Fiction section. Pieces must be between 150 and 300 words, after edits, and no longer than 350 words before edits. Preference will be given to those pieces that present a strong sense of detail and place and a fleshed-out narrative. Submit your work to Flash Editor Marie Baleo using the Submittable Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected] with the title Borders/Travel Flash.
Poetry: we seek poetry with a strong border narrative. 1-2 pages. Please send completed works to Poetry Editors David Ishaya Osu and Devi Laskar through Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email Borders/Poetry.
Book reviews: we encourage reviews of all books that respond to borders literally or metaphorically. Reviews of recent titles by Annie Ernaux, Haruki Murakami, and Robin McLean are particularly encouraged, but we are also open to others, including Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe/Count Robert of Paris, Graham Swift’s Waterland, Virginia Woolf, and Ben Okri. Homages may be considered, if they convey the spirit of the manuscript they refer to. Poetry collection reviews are also welcome. Please submit your material to Book Editor Nicolas Sampson via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your review in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title the email: Borders/Book Review.
Book excerpts: we seek an excerpt from a book with a strong travelogue and borders theme, which we will reprint in the BORDERS issue, max. 12 pages. We prefer material from an upcoming or recently published title, though older material will also be considered if it responds particularly well to the theme. Please submit your book excerpts to Book Editor Nicolas Sampson via Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to the excerpt in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title the email: Borders/Book Excerpt.
Photography: each issue, we publish two photo essays, one with accompanying text and one with an interview with the photographer. In this issue we are looking for many and varied responses to BORDERS including but not limited to topographic works, and photojournalism. Please see past issues to get a sense of the images and direction, and send ten sample images or full photo essay—previously published or not—your portfolio website, an introduction to the work you have selected, and its connection to travel and the issue theme to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Borders/Photo Essay or Borders/Photo Interview.
Art moving image: artists who work with video are strongly encouraged to pitch their work for the journal. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Borders/Art Moving Image.
Documentary film: documentary film provides a powerful, accessible narrative storytelling format. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Borders/Documentary Film.
Video essays: following the success of Samuel Autman’s The Train Rolls On, we are delighted to open a general call for video essays. We are particularly looking for intensely personal, honest, and open responses to the world around us. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Borders/Video Essay.
Exhibition reviews: have you visited an exhibition recently which has prompted ideas, thoughts, and different ways of seeing? We would love to receive personal responses to exhibitions, group or solo shows, and are particularly interested in essays on Isaac Julien (Tate Britain), Ajamu: The Patron Saint of Darkrooms (Autograph, London), and Chosen Memories (MoMa, NY), No Verbo do Silêncio a Síntese do Grito (CCBB, Brasília), and any others which have inspired or challenged you. All submissions to Panorama’s Director, Matthew Webb using Submittable. Include a short bio and introduction to your work in your cover letter or submission document(s). Clarifying questions can be sent to [email protected], title email: Borders/Exhibition reviews.
Read Issue 9: Borders
Issue 8: Space
Read Issue 8: Space
Issue 7: Dawn
Read Issue 7: Dawn