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Élan is a literary magazine publishing the best writing and art from high school students around the world. Banner Middle School Art and Writing Contest Submissions now open! Submit now! Recent Issues SEE MORE Anchor 1 Fall/Winter 2025 Volume 39 Spring/Summer 2025

Élan is a literary magazine publishing the best writing and art from high school students around the world. This page has all the information you need to submit your writing and art to Élan. Spring/Summer submissions are closed. Poetry Poems can be any length and style, but must be single-spaced and in 12-point Times New Roman. Creative Non-Fiction Essays up to 3,000 words may be submitted with excerpt, 1,200 words or under, clearly noted. As with fiction, if a piece is selected and over 1,200 words, the excerpted section is the only portion that will receive publication. Must be 12 point double-spaced Times New Roman. Plays & Screenplays Submit full manuscripts with potential excerpts clearly noted. Pieces over 1,200 words must have a marked excerpt. All excerpted submissions should include the full manuscript with the selected portion clearly marked. If a piece is selected and over 1,200 words, only the excerpted portion will receive publication. We ask that all plays and screenplays be submitted as Word documents. You may use sites such as WriterDuet, Final Draft, Word, or Celtx. However, we ask that you convert your PDF scripts to Word documents. Some sites that are available for you to use are Smallpdf or Simplepdf Convertor. GET NOTIFIED WHEN THEY OPEN We welcome student produced visual art including photography, drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, mixed media, and printmaking. All art pieces must be submitted as a jpeg or a png. Please provide a high quality image (at least 300 dpi and 2MB.) We are looking for diverse artwork which seeks to tell a story. Take a look at our recent issues to see the kind of work we are publishing. Art GET NOTIFIED WHEN THEY OPEN Hybrid Hybrid pieces written on a Word document should be submitted under Writing Submissions while pieces containing artwork should be submitted under Art Submissions. "Bloom" by Hannah Botella View More General Guidelines Élan accepts original fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, plays, and art of all mediums from students ages fourteen to eighteen anywhere in the world. We produce two online editions a year, one in the Fall/Winter and another in the Spring/Summer. The two editions are combined into a single p rint edition each s ummer. All writers and artists who have their work chosen for the Fall/Winter or Spring/Summer Edition will be mailed a free copy of the print edition in which their piece appears. Élan holds first serial rights for material that we publish. The copyright automatically reverts to the author upon publication. We will not accept any art or writing pieces that are graphically sexual or gratuitously violent. Minor profanity is acceptable so long as it’s not excessive. We only accept original work. If you submit work that is not your own, we will not publish it. After we have reviewed all submissions, accepted submissions will be sent a confirmation email. This email will confirm the title, spelling of first & last name, along with serial rights (full right to publish and use work for marketing/ social media purposes) from the submitter. Upon being sent this email we give seven calendar days to receive confirmation. All submissions should be sent to elanlitmagazine@gmail.com . All submitters may only send three pieces. Fiction Poetry Creative Nonfiction Plays & Screenplays Art Hybrid Email Submission Guidelines : Writing (Required) The subject of the email should be the writer’s full name and then “Writing Submission.” (For example: Sara Rodgers Writing Submission) In the body of the email, please include the writer's name, age, primary email, school, city, and home address, followed by the titles and the genre (ie, poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, etc.) of each piece being submitted. If applicable, include a sponsoring teacher’s name and email address. Include a professional biography (150 words maximum, in 3rd person). Example: Sara Rodgers is a sophomore at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. They love writing poetry, and riding horses in their free time. Each piece must be attached as a separate WORD DOCUMENT and the file MUST be named the title of the piece. Élan only accepts editable WORD DOCUMENTS at this time. Élan only accepts original work, and fanfictions will not be considered for publication. Do not include your name in the body of the document, as all submissions go through a blind reading process by our staff. Make sure your piece title is included at the top of the document. If you want to submit work to Élan that has been rejected from a previous edition, the piece must have first gone through major revisions or else it will not be considered for publication. Any piece submitted that uses any form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not be considered for publication and the submitted will be blacklisted from submitting in the future Douglas Anderson students will submit through the forms posted around campus—not through email. You may not submit more than three pieces in a single submission period. Email Submission Guidelines: Art (Required) The subject of the email should be the artist’s full name and then “Art Submission.” (For example: Sara Rodgers Art Submission) In the body of the email, please include the artist’s name, age, primary email, school, city, and home address, followed by the titles and the medium (ie, oil on canvas, charcoal, photograph, print, etc.) of each piece being submitted. If applicable, include a sponsoring teacher’s name and email address. Include a professional biography (150 words maximum, in 3rd person). Example: Sara Rodgers is a sophomore at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Their favorite medium to use is acrylic paint, though their watercolor paintings have also won awards. Name each art file “Piece Title (Full Name)”—example, “Water (Sara Rodgers).” The art pieces must be a jpeg or png file. Submit the highest resolution quality format that can be sent as an attachment – 300 dpi or higher, and at least 2 MB. If your art does not meet the dpi requirement, there is no guarantee your art can be published. Ensure that the photo of your art is clear and taken from a straight angle so that all aspects of the piece are visible with minimal glare. Élan only accepts original work, and fan art will not be considered for publication. If you want to submit work to Élan that has been rejected from a previous edition, the piece must have first gone through major revisions or else it will not be considered for publication. Any piece submitted that uses any form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not be considered for publication and the submitted will be blacklisted from submitting in the future Douglas Anderson students will submit through the forms posted around campus—not through email. You may not submit more than three pieces in a single submission period. Fiction Poetry Creative Nonfiction Plays & Screenplays Art Fiction Micro-fiction, short-stories and excerpts of larger stories up to 5,000 words are acceptable. Pieces over 1,200 words must have a marked excerpt. All excerpted submissions should include the full manuscript with selected portion clearly marked. If a piece is selected and over 1,200 words, only the excerpted portion will receive publication. Must be 12 point double-spaced Times New Roman.

Élan's Spring/Summer 2021 Issue is up and ready to read. Featuring talented teenage artists and writers from all over the world. Spring/Summer 2021 Cover Art: Entrapment by Jillian Atwood TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents Table of Contents Writing Visual Art Editor's Note Button Editor's Note Zoe Lathey & Blair Bowers Connect to "TOC Title" Zoe Lathey & Blair Bowers Read Language, Button Language, Summer Carrier Connect to "TOC Title" Summer Carrier Read Salmon Contortionist Button Salmon Contortionist Sophia Rose Smith Rowan Blankemeyer Connect to "TOC Title" Sophia Rose Smith Rowan Blankemeyer Read My Mother's Spirits Mother and Child Button My Mother's Spirits Mother and Child Tuesday Locklear Emily Nguyen Connect to "TOC Title" Tuesday Locklear Emily Nguyen Read Braids Abyss of Gold Button Braids Abyss of Gold Mackenzie Shaner Joshua Hein Connect to "TOC Title" Mackenzie Shaner Joshua Hein Read Poemgranate Brazen Button Poemgranate Brazen Autumn Hill Hasina Lilley Connect to "TOC Title" Autumn Hill Hasina Lilley Read Truth in Bitterness... Twirler/Biter/Picker Triptych Button Truth in Bitterness... Twirler/Biter/Picker Triptych Josselyn Ortiz Rachel Brown Connect to "TOC Title" Josselyn Ortiz Rachel Brown Read Nomos (The Law) Button Nomos (The Law) Ninah Gibson Connect to "TOC Title" Ninah Gibson Read Animals and Social Trash Clawing at My Dread Button Animals and Social Trash Clawing at My Dread Kevin Kraft Joshua Luke Rogers Connect to "TOC Title" Kevin Kraft Joshua Luke Rogers Read Toxic Lover Boy Button Toxic Lover Boy Emily Khym Isaac Riley Connect to "TOC Title" Emily Khym Isaac Riley Read Microaggressions Inner Truth Button Microaggressions Inner Truth Trinity Jones Trinity Cohen Connect to "TOC Title" Trinity Jones Trinity Cohen Read Depth to my Body Sorrowful Reflection Button Depth to my Body Sorrowful Reflection Mia Parola Hasina Lilley Connect to "TOC Title" Mia Parola Hasina Lilley Read Jesus in a Tie Dye Shirt Word Vomit Button Jesus in a Tie Dye Shirt Word Vomit Skye O'Toole Isabela Mendez Connect to "TOC Title" Skye O'Toole Isabela Mendez Read We Stopped for Daily's Mirage and Menagerie Button We Stopped for Daily's Mirage and Menagerie Blair Bowers Rowan Blankemeyer Connect to "TOC Title" Blair Bowers Rowan Blankemeyer Read Handcrafting a Predictable... The Peace of Pre-Quarantine Button Handcrafting a Predictable... The Peace of Pre-Quarantine Anthony Bernando Kyra Lai Connect to "TOC Title" Anthony Bernando Kyra Lai Read Hilltop Timekeeper Trip to Nowhere Button Hilltop Timekeeper Trip to Nowhere Toko Hata Zhanna Marzan Connect to "TOC Title" Toko Hata Zhanna Marzan Read The Shepherd Button The Shepherd Rachel Brown Connect to "TOC Title" Rachel Brown Read Guardians In Theory Button Guardians In Theory Sarah Ermold Julienne Masopust Connect to "TOC Title" Sarah Ermold Julienne Masopust Read Black Walnut Dead to the World Button Black Walnut Dead to the World Eli Mears Jillian Atwood Connect to "TOC Title" Eli Mears Jillian Atwood Read Pray Imitation Smile Button Pray Imitation Smile Christine Xu Hasina Lilley Connect to "TOC Title" Christine Xu Hasina Lilley Read The Fish False Prophet Button The Fish False Prophet Kaysyn Jones Vera Caldwell Connect to "TOC Title" Kaysyn Jones Vera Caldwell Read Spring/Summer 2021 Staff Zoe Lathey Blair Bowers Hannah Bardhi Sheldon White Blake Molenaar Parker Sheppard La'Mirakle Price Nayra McMahan Sage Whitecotton Arry Pender Editor-in-Chief Junior Editor-in-Chief Poetry Editor Prose Editor Art Director Junior Art Director Managing Editor Junior Managing Editor Social Media Editor Associate Editor

Photo courtesy of AWP's website On March 3rd, 2026, members of Douglas Anderson’s Creative Writing Department are attending a field trip to Baltimore, Maryland to experience the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) ’s annual Conference and Bookfair. This trip is a big deal for the department, as it will be the largest field trip we have taken since the COVID pandemic. AWP is a nonprofit that supports creative writers and different writing programs, but it is most known for hosting North America’s largest literary conference and book fair. Attending the conference is an incredible opportunity that most writers don’t receive until they’re deep into their careers. To say that we are excited would be an understatement. The students going on this field trip are juniors and seniors in the CW program, many of whom are staff members of Élan . Our ultimate goal is to make connections that will expand Élan’s reach, but the AWP conference will also be packed with inspiring panels from a variety of gifted writers that we cannot wait to take part in. AWP’s 2026 Keynote Speaker is John Waters, screenwriter and director of Hairspray, among other films, as well as an author of various books. On March 5 th , from 8pm to 10pm, the Douglas Anderson Creative Writing department will sit down to listen to him speak about his experience as a writer and how he found success while staying true to his creative vision. Other featured panels that Élan staff have specifically mentioned as ones they’re looking forward to are “Writing the Things We Don’t Talk About: A Lecture By Ramona Emerson,” “Toward a Liberatory Literature: Palestinian Writers in Conversation,” and “Rewriting the Archive: Poetic Voices on Who Defines History.” But truthfully, there are too many to name. In order to give every student the chance to experience the panels they are most drawn to, we are going to split up into different groups based on what panels each of us have selected to attend at various times. Getting to experience the culture of a new city is already very captivating to us, but to also be surrounded by passionate writers from all over the country is a dream field trip. Creative Writing instructors, as well as the Writers’ Guild Booster Association, have put in countless hours of planning and lots of money to give us this opportunity. The hope is that AWP will become a tradition for this department, opening up countless doors for us in the future.   Signed, Olivia Sheftall, Junior Layout and Design Editor

On January 22 nd ,  Élan  celebrated our third year in a row receiving a First-Class distinction from the NCTE REALM Awards. If you’re unfamiliar, NCTE (National Council for Teachers of English) is an organization designed to support teachers and students, and REALM is one of the awards they offer centered around student-run literary magazines throughout the country. REALM stands for “Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines.” They score each submitted magazine by a specific rubric, and First-Class is the highest honor they award.  Élan's 2025 REALM Award Certificate A literary magazine is awarded First-Class if it scores 93-100 points, a Superior if it gets 86-100, an Excellent for a 71-85, and a Merit award for 0-70.  Élan  has been submitting to REALM for about ten years, and every year we’ve received some form of recognition, but in the past 3 years, we’ve consistently made top scores. It is unbelievably satisfying to see our hard work recognized by such a prestigious organization.  The rubric is divided into different categories, and each category awards a different number of points. A First-Class magazine must score high in Content and Quality, Rhetorical Variety, Editing and Proofreading, Artistic Quality, and Front Matter, Credits, and Pagination. A Superior or Excellent might excel in certain categories but fall short in others. Every year,  Élan  has tried to improve their magazines based on REALM standards, meaning that we’ve prioritized including a variety of genres and perspectives as well as changing our design style.  However, now that  Élan  staff knows we reach the standards REALM asks for, the new question is “Do we want to continue striving for REALM Awards, or do we want to start experimenting at the risk that we might not score as high?” There are certain qualifications REALM asks of literary magazines that have the potential to limit what we can do. For example, recently REALM has made it a rule that at least 50% of featured pieces must be from students who belong to the host school. For a magazine like  Élan,  who invites and encourages submissions globally, that rule doesn’t work in our favor. There are also layout and design choices we can’t make because it would subtract from our points.   The question is one that only staff members can answer, and the answer might change as different staff members come and go.  Élan  will always strive for excellence, but our exact definition of excellence may shift in the coming years.    Élan's past three volumes that have won First-Class Signed,  Olivia Sheftall, Junior Layout and Design Editor

Under the Rain by Jason Galub Every literary magazine has a different vision for what kind of writing and art they want in their publication. Élan specifically strives for literary, nuanced, and introspective pieces. But what exactly does this mean? How do the staff members determine if the writing they are presented fit that criteria?   There are two rounds of voting Èlan goes through after submissions close. There’s the initial vote where everyone on staff gives their voice on what pieces they like, and then there’s the second vote that is specifically for Genre Editors where the final pieces are selected. Élan receives hundreds of art and writing submissions, and this setup guarantees that each piece gets a proper chance at publication. For a piece to survive this process, they must stand out in some way. However, standing out can mean different things depending on the person. A few Élan staff members answered the question, “What qualities do you look for in art and writing submissions in order to decide what should be published in Élan ?” and their responses may serve as helpful advice for anyone planning to submit.             Editors-in-Chief Jeneva Hayes - " I look for pieces that overall can fit together and work together in a book. Of course, we focus on that individual piece and want them to have their own story and original ideas. But we also want the emotions to correlate so that Élan feels like a book rather than just a selection of pieces, which it is, but we want it to relate to each other. So, when looking, I’ll often search for pieces with a deeper emotion to it, not just a setting or an event. We also just look for pieces that are written well. A piece can have a lot of emotional value, but if it’s poorly written and lacks technique, we can’t publish it." Deidra Curtis - " We look not only for the quality of writing, but the intention. Intention is heavy."               Genre Editors: Cameron Pickering - " Élan means enthusiastic vigor and liveliness, so I look for pieces that embody that spirit. Maybe not literally… but we want things that stand out from the pack like any good literary magazine would! We want things that are lively in different ways. So, play with form, play with theme, make it so that your theme is embodied through your form." Caitlin Spinner - "We are probably looking through hundreds of pieces so when we see something different, that is definitely something we want to look into. Also, I would say people who put careful attention into revising their work. Having bad grammar won’t automatically disqualify your piece, but it is good to show that you’ve revised because we want to showcase people who have a lot of passion and care for their craft." Hannes Duncan - "Ambiguity. Overall weirdness. We look for pieces where people are coming out of their comfort zone. We don’t like publishing the same thing over and over again, so we mainly look for variety."               Community Engagement: Jamie Lohse - "The first thing is school appropriateness. There’s a lot of really good pieces we had to turn down because it mentioned something that, as a school-run magazine, we can’t publish." Lila Hartley - "I read the pieces out loud and listened to how they sounded. That was one of the ways that I felt connected to a piece and got a feel for its art.”                         Art Directors: Marcus Holley - " For the [essence] of Élan , it’s all very focused on what gives the work that originality, that creative feel that you can just look at and know that it has a heart and a soul to it, and it’s not just copy paste, copy paste. You can tell it has more meaning. There’s a story in all of writing, and that’s the point of pairing the art and writing together. It’s to give the art a voice that maybe originally you couldn’t see just by looking at it." Charlotte Parks - " You can have a self-portrait of someone, but what is the underlining meaning behind it? What is the background telling us? What is the emotion in her face telling us? Are there emotions pulling out of it? When you read something is this the face that you see while you’re reading it? It’s not just, 'Oh this is a pretty painting, and I really like this poem!' What can pairing these two pieces bring out of each other?" Colson Gomez - "Usually, a lot of it is up to interpretation, but I think a really successful and creative piece has this universal quality to it that is what makes it easy to pair with other writing that has that same universal quality." I hope this advice is helpful but remember, Élan is not the end-all, be-all decider of if your writing is good. Selections are subjective, don't be discouraged if we don't publish you. Keep submitting, keep revising! Signed, Olivia Sheftall, Junior Layout and Design Editor