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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

É lan’s 39th Print Edition Launch Party É lan has published a printed version of our magazine annually for the past 40 years. This year, we hosted the exciting launch of our 39th Print Edition! The event was held on September 26th from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA) in Jacksonville, Florida. Staff came dressed in their classiest outfits to enjoy the celebration of all their hard work. Various staff members and contributors presented their work to the Jacksonville community. The community showed up, with around 70 guests there to listen to spoken word performances, see the artwork, interact with the incredible youth who run É lan, and, of course, take part in the free food and beverages. We are unbelievably excited to announce that, at the party, we sold out every copy we brought! We are so thankful to MOCA for hosting our launch party and supporting our journey as a youth-led literary magazine. We thank all the staff members and faculty who helped set everything up and organize the event. We especially thank everyone who showed up on behalf of É lan and purchased a copy. Getting to see so many people support our craft is what makes it all worth it. Lavilla School of the Arts Visit On November 5th, Élan staff members took a trip to LaVilla School of the Arts. While there, we led a presentation on what we do at Douglas Anderson and, more specifically, in the Creative Writing Department. Our goal was to get kids excited about creative writing and teach them about all the things they can do at DA that they wouldn’t be able to do at any other school. We mentioned events like Coffee House and Extravaganza, as well as clubs such as Black Art, Literary Arts Honor Society, and Spoken Word. We told them about specific creative writing classes and the various open mics we have around town. After the students asked their questions,we led them in blackout poetry and zine-making activities. Scott Parmelee, our Senior Layout and Design Editor, then led a spoken word activity that focused on writing and speaking towards different audiences. Overall, we saw so much talent in the creative writers at LaVilla and we can’t wait to see them take their skills to the next level at DA. We thank LaVilla School of the Arts for letting us come down there and talk with so many up-and-coming writers! For more information about our events, please check out our Instagram pages: @creativewritingda @elanlitmag @dacoffeehouse Signed, Jay Lechwar, Olivia Sheftall, Scott Parmelee

As art directors on the Élan staff, we work closely with all submissions, voting processes, and final selections of pieces for the Fall/Winter, Spring/Summer, and print editions. We are also closely involved with our school’s visual art department and our National Art Honor Society. These in-school organizations provide additional help with encouraging campus involvement during submission periods. Throughout the year, we like to keep a few things in mind when considering art for Élan.   During each submission period, we keep an eye out for pieces that take a creative approach to storytelling, as well as pieces which focus on the creative elements of production. As artists, we understand the fear or apprehension towards submitting work that could be misinterpreted or overlooked, but on the Élan staff, we adore work that steps outside the box and beyond comfort zones. We see an abundance of paintings and drawings that present these ideas, but we often receive a lack of photography and sculpture. While all pieces will be considered with the same mindset and approached with the same level of respect, we strongly encourage artists to submit their photography, sculpture, and printmaking pieces, as long as they conform with our submission guidelines.    Bino by Tatiana Arroyave As art directors, we understand that art is subjective, especially when it comes to visual art. We deeply value the story told through your art and we try our best to uphold its image as the staff approaches our voting period. We keep all possible approaches and meanings in mind as we reach our final selection process. We pair your art with writing that best supports its meaning.   That being said, don’t stress if your art is too specific or too broad! We are open to accepting all art, be it broad or specific. As we mov into our Spring/Summer submission period, we hope you will consider sharing the work you may not have thought about sharing before.      Signed,   Emerson Flanagan and Marcus Holley, Art Direction Team

Every spring, Élan Literary Magazine hosts a writing contest for middle schoolers in celebration of the National Poetry Month in April. This year, there’s a twist: we will also include art! For the first time in Élan history, our literary magazine will celebrate the art of students between 6th and 8th grade in our annual Middle School Writing and Art Contest.  The winners of this contest are awarded a certificate and publication of their work on the Élan website. Publication can offer professional creditability, academic recognition, a wider audience, and better opportunities for your writing and art.   Art can be submitted in any medium: painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, photography, et cetera. Submissions must be sent to elanlitmagazine@gmail.com  with the name of the student in the subject line. Lurking by Sophia Gapuz Submission emails should include a clear picture of the artwork (in .jpeg or .png file format) and a professional 3rd person biography. We do not accept submissions containing inappropriate or unprofessional content. This includes depiction of any drugs or alcohol, gore, or fanart. Writing guidelines remain the same. If you need a refresher, refer to this link:  https://www.elanlitmag.com/middle-school-writing-submit   As members of the Élan staff, we believe that young writers and artists deserve recognition. We hope young artists of all disciplines understand they have a place in the world. We hope Élan will be your first publication and a defying step into your passion. We believe in you and will always take care and pride when working with your art. “Sometimes, I cling onto / life like death. / I meditate, hands poised on / my lap as tightropes, / floating like Buddha with / the world below me. / I am touching the sky. / Raindrops or bullets.” - Worship/War by Su Thar Nyein Please visit our website at https://www.elanlitmag.com/middle-school-writing-submit  for further information regarding guidelines and when to submit for Élan’s annual Middle School Art and Writing Contest.  Good luck! We look forward to seeing your work.     Signed,  Chloe Backes, Jamie Lohse, Layla Stalford

With the opening of the Spring/Summer 2025 submissions period, our art and genre editors have taken time to review pieces from our recent editions and to curate advice for our submitters.  As the Genre Editors of Élan Literary Magazine, we work very closely with all submissions. While all staff members participate in first-round voting, only the Genre Editors and the Editors-in-Chief participate in second-round voting and in final discussions. As we execute this role, there are several key factors we look for in the submissions we process.    While flawed grammar will not disqualify your piece, we love to see work which has been thoughtfully proofread and edited. This shows care and attention to detail.    We also love to see innovation in the writing we receive. We understand if you may feel apprehensive about submitting work which could be considered unconventional or experimental. However, we absolutely adore writing which pushes the boundaries of our expectations. An exceptional example from our latest edition is “Crepuscular, a portrait of matrilineal scoliosis” by Ariel Wu. This poem, apart from being beautifully written, drips with creativity and poetic innovation. It displays a distinct sense of originality which allowed it to stand out compared to other poems we considered.   We would also like to see experimental techniques in our fiction submissions. We believe Élan would sincerely benefit from some experimental genres like absurdism, surrealism, speculative fiction, and psychedelic fiction. We want to represent a wide range of storytelling subjects and techniques. We strongly encourage you to let yourself experiment: the weirder, the better.   "good & chinese, grandmother / lets poison flow in ivory rivulets in her body but sees everything as omens: / my refusal to eat chives, shrapnel of the broken plate mama scraped her / palms on, mama’s confessions to her faceless, bloodless heathen god."  Every submission period, we receive a disproportionate amount of poetry. While we deeply love poetry, we are always looking for strong prose to include in our publication. We strongly recommend you submit fiction and creative nonfiction, as doing so will drastically improve your chances of acceptance. Rowan, our Senior Genre Editor, can attest to this as both an editor and as a writer whose work has been accepted twice before. In our 38th Print Issue, Rowan has two pieces of writing featured. One, published in the 2023 Fall/Winter Edition, is an excerpt from their novel, titled “Farewells.” The second is a print exclusive piece, an excerpt from their memoir, titled “Sweet Tea & Vinegar.” We love receiving fiction and nonfiction submissions because of their rarity. If you feel strongly about your prose, we highly encourage submitting it, as our submissions are currently open!    "'What?' Ludovica mumbled, her heart skipping a beat. She clung to the woman’s clothes, yearning to never let go. 'How do you mean?' // The woman did not respond. She gently freed herself from the child’s grasp, tenderly holding Ludovica’s hands before her. 'Ludovica,' she whispered. 'What have you done to yourself?' She smoothly lifted the small hands to her lips, placing a soft kiss on each of Ludovica’s bleeding palms. 'All better,' she hummed, still holding them."  We hope this advice will inspire you to embrace your style as we move into our next submission period!    Signed,    Rowan Paton and Hannes Duncan, Genre Editors

As a staff, we spend a lot of time and consideration on the pairings between visual art and creative writing pieces. We hope that each pairing allows the individual pieces to coexist and complement each other. This is a meticulous process, but it is rewarding beyond measure. In our Fall/Winter 2024 issue, our favorite art pairing has to be “The Effects of Seasonal Change on Floridian Coastal Wildlife” and “Florida Girl.” It is as if these two pieces were made to stand side by side on the page, despite the fact that the writer and the visual artist have never even spoken to each other. We are always thrilled when we receive creative writing and visual art submissions which complement each other so beautifully.   Florida Girl by Hailey Edwards “The Effects of Seasonal Changes on Floridian Coastal Wildlife” by Scooter Wirth explores a compelling connection between the speaker’s personal identity and the constantly shifting nature of the environment around him. This thoughtful merging of personal culture and environmental setting speaks wonders on the writer’s upbringing and background. This piece was one of our personal favorites was we worked through the reading process.    The already present strength of this piece is only amplified by its art pairing. “Florida Girl” is a multi-medium piece of art by Hailey Edwards. Edwards took a creative and personal approach to capturing the beauty of Florida's wildlife through a collage-based painting. We were drawn to Edwards’s nuanced representation through her self-portrait overlapping an extensive map of Florida’s land mass. Her blend of the two mediums not only emphasizes the complexity of Florida’s industrialized landscape, but the connection she has to the state reaching deeper than surface level.   "From there, I was able to see the sun sink beneath the horizon for the first time, not just the ribbons of purple-orange lightning that called in wary surfers from their heaven." In “The Effects of Seasonal Changes on Floridian Coastal Wildlife” specifically, the role of warmth and cold serves as a commentary on the writer’s physical and emotional distance between himself and his father. The descriptive symbolism of this overarching metaphor is what carries the weight of this piece. This strength is only amplified by its pairing with “Florida Girl.” The Élan staff is dedicated to lifting the voices of young artists to showcase the importance and sublimity of self-expression and character.   We loved the way that “Florida Girl” bolstered the depth of the messages present in “The Effects of Seasonal Changes on Floridian Coastal Wildlife.” The similarities between this creative nonfiction piece and this mixed media visual art piece are already gleamingly present at first glance. Both are centered around life along the coast of Florida and both are highly personal pieces of art, and their similarities extend far beyond the surface.

Congratulations again to all our contributors! As of today, we have launched our free online Fall/Winter 2024 edition which is to be found on our website. We appreciate all that made this edition of  Élan  possible, including the many staff who worked diligently to put it together and the contributors who provided their outstanding work.  We also look forward to seeing it make its mark on the world via the upcoming launch party (details forthcoming and to be found on the Élan  Instagram account) and the next print issue set to launch late summer of next year containing pieces from the Fall/Winter 2024 edition and upcoming Spring/Summer 2025 edition.   This year, Élan  is working towards evolving its brand, and we believe that this edition is the start of many which will come to be the best version of Élan  possible. Both the quality of the work and the contents of the magazine as a whole make us proud to present this new edition to you.   From the Élan  staff, we sincerely thank you for your continued support and hope that you enjoy this issue!

Congratulations to everyone who got accepted into our 2024 fall-winter edition of É lan ! All contributors have been sent their acceptance emails by now, and our staff is working very hard to put together the best version of  É lan we can.      With the 2024-2025 school year ramping up, we’ve decided to bring back our blog. Here you’ll be able to find updates about É lan editorials from our staff, interviews with our contributors, and so much more.     É lan has a lot to look forward to, with not only our blog’s return, but also with upcoming events. On November 1st we will be hosting our annual print edition launch party at Yellow House, a small, independent art venue located in our hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.     Blog wise, we’ll be aiming for a minimum of two blog posts per month, all generated by our É lan staff members. We hope you enjoy reading them!

Élan celebrates the work of students between 6th and 8th grades in our annual Middle School Writing Contest. The winner of the contest is awarded a certificate and publication of their work on the Élan magazine blog. Students can submit in any form, including poetry (of any length and style), fiction (of up to 5,000 words), and nonfiction (essays up to 3,000 words). Below is a listing of this year’s winning pieces! FIRST PLACE WINNER “Grief” by Janna Tannous SECOND PLACE WINNER “Questions of the Youth” by Erion P. Sanders THIRD PLACE WINNERS “The Roaring Himalayas” by Rehan Sheikh “Untitled” by John Walker The winner of the 2020 contest is Janna Tannous, a rising 9th grader who submitted her poem, “Grief”. Our editors were impressed with the strong intention behind Janna’s work and her use of metaphor throughout. Poetry editor Conor Naccarato said, “This [poem] takes great risks with abstraction, and the images are really evocative. A very promising voice.” We are excited to share Janna’s work with you today and look forward to the work she creates in the future! Grief by Janna Tannous I am the blood gushing out of my grandfather’s nose, that seeps into the cracks of the old wooden floor. I am the rough waves that hit the edge of the lighthouse, only to be met by cascading darkness. I am the many once-lit candles, that flicker with solitude, only to be blown out suddenly, with no explanation. I am the wide open fields, that seem to go on for miles, but only last a few. I am the hymns sung at the service, where the white snowflakes seem to contrast the color of my attire. I am the many stones of the named, yet only one seems to be clear, and it’s someone whom I know. To read the work of the all of the contest winners, click here!

The poem, “tiger, what it means to leave behind” by Jaden Crowder is a beautiful work, and one of my favorite pieces in the Spring Edition. It expands on the pains of growing and the bitterness of nostalgia, opening up on the heartache of faded friendships and lost innocence. The way it begins is playful – opening with a rhyme scheme most of us can relate to some of our most favorite lullabies from childhood. For me, this poem brought out a feeling that buried itself a long time ago – when the sun was something new on my skin, and the color green made my eyes smile. In many ways, this poem reminded me of my own lost childhood – having once thrived with pride like a cub, I am now older and as fierce as the world wants me to be. There is no time to play – we can only remember and continue to remember. I, too, had a friend like the poem describes. She was as blonde as our pinky-swears and as playful as any kid could be. I remember her smiles in the car when we sat in the backseat while our parents drove, racing to be in the front seat when we were older, riding scooters in the parking lot, and making soap potions in the bathroom. Yet, I just barely remember the last time I saw her – we were 13, I think. I believe we were by the pool. I think the sun still felt warm as it went behind buildings, the shadows resting comfortably on our forms like they were our own. The conversation was nothing special – it certainly didn’t feel like the last. We probably said ‘goodbye’ when it got too late, something like: ‘see you next weekend!’ rolling off our tongues as though they budded with longing right then and there. No, I don’t think she left because she disliked me. I don’t think she dislikes me now, even when she doesn’t respond to her birthday texts. It was a simple, ‘no, you can’t see her anymore’ from her mom that ended our friendship. Sometimes I think about her – usually it’s late and the world has exhausted me of any other thought to do with the present. It’s when I want to live in the past, lying in my dark bed with the moon outside my window which, I know, was the same moon then; the one that peaked over us at the pool. I think: ‘what is she like now? what is she doing?’ I think about how much of a sister she was to me, and I wonder if it was ever the same for her. Then I ask god what life would be now if she stayed. Does she not remember the days when we were small, dancing around the pool as sailors, mermaids, spies, and adventurers, just kids up to our tiger games, hoping the world was as big as our dreams and hearts? Leaving her behind; what that meant for me involved fabricating a wall around our memories to give the illusion there weren’t games to begin with. Admittedly, I think of her on these nights, but I don’t want to know if she thinks of me; I just pull the moon close and let my eyes flutter their lids, pressing my cheek to the pillow. This edition has many pieces that speak to me – pieces from teens who convey their own turmoil and passions through art. I opened up about two that had a very special impact on me. Art as a whole is meant to connect us to each other and ourselves, and I think it is wonderful that Élan grants young artists the opportunity to give that experience to the world. These works are from teens, but that does not take away their impact; Élan proves how crucial it is to allow the voices of growing artists to be heard. To me, as both a student and artist, that is such a beautiful thing. As this Spring Edition impacted me, it can also leave something with you. – Reece Braswell, Senior Art Editor