Stone Canoe, a journal of arts and ideas from Upstate New York, was founded at Syracuse University's University College, and is now published by The YMCA's Downtown Writers Center, at the Arts Branch of the YMCA of Greater Syracuse. The annual publication appears each February.
Stone Canoe showcases the work of a diverse mix of emerging and well-established artists and writers with strong connections to Upstate New York. In doing so, we hope promote a greater awareness of the cultural and intellectual richness that characterizes life in the region. We do not accept work by writers and artists who are not current or former residents of Upstate New York. For the purposes of Stone Canoe, we define this as those portions of the state outside of New York City and Long Island. Your bio note must include information that documents your current or past residency in the region.
Submissions are accepted from April 1 through July each year for publication the following spring. Please note the following deadlines for individual categories:
VISUAL ART: July 15
POETRY: August 5
DRAMA: July 29
FICTION: July 15
NONFICTION: July 22
For all genres, any genre-specific guidelines (length requirements, etc.) are listed with their genre submission guidelines.
Please note that we are not interested in work that has been previously published in another form, including online journals.
Please do not submit work in more than two of the categories listed above in a single year.
As much as possible, we try to respond to submissions no later than October each year. If you have not heard about your submission, and it is later than November 15th, please contact us by email.
If your piece has been simultaneously submitted to other journals, and is accepted for publication elsewhere, PLEASE withdraw it from our submission process immediately.
Finally, when selecting your work for submission, please keep in mind that YMCA is a family-oriented organization. Pieces with excessive profanity, gratuitous violence or sexual content, or work that in other ways works against the Y's goals for our community cannot be seriously considered for publication. We are likewise uninterested in work that displays views in contrast with our hope to be a welcoming, equitable, antiracist organization.
Fiction submissions are limited to one piece not to exceed 7,500 words (please include word count). At times, sponsorships make it possible for us to offer prizes for contributors... should funding be available, and if a prize is offered, pieces by emerging writers (those writers who have not yet published a novel or a full-length collection of stories) will automatically also be considered, and no further action is necessary.
Please include a biographical statement (not a CV) including details of your past residency in upstate New York. If more than one story is submitted by the same person, Stone Canoe editors will review only the first work received. The exception is for flash fiction; up to five flash fiction pieces under 500 words may be submitted in a single submission.
Note: The writer must be a current or former resident of upstate New York, but the piece submitted can be about anything at all. The work does not need to involve New York State. Examples of qualifying connections include but are not limited to: being born here, even if you moved away later; going to college at an upstate school such as SUNY Binghamton, Ithaca College, Syracuse University, etc.; working in the area currently or at some point in the past. If you are uncertain if you meet this criterion, please feel free to contact stonecanoe@ymcacny.org for consideration of your particular situation.
Please indicate if your work has been submitted simultaneously to another publication. You may include your name on the piece.
Nonfiction submissions are limited to one piece not to exceed 6,500 words (please include word count). Pieces by emerging writers (those who have not published a full-length book of nonfiction) will also be considered for our annual nonfiction prize, should funding continue to be available. Please include a biographical statement (not a CV) detailing your past residency in Upstate New York. If more than one nonfiction piece is submitted by the same person, Stone Canoe editors will review only the first work received.
Note: The writer must be a current or former resident of upstate New York, but the piece submitted can be about anything at all. The work does not need to involve New York State. Examples of qualifying connections include but are not limited to: being born here, even if you moved away later; going to college at an upstate school such as SUNY Binghamton, Ithaca College, Syracuse University, etc.; working in the area currently or at some point in the past. If you are uncertain if you meet this criterion, please feel free to contact stonecanoe@ymcacny.org for consideration of your particular situation.
Please indicate if your work has been submitted simultaneously to another publication. You may include your name on the piece.
Poetry submissions are limited up to five poems. Please indicate stanza breaks when the text extends beyond a single page. Emerging poets (those who have not yet published a full-length book of poems) will automatically be considered for the Bea Gonzalez Prize for Poetry. Please note that we reserve the right to cancel the Prize should funding not be available.
Poems should be submitted as a single document. Please start each poem on a new page. Include a biographical statement (not a CV) including details of your past residency in upstate New York. If more than five poems are submitted by the same person, Stone Canoe editors will review only the first five poems received.
Note: The writer must be a current or former resident of upstate New York, but the piece submitted can be about anything at all. The work does not need to involve New York State. Examples of qualifying connections include but are not limited to: being born here, even if you moved away later; going to college at an upstate school such as SUNY Binghamton, Ithaca College, Syracuse University, etc.; working in the area currently or at some point in the past. If you are uncertain if you meet this criterion, please feel free to contact stonecanoe@ymcacny.org for consideration of your particular situation.
Please indicate if your work has been submitted simultaneously to another publication. You may include your name on the piece.
Drama submissions are limited to one piece not to exceed 6,000 words (include word count), or 30 double-spaced pages. Please include a biographical statement (not a CV) indicating your connection to upstate New York as your cover letter. If more than one play is submitted by the same person, Stone Canoe editors will review only the first work received.
Note: The writer must be a current or former resident of upstate New York, but the piece submitted can be about anything at all. The work does not need to involve New York State. Examples of qualifying connections include but are not limited to: being born here, even if you moved away later; going to college at an upstate school such as SUNY Binghamton, Ithaca College, Syracuse University, etc.; working in the area currently or at some point in the past. If you are uncertain if you meet this criterion, please feel free to contact stonecanoe@ymcacny.org for consideration of your particular situation.
Please indicate if your work has been submitted simultaneously to another publication. You may include your name on the piece.