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: September 15

POETRY: August 18

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 mid-November each year. If you have not heard about your submission, and it is later than December 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.