Write for us.

ONE MISSION. MANY VOICES.

Please carefully read all of the details below BEFORE submitting to us. You must follow these guidelines for publication consideration. THANK YOU!

Want to join The Way Back to Ourselves? Do you want to impact people’s lives for the better and help us beautify the Kingdom? We’d love to have you!

Please be sure whatever you submit is in the spirit of our mission. You can read about our humble beginnings and mission statement on the “About” page before submitting.

FOR THE SEMI-ANNUAL LITERARY JOURNAL

*NEW AND IMPORTANT: If you can afford to, please donate $5.00 or more to our journal along with your submission. This will go into a love offering for our editors and help pay the cost of operations as we grow. See the donation icon on this contact page by scrolling. If you have financial hardship, a free submission is our gift to you (no questions asked).*

*We NOMINATE select entries for the Pushcart Prize.*

Please ONLY submit inside the submission window. Submit your WORD document in an attachment to editor.twbto@gmail.com with this format in the subject line: SUBMISSION/Genre/Title.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In the subject line, you will fill in Genre with “poetry,” “essay,” “photography,” etc. You will fill in “Title” with the name of your work. If you are submitting multiples, use a phrase like “3 Poems” instead and then name the poems inside of your email.

Examples: SUBMISSION/Poetry/3 Poems or SUBMISSION/Essay with Photography/“To Be Human” or SUBMISSION/Poem and Essay/“In His Will,” “Resurrection Light”

FALL 2025 COLLECTION: TO THE MOUNTAINS

LEARN MORE HERE:

To the Mountains: Our Fall Theme for The Way Back to Ourselves Literary Journal

SUBMISSIONS OPEN September 1-October 1, 2025

FREE DIGITAL PUBLICATION DATE: November 2025

FALL 2025 COLLECTION: STORYTELLERS POETRY CONTEST

Poets may choose to enter this contest IN ADDITION to submitting to the fall journal. Entering is easy.

Here are the details:

• Follow all the same submission rules and deadlines as the journal.

• Pay $25 to cover submission to the journal and poetry competition.

• Include one paragraph with the poem telling the “story behind the poem.”

• Cash and other prizes to be determined based on the number of contestants.

• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be named.

• Must be 18 or older to enter.

• Persons directly affiliated with The Way Back to Ourselves (family, team, editors, contractors) may not submit due to conflict of interest.

• Winners will be determined by the editorial board.

LITERARY JOURNAL SUBMISSION DETAILS:

Please submit all work inside ONE email. You may submit up to three poems and/or photographs. Each poem will be on a separate page inside ONE Word document. Photographs will be attached in high-resolution png. or .jpg. You may also submit ONE essay or longer piece per submission window.

You may submit simultaneously, but please do not submit previously published work (Substack, blogs, and social media count as published). Please be sure to tell us if your work is a simultaneous submission.

At this time, we cannot pay you for your work, but we will celebrate you and support you in our shared journeys. Please edit ALL writing very carefully. Writing that is not tightly written and edited will most likely be denied due to the number of submissions we receive. Writing not in the spirit, values, or mission of The Way Back to Ourselves will not be accepted. Please be sure to consider the theme of each journal, as work that cannot fit within the theme will not be accepted.

NEW: Masterful writing comes in all lengths and forms; however, due to the nature of this literary journal, essays and stories that go much longer than 1,500 words are too long for us at this time.

Author Photo and Bio Request: Please include a high-quality headshot to be paired with your third-person author’s bio (100 words or less) and active socials/websites in the event you are published.

Call for Fine Art: Along with poetry, short stories, and essays, the literary journal is now accepting high-quality original art, including paintings, photography, illustrations, drawings, and sculptures. All art pieces must be in high-resolution .png or .jpeg/.jpg and accompanied by a written reflection that shares insights or themes on the work.

STANCE ON AI-GENERATED WORK: We do NOT publish any work created or curated by artificial intelligence or plagiarism of any kind. We are all created to create by a living and loving God, and we take Imago Dei seriously. The Way Back to Ourselves is only interested in celebrating what God’s image bearers create.

We are open for submissions on the following topics:

• Nonfiction: We are interested in creative nonfiction, articles, etc. that explore your journey or another’s through the Christian faith or other faith-adjacent topics. We welcome those in all seasons of their faith journey—the highs and the lows. Be it the “dark night of the soul” Mother Teresa famously wrote about, a Job-like experience, or a mountaintop moment where you saw miracles manifest, they are all welcome as long as they seek to comfort and/or inspire our community toward a more whole life.

• Creative Writing: Poems and short stories, etc., that seek to explore the human condition as both flesh and soul are of particular interest. Again, creative pieces should seek to add value to our community through inspiration, revelation, or beauty. Themes of Christianity can be prevalent or less obvious, as long as the piece achieves a feeling of awe or beauty. The sacred is ever-present.

• Fine Art: Along with poetry, short stories, and essays, the literary journal is now accepting high-quality original art: paintings, photography, illustrations, drawings, sculptures, etc. All art pieces must be in high-resolution .png or .jpeg/.jpg format and accompanied by a written response that shares insights or themes related to the work.

FOR THE BLOG MONTHLY FEATURES

Tip: Read the blog before you submit to get a feel for what we like to publish and the quality of writing we produce.

Please submit your WORD document or Google Doc in an attachment to thewayback2ourselves@gmail.com with this format in the subject line: BLOG PROPOSAL/Theme/Title.