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A Nation of Many: 250 Years of Reckoning and Renewal

The Pasticheur: Literature, Art, & Ideas   /   Deadline: 03/01/26

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In 2026, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of its founding. Anniversaries invite reflection, and they also invite critique. What does it mean to commemorate a nation's birth when the questions of international policy, justice, belonging, and power remain urgent and unresolved? What does it mean to measure 250 years of promises and betrayals, of violence and renewal, of voices silenced and voices rising?

For this special issue of The Pasticheur, we seek work from writers, poets, artists, and thinkers across all traditions and geographies. We want to gather a chorus of perspectives that will not only revisit the country's origins but also confront where it stands today. We invite contributions that explore freedom and exclusion, democracy and disenfranchisement, myth and memory, the local and the global.

Visual and literary works will appear side by side, opening a dialogue across form and medium. We welcome fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, critical essays, visual art, photography, sculpture, short film, and multimedia. Above all, we seek voices that complicate the story, that bring contradiction and clarity, that imagine what it means for the United States to stand at this threshold 250 years later.

Please submit through email: editor@the-pasticheur.com. Include a short bio and indicate the title of the special call you are submitting to (A Nation of Many: 250 Years of Reckoning and Renewal)

With this issue, we hope to create a space where reflection meets resistance, and where memory opens toward possibility.

Fees

None

Requirements

Submission Guidelines

General Submission Instructions

All submissions should include a cover letter addressed to the editors and sent via email.

If you are submitting work in response to a special call, please indicate this clearly in your email subject line or in the body of your message. This helps ensure your work is routed correctly and considered within the appropriate context.

If your work is accepted, we will request a biographical sketch and a high-quality photograph. You can expect a decision within 90 days.

Categories & Requirements

Painting & Fine Art Photography

Submit an artist statement along with 10 to 20 images at a minimum resolution of 100 dpi in JPEG format.

If accepted, final images must be provided at a resolution of 300 dpi.

Short Film

Submit your video in MP4 format, with a maximum duration of 30 minutes.

Accepted works must be resubmitted in 4K quality, same format.

Writing

We welcome submissions of poetry. Please submit 2 to 5 pieces for consideration, or one piece if you are submitting short stories or creative nonfiction.

For works in languages other than English, include both the original text and your English translation. If accepted, a final professional translation will be required for publication.

Translations

Translated works will be published, whenever possible, alongside the original text.

Submissions must include documentation of copyright permission for the original work, as well as the right to translate and publish it in both languages.

Reviews

We welcome lyrical, non‑academic reviews of exhibitions, galleries, and publications. Write with precision and imagination. Avoid jargon; let the work breathe.

What to send

800–1,200 words in a Word file. First person is fine when it adds insight. No footnotes; embed short links in the text.

Deck: 1–2 sentences. Newsletter teaser: 40 words.

3–5 images (JPEG) when permissions allow. Include captions, credits, and courtesy lines; confirm image permissions with the venue, artist, or publisher.

Alt text for each image, 1–2 sentences, to support accessibility.

Disclosure: note any relationships to the venue, artist, publisher, or press contact.

For exhibitions and galleries, include

Exhibition title, artist(s), venue, city, and dates.

If reviewing a gallery, add a one‑line description of its focus or mission.

For publications, include

Title, author or editor, publisher, year, and page count.

If translated, list translator(s) and language pair.

Style and approach

Creative criticism over academic argument. Favor concrete detail, strong verbs, and thought in motion.

Describe what the work does, not only what it is. Use quotes sparingly.

Considerations

Author Attribution and Biography Policy

At The Pasticheur, we are committed to accuracy, transparency, and integrity in all aspects of our editorial work. To maintain consistency and uphold the trust of our readers, we require the following from all contributors:

Use of a Single Name

Contributors must submit work under a single, consistent name. This is the name under which your biography and any listed prior publications must appear.

Pen Names / Pseudonyms

If you write under a pseudonym or pen name, please make this clear at the time of submission.

Your legal name must be provided for our internal records.

Your pen name will be used for publication.

We require consistency and transparency for editorial purposes.

Anonymous Contributions

We only consider anonymous or pseudonymous submissions under exceptional circumstances and with prior approval.

Verifiable Biography

Your submitted biography must accurately reflect your publishing history and professional achievements. Claims of prior publications should be verifiable through reliable sources.

Please note: we cannot merge publications or achievements under different names unless there is clear and public documentation linking them.

These policies align with the standards observed by academic and literary journals to ensure the integrity of the published record and to provide clarity for our readership.

If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact us prior to submitting your work: editor@the-pasticheur.com

Evaluation Criteria

Full peer-reviewed, double-blind.

Contact Information

Jorge Sagastume
PO Box 1773
Carlisle, PA 17055

P: 7172154632
W: https://the-pasticheur.com/
E: sagastuj@dickinson.edu