Mānoa Journal is looking for stories, craft essays, memoir, art, and poetry that engage with the theme of writing at the intersection of language, the threshold of mother tongue and assimilation, and how language lays the foundation of a multilingual perspective. How do we carry inherited language in English dominated environments? What are the challenges and blessings of growing up in a diaspora? How do multilingual experiences move and observe the world? How does language help to build bridges? We welcome writing that enters or furthers this conversation of what it means to write and witness a multicultural and multilingual world. We also welcome writing in bilingual and translingual forms. Your submission does not need to be in more than one language — we accept English-only submissions. 

Open Call until August 1, 2026.

Please review the following guidelines carefully:

• Include 1 to 5 poems per submission (no more than 15 pages), and submit all poems as one document.
• Format poems in 12 pt, Times New Roman font. 
• Include your name at the top right page of the document.
• Submit the document as a Word doc or PDF file.
• Poems must be the submitter’s own, original work.
• Work created, whether in whole or in part, with the assistance of Generative AI will not be accepted.
• Previously published work will not be accepted.