Prairie Fire Press invites creative nonfiction on the theme of remembering and forgetting for our fall 2026 issue.
Our survival and growth have always depended on both. Memory helps shape who we are and how we understand our connection to others—personally, culturally, historically. Some memories bring comfort and joy; others are confusing, painful, even traumatic. Beyond individual experience, there are ancestral, familial, and collective memories that require unearthing, remaking, and re-examining. What has been buried? What has been reshaped over time? What needs to be remembered now, and what might need to be released?
We welcome work that explores the tension between holding on and letting go, and the ways remembering and forgetting shape healing, identity, and transformation.
Sorry, poets and fiction writers, we have enough work on this topic in the queue that we do not require additional poetry or fiction for this issue. However, we are still accepting poetry and fiction for regular submission, and we still love you.
Deadline: May 4th, 2026 end of day
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Submissions for this issue may be emailed or mailed. Emailed submissions still need to follow the submission guidelines.
Emailed submissions should be sent to prfire@prairiefire.ca, Subject: Lost and Found
International submissions accepted.
THE COVER LETTER
The cover letter should be typed. Be sure to include the following:
***Please state in your cover letter that you are submitting to “Lost and Found”***
- your pronouns
- a two- or three-sentence biographical statement (in third person, if possible);
- your full mailing address, e-mail address and phone number;
- the title of the piece you are submitting;
- Let us know if you are just starting to send out your work.
THE MANUSCRIPT
- Please only send on piece of creative non-fiction. We will not be accepting multiple submissions for this call.
- Please do not send updated versions of pieces once you have submitted. The piece you submit is the piece we review.
- Maximum length for creative non-fiction: 5000 words.
- Prairie Fire does not accept previously published work.
- We ask that you let us know if your work is also submitted elsewhere, and, if it is accepted, to notify us right away.
- Your submission should be typed (double-spaced) on one side of the page only (for print submissions).
***Please Note: Due to the high volume of submissions we receive for special calls, we are only able to notify successful applicants. We will post a message on our social media when all successful applicants have been contacted, as well as on the Prairie Fire website. All successful applicants will be contacted by the middle of July 2026 or sooner. If you do not hear from us by then, please assume we were unable to take your work.
***As well, please make sure prfire@prairiefire.ca and lindsey@prairiefire.ca are added as ‘safe senders’ in your email. We would hate to end up in your spam folder!
Prairie Fire encourages persons of colour, LGBTQ+ & disabled writers, as well as writers from any other (or more than one) underrepresented community to submit.