Open Call for ESL writers: Share your short stories, creative nonfiction essays, flash and poetry, written in English as your non-native language, as well as your artworks from April 20 to May 31, 2026 (midnight CEST) with us to be considered for our 16th issue on the theme of "nurture"!
For inspiration and more information, please review our open call description:
/ˈnɚtʃɚ/ (noun, verb)
Gardening. I have known so many gardeners who sought
to build hope out of the clearing, to remake an image of plenty,
of sharing fresh air and taking stale breath. [...]
[...] To make a calm to spread —
there if we bother to look, to listen to the birds moving in and out, some staying.
— John Kinsella, “Tree Elegy Across the Biosphere in Memory of W.S. Merwin”
What does it mean to provide and receive nurture — the care and attention for someone or something that is growing or developing1 — in our contemporary fast-paced, growth-driven world? What did it mean for those who came before us? And, what might it mean for those who do not have a voice to make their needs and wants heard?
How do we react and respond to being nurtured — by land, sea, sun, sky, by elders, idols, social workers, the stranger on the bus, by ourselves, by gardens and birds (to allude to Kinsella)? Are we aware of the acts of care and attention coming our way?
With our current open call, we invite non-native English writers of all geographical and cultural backgrounds to challenge typical views of nurture, and open our eyes to the many forms that shape our societies and inter-species habitats. We invite them to reflect: Is the act of nurturing essentially one of love or passion, or might it also appear as something quite the opposite? When do we hold, and when are we being held? And, which motives drive us, and where will they lead us?
Carefully review our submission guidelines to meet Tint Journal’s formal criteria.
Submissions are received until May 31, 2026 (midnight CEST) via email at submissions@tintjournal.com (preferred) or via Submittable. Feel free to approach us at info@tintjournal.com if questions arise.
Our editorial is looking forward to arranging the third themed issue of Tint Journal, the literary magazine for non-native English writing!
1 Definition based on The Britannica Dictionary.
Submissions for our In Conversation section (book reviews, interviews, profiles, other related articles) are received year-round. Please review our submission guidelines and contact our In Conversation editors Andrea Färber and Chiara Meitz.
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