Open call for submissions
As we take account of the new journey ahead, we believe that the best way forward for Panocha Zine is to shift our publication frequency to twice a year. We are making this decision very intentionally, as we recognize our need to grow—and in order to do so, we must also recognize the need for change. We hope these adjustments will allow us to improve our production and editorial quality, expand our outreach efforts to foster community, and create space to work on personal projects while expanding our creativity both within and beyond Panocha Zine.
It feels only fitting that this year’s themes explore the need for evolution and the recognition of areas where revolutionary measures are necessary. Join us on this journey as we bring back our Live Conversations, create more opportunities for both in-person and online interactions, and walk you through our own explorations of these themes through our work.
See the below information on our themes and new deadlines for 2026:
Evolution
Deadline May 2
The Evolution Issue is about how things change and grow over time, from personal habits to culture and society. It looks at patterns that repeat and how things come full circle. This issue invites contributors to think about how people, ideas, and systems develop and find balance. Contributors are encouraged to explore the rhythms, changes, and cycles that shape our lives and the world around us.
Some Initial Ideas:
Gradual shifts in personal mindset or beliefs over the years.
Fashion: jeans, sneakers, or clothing evolving from functional to cultural statements
Storytelling: from oral stories to printed books, e-books, audiobooks, and media
Learning a new skill: such as cooking, language, or a musical instrument
Music: genres shifting and blending over decades
Language: slang, expressions, or writing styles changing across generations
Return to analog: vinyl, film photography, handwritten letters, polaroids
Revolution
Deadline November 7
The Revolution Issue focuses on moments of rupture and transformation, when systems, ideas, or habits have outgrown their constraints. It explores the courage to break cycles, challenge norms, and imagine new possibilities. This issue invites reflection on acts (big or small, public or personal) that disrupt the status quo and spark meaningful change. Contributors are encouraged to examine personal, cultural, or societal shifts, highlighting the power and consequences of transformation.
Some Initial Ideas:
Social movements: grassroots activism or local initiatives challenging norms
Cultural shifts: redefining gendered clothing or breaking societal expectations
Personal breakthroughs: quitting limiting habits, speaking hard truths, making radical life changes
Media disruption: the rise of streaming services overturning traditional TV or film distribution
Life-changing personal decisions: like moving across the world or leaving a career
Paradigm shifts: breaking old systems, routines, or thought patterns to create new possibilities
Pushback against AI: questioning, resisting, or challenging the rapid integration of AI into work, art, and daily life
General Submissions
Permanently Open
Do you have work that may not fit our outlined themes? Don’t worry! We want to encourage you to still submit, we want to create space for you to tell the story you want to tell it, through whichever medium you wish to tell it.
Guidelines
We will ONLY consider submissions by womxn, femme, or non-binary creatives of the global majority.
We encourage work in your native language with a translation, as well as English, Spanish & Spanglish. If chosen, it will be published in the original language.
Written work must not exceed 1000 words.
🙏🏽PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE 🙏🏽 Name your files with your first and last name.
There is no submission fee.
Creatives whose work is published in the magazine will receive:
Free copy of the issue in which they were published, with free Shipping*.
*We offer free shipping for international orders too, however, as a self-funded independent publication (that depends on every sale for operational cost) we will opt for the most affordable shipping option, in some of those cases we don’t have much control or can provide tracking for FREE international orders. In full transparency - we the founders are broke humans like you and we don’t profit from any of the sales. As a publication that publishes work from collaborators all around our ever-changing world, some times it is hard for some orders to be shipped to your country, but we will contact you to find a way and try to get you your free issue.
Will be added to our collaborators directory page. (More information soon)
For questions, email us at: submissions@panochazine.com
Pan(*)cha Zine seeks to elevate the voices of womxn, femme, and non-binary creatives of the global majority who are looking for a space for self-expression.
Why?
We are tired of trying to fit in boxes too small to contain us. We are too colorful to try to paint ourselves under the same tones.