Tahoma West accepts creative submissions of prose, poetry, and visual art from all students, staff, faculty, and alumni of UW Tacoma. They may submit as many creative works as they like.

The final deadline to submit to Volume 30 was 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Submissions made after that date will be considered for Volume 31; we have not yet announced the deadline for Volume 31.

We prefer that you use the links below to send in submissions. Those without access to DubNet, such as graduated students, can also submit by emailing tahomaw@uw.edu. We do not accept physical submissions, by mail or otherwise.

Fiction Submission Form

Creative Nonfiction Submission Form

Poetry Submission Form

Visual Art Submission Form

Music/Video/Non-Traditional Media Submission Form

GUIDELINES

If you have any questions about the submission process or guidelines and how they might affect your submission, please contact our editor-in-chief or staff program adviser, or visit us during our office hours.

Content: Tahoma West does not accept material that is racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise bigoted, or material that uses gratuitous sex or violence for shock value. These subjects can be present in a work if discussed with respect, but never for the purpose of marginalizing a group of people. When in doubt, we encourage you to submit your work anyway or reach out to us with any questions.

Blind submission process: Editors of Tahoma West review submissions without knowing who submitted them. You can help us by making sure your name is not included on the manuscript of your story, poem or work of visual art.

Editing: By submitting to Tahoma West, you agree to allow the editors to edit your work for publication, such as to correct unclear or erroneous grammar and spelling. The student staff will inform you of their changes and only publish a final piece with which both they and you are satisfied.

Copyright hold: Tahoma West retains the copyright to accepted submissions until they appear in print, at which point rights revert back to the author. Our hold time is short — about two months until we hold our book release party — and after it's over, the author is free to submit or self-publish their work elsewhere.

Previous publication: Our preference is for previously unpublished work. If your work will appear in another publication prior to the release of Tahoma West, please notify us immediately and we'll consider the circumstances.

Artificial intelligence (AI): Tahoma West prioritizes the original expression of human beings, even (and especially) those who are unsure of their technical creative skills. Submissions that use generative AI are not inherently disqualified from being featured in Tahoma West, but those which consist of AI-generated material with minimal transformation by you are unlikely to be selected. You must disclose and explain any use of generative AI when submitting your work. Dishonesty about the use of generative AI in a submission is considered equivalent to plagiarism.

HOW TO SUBMIT BY EMAIL

Submissions should preferably be sent via the forms listed above. For those using email, send submissions to tahomaw@uw.edu and follow the guidelines below:

  1. SUBJECT LINE: Follow the format "SUBMISSION: [your genre]." If you are submitting a poem, the subject line will be "SUBMISSION: Poetry." If you're submitting several types of work, use "SUBMISSION: Multiple pieces." If you are unsure of your genre (such as if you're submitting a comic, or a work of fiction told in poetry), choose which you believe to be most appropriate.
  2. BODY: In the body of the email, include your...
    1. Preferred name
    2. Degree program or staff/faculty position (If you are an alumnus, use your personal email and mention your former degree program)
    3. Your UW email address (if you submitted with a non-UW email)
    4. The title of each submission
    5. A short biography (50-100 words)
  3. ATTACHMENT: Submit your creative work as an attachment. Use the file type specified for each category of submission, listed below this section.

Fiction & Creative Non-Fiction

  • Each submission may be up to 4000 words. There is no minimum word count.
  • Accepted file types: .doc, .docx or .pdf
  • Times New Roman (12pt), double-spaced, with page numbers.
  • Submit each story or essay as a separate attachment.

Poetry

We welcome poetry in all forms. However, technical limitations can prevent certain poems from appearing in Tahoma West. Be prepared to work with us on poems using unusual or ambitious formatting, such as long individual lines of text or variable text justification.

  • Accepted file types: .doc, .docx or .pdf
  • Times New Roman (12pt), single-spacing OK.
  • Multiple poems may be sent in a single attachment. Separate each poem by a page break and include the individual titles above their text.
  • If your poem features a particularly long line of text (60 characters or longer), please let us know if you are OK with it wrapping to a second line.

Visual Art, Physical Art and Comics

Publication of visual art is dependent upon having a quality color or black and white reproduction of your work. If you are submitting a comic, this includes the readability of your word/thought bubbles; make sure your comic text can be read if your page is shrunk down to approximately 5" x 7.5".

  • Accepted file types: .jpg, .png
  • File resolution should be at least 1,800 pixels on the shortest side.
  • 300 dpi pixel density preferred.
  • Include the title of the piece(s) in the body of your email.
  • Include a brief description of your piece in the body of your email. You can write anything you think is relevant, but if you're stuck, try using the following formula: "This is a photo of __. It was taken/inspired by __. I particularly like this picture because __."
  • For slides or scientific diagrams, please include a short description of the image.
  • For 3D / Physical Art: You may submit either high-quality photos or a video displaying your work. These should display the work from all sides. For video submissions, follow the video submissions guidelines and submit under the Music/Video/Non-traditional media form.

Video, Music, and other media

  • All video and music submissions must be within 10 minutes total run time.
  • All submissions must be hosted on YouTube, Vimeo, Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, or a similar linkable public access platform.
  • Please copy and paste the url web address into the submission form where requested.