Changing Skies is our climate change-focused journal, launched by our parent title, Hindsight Creative Nonfiction. Launched in 2022, Changing Skies seeks more submissions for our upcoming 2025 Volume IV issue. We are looking for pieces that center ideas of climate change, global warming, and environmental adversity. As climate change becomes more profound and impacts populations in disparate ways, we want to raise awareness about the changes our Earth is facing. This contest is centered around prose that questions, analyzes, and reflects on the multitude of concerns facing our planet. These pieces, grounded in true stories and personal reflection, are our reminders of the precarious and changing habitats around us. 

This contest is limited to current undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder. First place will be awarded 300 dollars, second place will be awarded 150 dollars, third place will be awarded 50 dollars, and all other participants will be considered for publication. 

We always welcome writers who are not affiliated with CU Boulder to submit through our general Submittable form.
 

Written Submissions 

1. All submissions are free. 
2. Submissions are open to all currently enrolled CU Students. Submissions will only be accepted under: @colorado.edu email. 
3. We only publish creative nonfiction writing, fact-checking as necessary. This contest will only publish non-fiction prose. Poetry and art/graphics will not be accepted. 
4. Pieces must address or center around climate issues. 
5. Any necessary textual citation should follow the Chicago Manual of Style footnote format.
6. AI-generated submissions will be rejected. 
7. We only accept the following file types: Word files (.docx, .doc)
8. Double-spaced Times New Roman 12 point type, 1" margins, and indented paragraphs. For prose in sections, indicate space breaks with a centered hashtag.
9. Please remove your name from your piece, including file name, first page with title, headers, and pagination, to ensure anonymous reviewing. If your writing includes an identifiable name for you (beyond simply a common first name, etc.) please replace with "MY NAME" and we will restore your name in editing if accepting your piece for publication.
10. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere, through Submittable, and pull the piece.
11. We publish only previously unpublished work and obtain First North American Serial Rights: all rights revert to you as soon as we publish your work first. We may then republish or excerpt your work unless you request that we not do so.

*We reserve the right to not award any prize money if we do not receive a sufficient volume of quality submissions.

Submission Requirements

Submissions to Changing Skies must address or center climate issues.

1. Please remove your name from your submission and file name (including first age with title, headers, and pagination) to ensure an anonymous selection process for all writing submissions. If your writing includes an identifiable name for you (beyond simply a common first name, etc.) please replace with "MY NAME" and we will restore your name in editing if accepting your piece for publication.
2. We welcome submissions from everyone except current teaching faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder.
3. We only publish creative nonfiction writing, fact-checking as necessary. 
4. Submissions must be in Times New Roman 12 pt. font, double spaced. Indicate space breaks, if any, with a hashtag: #.
5. Submissions must be sent as a Word file (.doc or .docx). Do not submit PDFs.
6. All citations, if any, must be done in Chicago footnote style.
7. AI-generated submissions will be rejected. 
8. All submissions are free.
9. ONE piece per submission for prose. Submissions containing collections or multiple titles will not be considered.
10. We consider all work for Print or Online publication, including podcasts. The deadline for annual print issues is each Spring for publication in the Fall. Submissions after that deadline will be considered for the next Print issue, or Online.
11. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere, through Submittable, and pull the piece. We publish only previously unpublished work and obtain First North American Serial Rights: all rights revert to you as soon as we publish your work first. We may then republish or excerpt your work unless you request that we not do so.

Written Submissions

Submissions to Changing Skies must address or center climate issues.

1. Please remove your name from your submission and file name to ensure an anonymous selection process for all writing submissions.
2. Submissions must be in Times New Roman 12 pt. font, single-spaced, with an extra space indicating any stanza breaks.
3. Submissions must be sent in a Word file (.doc or .docx). Do not submit PDFs.
4. If you are submitting multiple works of poetry, please include them all in one singular file upload. 
5. All citations, if any, must be done in Chicago footnote style.
6. All submissions are free.
7. We consider all work for Print or Online publication, including podcasts. The deadline for annual print issues is each Spring for publication in the Fall. Submissions after that deadline will be considered for the next Print issue, or Online.
8. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere, through Submittable, and pull the piece. We publish only previously unpublished work and obtain First North American Serial Rights: all rights revert to you as soon as we publish your work first. We may then republish or excerpt your work unless you request that we not do so.
9. AI-generated submissions will be rejected.

Written Submissions Guidelines
 

1. All submissions are free.
2. All submissions must be creative nonfiction. We fact-check all writing.
3. We consider all work for Print or Online publication, including podcasts. The deadline for annual print issues is each Fall for publication in the Spring. Submissions after that deadline will be considered for the next Print issue, or Online.
4. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere, through Submittable, and pull the piece. We publish only previously unpublished work and obtain First North American Serial Rights: all rights revert to you as soon as we publish your work first. We may then republish or excerpt your work unless you request that we not do so.
5. ONE piece per submission. Submissions containing collections or multiple titles will not be considered.
6. Please remove your name from your submission and file name to ensure an anonymous and fair selection process for all writing submissions.
7. Submissions must be in Times New Roman 12 pt. font, double spaced. Indicate space breaks, if any, with a hashtag: #
8. Submissions must be sent as a Word file (.doc or .docx).
9. All citations, if any, must be done in Chicago footnote style.
10. AI-generated submissions will be rejected.

Written Submissions
 

1. Please remove your name from your submission and file name to ensure an anonymous selection process for all writing submissions.
2. Submissions must be in Times New Roman 12 pt. font, single-spaced, with an extra space indicating any stanza breaks.
3. Submissions must be sent in a Word file (.doc or .docx). Do not submit PDFs.
4. All citations, if any, must be done in Chicago footnote style.
5. All submissions are free.
6. All submissions must be creative nonfiction. We fact-check all writing. We regard poetry as a genre of form, not of content, with strong poetry potentially including "fiction." We only publish creative nonfiction, however, whether in forms of prose or poetry.
7. We consider all work for Print or Online publication, including podcasts. The deadline for annual print issues is each Spring for publication in the Fall. Submissions after that deadline will be considered for the next Print issue, or Online.
8. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere, through Submittable, and pull the piece. We publish only previously unpublished work and obtain First North American Serial Rights: all rights revert to you as soon as we publish your work first. We may then republish or excerpt your work unless you request that we not do so.
9. AI-generated submissions will be rejected.

1. All submissions are free.
2. We consider all work for Print or Online publication (including podcasts) and for marketing purposes in Print and Online in perpetuity.
3. We accept multiple submissions — send separately as much as you like.
4. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately by withdrawing the piece from Submittable if your work is accepted elsewhere.
5. We publish only unpublished work and obtain First North American Serial Rights: all rights revert to you as soon as we publish your work first. We may then republish your work unless you request that we not do so.
6. Do not use this category for submitting comics or other work with significant writing. Only submit visual art here.
7. All submissions must be sent as .png or .jpg files, formatted to 300 dpi or greater.
8. AI submissions will not be accepted.

Disclaimer: Hindsight Staff reserves the right to alter artwork during our formatting process (flipping, mirroring, etc.). All edits are subject to artist approval.

Disclaimer: Hindsight and its various publications pair art pieces with our amazing writing submissions. By submitting this piece, you agree to allow Hindsight to pair this artwork with a writing submission of our choosing. Please let us know if you prefer text overlays are not put over your piece.