El Portal is open to submissions from all artists and writers; submissions are published on the basis of talent, content, and editorial needs. El Portal serves as the creative forum for the students, faculty, and staff of Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) as well as artists, writers, and photographers worldwide; consequently, the views expressed in El Portal do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints and opinions of ENMU as as whole. 

Guidelines.

  • Flash Fiction (~1000 words)
  • Short Stories (up to 4,000 words)
  • Creative Nonfiction (up to 4,000 words)
  • Poetry (3-5 poems)
  • Art & Photography 

Please submit all written work in .doc, .docx, or .rtf formats. With the exception of poetry and art/photography, please limit entries to one story or essay.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact El Portal's editor at el.portal@enmu.edu.

Anthology theme: New Mexico Writers on New Mexico Landscapes

Enchant Me will highlight contemporary narrative nonfiction writings demonstrating the beauty and diversity of the state of New Mexico, how we engage with this state, its history, and its undervalued landscape to serve as a work of politics, advocacy, and art. In New Mexico, we live in the United States. But we’re the only state that specifies this on our license plates because so many people forget this fact. Many of our friends, peers, and colleagues speak Spanish or Navajo or Zuni or Keres often interchangeably with English. We live in New Mexico and when people think of this state they think of heat, desert, Breaking Bad, and atom bombs. But we have ski resorts and white sand dunes and high plains and sandstone buttresses and mesas and mountains and people who have lived here long before the contemporary cultural zeitgeist and who are grappling with its legacy. This is a strange and varied place deserving of meditation.

Genre: nonfiction

Led by Eastern New Mexico University Creative Writing faculty Dr. Megan Arlett and funded by a generous grant from ENMU, the anthology project (tentatively titled Enchant Me) will be a collection of narrative nonfiction written by New Mexico writers reflecting on our relationships with climate and landscape. 

Word count: up to 8,000 words

We accept previously published works if the author retains copyright or has permissions to reprint, but we will prioritize the publication of new pieces. Please let us know if your work has previously been published elsewhere.

Writers will receive $100 payment.

Feel free to submit up to three pieces.

El Portal (ENMU)