Ahoy there!
 
The editors of the Turning Tides Literature and Arts Journal would love to include your creative work in the upcoming 2026 edition!
 
We are currently accepting work from students, faculty, and staff in the following mediums: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, music, video, and visual arts (including photography, painting, and comics).
 
The deadline for submissions is May 2nd, 2026 by midnight.
 
All members of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy community are invited and encouraged to submit their work for consideration.
 
We seek to emphasize and celebrate human creativity – pieces manufactured by AI will not be considered. Turning Tides dedicated to publishing original work that demonstrates creative insight and human experience. We encourage contributors to submit old work that has not found a home, work created for classes, or entirely new pieces.
           
The goal of Turning Tides is to showcase the vibrant and engaging creative talent on the Mass Maritime campus to the world. We want to present the varied and unique voices of our community with a wide range of content and subject matter.
 
Below are the criteria for each submission type:
 
Fiction and Creative Non-Fiction:
Limit of 3 entries
Maximum of 5000 words per entry
Acceptable file types: Word documents (.doc, .docx, .rtf), Google Docs
 
Poetry:
Limit of 5 poems
Maximum total of 10 pages
Acceptable file types: Word documents (.doc, .docx, .rtf), Google Docs
 
Songs:
Limit of 3 entries
Maximum length of 5-minutes per song
Acceptable file types: .mp3, .ogg, .wav
 
Videos:
Limit of 1 entry
Maximum length of 10-minutes
Fiction and Non-Fiction pieces accepted
Acceptable file types: .mp4, .m4v, .mov, .avi, .wmv
 
Visual Arts:
Photography, painting, and other mediums accepted
Limit of 10 images total
Acceptable file types: .png, .jpg/.jpeg, .gif, .webp
 
Comics:
Limit of 3 entries
Accepting single-panel comics, comic strips, or sequential narrative comics
Maximum total of 10 pages per image
Acceptable file types: .png, .jpg/.jpeg, .gif, .webp, .pdf
 
When submitting your work, please be sure to remove identifying information from the document. This will ensure a fair and merit-based blind editorial process.
 
Please click on the big blue button below to submit your work via Google Forms. Submissions must be made using your MMA email credentials.
 
We look forward to seeing all the creative work from the amazing MMA community. May your work be met with fair winds and following seas! 
 
Deadline: May 2nd, 2026
 
FAQ:
Can I submit multiple types of work?
Yes, please do! We want to see all of your artistic work!
 
When will I know if my work has been accepted?
Decisions will be sent out in mid-May.
 
When will the 2026 edition be published?
Our current publication date is set for June 1st.
 
Who is making the decisions?
The editorial team for the 2026 edition of Turning Tides is made up of students in the current HU5091: Literary Publishing course. They will be evaluating, editing, and publishing submissions. Professor Eric Kennedy is serving as the supervising editor.

I have more questions...
Direct any other questions you may have to turningtides@maritime.edu.