The Elephant in the Room is Cancer. Tea is the Relief Conversation Provides.

Submitting Your Story

We appreciate your interest in sharing your story with the Elephants and Tea AYA (adolescent and young adult) cancer community!

Please read the guidelines below before submitting using the form at the bottom of this page.

Our Director of Content will reach out to you once your submission has been reviewed. Because of the influx of submissions we receive, this will take a minimum of two weeks.

Most articles submitted will be shared only on our website, as we post three articles a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Articles are typically scheduled at least two months in advance.

Current Digital Submission Theme:
The Unseen Challenges of Survivorship – Due Friday, October 20 
*theme description below

We have four quarterly print magazines that come out in March, June, September, and December. While we would love to include every submission in one of our magazines, we unfortunately are unable to do so.

Current Magazine Submission Theme:

March 2024 Issue – Friendships

*Submissions Due: Friday, November 17

How has cancer impacted your friendships? Has support from your community grown or faded through cancer? How do your friendships with those in the cancer community differ from those who are outside of the cancer community? Do you find yourself valuing different qualities in friendships than you did prior to your diagnosis? Reflect on a relationship where someone has continued to show up for you and what that means to you, or one where someone stopped showing up for you.

 

Digital and Magazine Theme Descriptions:

Digital Call for Submissions:

The Unseen Challenges of Survivorship
*Submissions Due: Friday, October 20

What does survivorship look like for you? Do you agree with the traditional definition of survivorship? If not, how would you define survivorship? What are some things about survivorship that you wish others knew? 

2024 Magazine Themes:

March Issue – Friendships
*Submissions Due: Friday, November 17

How has cancer impacted your friendships? Has support from your community grown or faded through cancer? How do your friendships with those in the cancer community differ from those who are outside of the cancer community? Do you find yourself valuing different qualities in friendships than you did prior to your diagnosis? Reflect on a relationship where someone has continued to show up for you and what that means to you, or one where someone stopped showing up for you.

June Issue – Dear Cancer
If you could speak to cancer, what would you say? Would you share your anger, sadness, gratitude, hope, indifference, or something else? How would you describe and speak to cancer if you could give it a face or a name?

September Issue – The Ghosts of Cancer
What is something you have lost or experienced through cancer that haunts you? What are some unwanted things that cancer added to your life? What are some things that are missing from your life now? Describe what that loss or addition feels like.

December Issue – Expectations
What are some expectations you’ve experienced surrounding cancer? Have expectations from others changed since cancer? What about those toward yourself? Do you have different expectations of others after what you have been through?

Submission Requirements:

"There is no right or wrong way to share your story. Your writing might take you in a direction you didn't expect and that's okay. Write from the heart and share what you are comfortable with. I'm excited to read your submission!"
-Rachel Mihalko
Director of Content
  • Please write between 500 – 1000 words for website submissions
  • Please write between 1200 – 1500 words for magazine submissions
  • Please write between 1000 – 1200 words for Perkatory submissions
  • Poetry submissions of any word count are encouraged

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Theme of article*

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.