The theme for the Spring 2026 issue of Chautauqua is

Carnivals and Masquerades. These words, and the spaces they evoke, conjure vivid images of masks and costumes, circuses and ballrooms, pranks, dances, and performances. When we think of them, we think of breaking the boundaries of our normal lives to explore an arena where the line between the strange and the comforting blurs. 

Carnivals and masquerades have been the settings for narratives for hundreds of years, from Shakespeare to Disney movies. The idea of a child “running away to join the circus” has become its own cliché. Writers have used these spaces to craft stories exploring pomp and ceremony, community and those ostracized from it, identity and mistaken identity, and the divide between the rural and elite. To say nothing of the potential for imagery: animals, tattoos, elaborate costumes, and more.

We are seeking work that explores not just these places of mystery and entertainment themselves, but the surreal feelings they create. We’re not interested in only reading pieces whose settings include carnivals and masquerades—though we’re eager to read those—but any poems, short stories, or essays that grapple with the questions these places make us ponder:

• What draws us to spectacles and marvels?
• What masks, real or metaphorical, do we hide behind?
• How do we define the “weird” and what happens when weirdness is stifled or embraced?
• How and why do we choose our troupe? 
• What are the traditions and stereotypes that define your identity and your world?
• Who are we outside the ring? Outside our jobs? Outside our identities?
• What is home, and when do you leave it?

If you are considering submitting to Chautauqua, please consider ordering our current issue (https://www.chautauquabookstore.com/shop/books/writers-center) and be ready to visit our website when our next issue, Hope, goes live. You will get a thorough feel for the kind of writing we love—and, clearly, what we publish.