Submission Guidelines

Welina mai! Before submitting, please review the general guidelines as well as specific guidelines for each of the following categories you intend to submit to:

Submission Categories

  • First-Year Writing
    • Written work submitted in UHWO first-year English 100 and 200-level writing courses.
  • Upper-Division Research Writing
    • Research-based work submitted in UHWO Writing Intensive (WI) courses at the 300- and 400-level and/or for Directed Readings (individualized 399 research courses with a faculty member).
  • Creative Writing
    • Written work submitted in UHWO creative writing courses. Submissions can be poetry, creative fiction, or nonfiction pieces.
  • Capstone Projects
    • Written work presented at senior capstone/colloquium events.

Formatting 

  • Written in ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi, Pidgin, English, or a combination of these
  • Left justification
  • One-inch margins
  • Double-spaced
  • 12 pt. Times New Roman or Arial font
  • Avoid underlining or boldtype

Submission expectations

  • Word count does NOT include footnotes, references, or citations
  • Submissions must be original, single-authored work that has not been previously published.
  • Submissions must be accompanied by a 50-150 word abstract. 
  • Submissions should be submitted using the DPP Online Submission Form.
  • Submissions must have been completed within the last two years as coursework at UHWO.
  • Authors are permitted to submit a maximum of two pieces per journal issue in either the same or different categories.
  • Submissions should indicate the language(s) the manuscript is written in. Please check our Language Statement (link) for more information.
  • Submissions should follow the UHWO Student Code of Conduct. Authors should make every effort to avoid plagiarism, to cite responsibly, and to use inclusive language. Please consult our policies for more specific guidelines. 
  • Submissions must include titles. Ideally, a title will catch readers’ attention and provide information about the focus of the submission. Use MLA format for titles and their inclusions.
  • Submissions must include an Instructor Recommendation Form, which can be downloaded from our site.
  • Submissions should be final drafts, that is, carefully proofread and as polished as possible. 
  • Written submissions must be in a Word document format (.doc or .docx).
  • Submissions exceeding the stated word count will not be considered for publication.

Specific Guidelines

First-year Writing

  • 500-2,000 words.
  • Submission must have originated in an ENG 100, ENG 100T, ENG 200, ENG 209, and ENG 220 course at UHWO. 
  • For an example of formatting expectations, please refer to the Formatting section of General Guidelines.

Upper Division Research Writing

  • 1,500-3,000 words
  • Submission must have originated in an upper division, Writing Intensive (WI) course.

Creative Writing

  • Word count: 
    • Fiction and non-fiction—1,000-2,500 words
    • Micro-fiction—100-500 words 
    • Poetry 100-1,000 words, up to 3 poems per submission
  • Submission must have originated in a course at UHWO. 
  • Submissions must follow creative writing formatting conventions.

Capstone Projects

  • 3,000-8,000 words
  • Submission must have originated in a Senior Project (491) or Senior Practicum (490) course at our UHWO campus during the previous two years.
  • For an example of formatting expectations, please refer to our sample submission. Link to Sample
  • Capstones have a later deadline. For our 2025 issue, please submit capstones by January 10th, 2025 at midnight.