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

January, 18th 2025: Join us for food, drinks, dancing, and author sharing — all to support our mission. Learn more here!

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 Brand Director 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. Due to the amount of submissions we receive, articles are scheduled up to three months in advance.

Current Website Submission Themes:

Connection After Cancer
*Submissions due Friday, April 25, 2025

We have four quarterly print magazines that come out in March, June, September, and December. Each magazine issue adheres to a specific theme, and only submissions on those themes will be considered for the magazine. While we would love to include every submission in one of our magazines, we unfortunately are unable to do so. See below for the full list of magazine themes for the year.

Current Magazine Submission Theme:

Clinical Trials (Special Edition Magazine)
* Submissions due Friday, April 25, 2025

September 2025 Issue – Struggles of Survivorship
* Submissions due Thursday, June 5th, 2025

Website and Magazine Theme Descriptions:

Website Call for Submissions:

 

Connection After Cancer

Submissions due Friday, April 25, 2025

  • How has cancer changed your relationship with others? With yourself?
  • Do you find it easier or harder to connect with people since your diagnosis? Have you found new ways to connect with others who have gone through similar experiences?
  • What types of relationships have been impacted the most: friendships, family, romantic partners, coworkers, etc?
  • What role, if any, has cancer played in reshaping your views on self-worth and your relationships?

2025 Magazine Themes:

March Issue – My Identity After Cancer

Submissions closed

June Issue – Does Everything Happen for a Reason?

Submissions closed

Special Edition Magazine – Clinical Trials

Submissions due Friday, April 25, 2025

Patient/Survivor Perspective Prompts-

  • Have you participated in a clinical trial as part of your treatment? What did you wish you knew before joining the clinical trial?
  • How did you find the experience from start to finish?
  • How did participating in a clinical trial impact you and your treatment?
  • What advice would you give other young adult patients in regard to clinical trials?
  • Can you speak to advocating for yourself after diagnosis? How did you learn about the clinical trial you were a part of?
  • Do you have any tips for engaging with your care team about clinical trials?

Caregiver Perspective Prompts-

  • What is something you wish you knew before your loved one joined a clinical trial?
  • What did you feel your primary role was while your loved one was enrolled in a clinical trial?
  • What advice would you give to other caregivers/loved ones when it comes to navigating clinical trials?

September Issue – Struggles of Survivorship

Submissions due Thursday, June 5, 2025

  • What does survivorship mean to you?
  • What are some common misconceptions about cancer survivorship?
  • Do you identify with the language of “survivor” or “survivorship?” Why or why not?
  • Reflect on the struggles you didn’t anticipate after treatment ended, whether physical, emotional, or mental. How do these struggles differ from your experience during treatment?
  • How do you cope with the fear of recurrence, and how does it impact your day-to-day life?

December Issue – The Emotions of Cancer

Submissions due Friday, September 12, 2025

  • Are there any emotions you’ve experienced since diagnosis that have surprised you?
  • Rarely do we experience just one emotion at a time. What combinations of emotions have you felt at the same time? Have they ever seemed to conflict with each other?
  • If you made a timeline of your cancer experience from diagnosis to now, what feelings would show up at what points in your timeline?
  • Are there any emotions that you’ve experienced that feel hard to talk about with other people? Explore those feelings and why they might be challenging.
  • Have you experienced any emotions since cancer that you feel like you “shouldn’t” experience? What makes you think you shouldn’t feel them?
  • If you have trouble identifying your emotions, look up a feelings wheel for a place to start

Submission Requirements:

  • Suggested website submission word count: 500 – 1000 words
  • Suggested magazine submission word count: 1200 – 1500 words
  • Suggested Perkatory submissions word count: 1000 – 1200 words 
  • Poetry submissions of any word count are encouraged
Any questions? Click here to email Lisa Orr at content@elephantsandtea.org

Elephants and Tea is committed to representing the stories and experiences of all members of our herd. The following information is optional and collected only to inform the organization about who our audience is. Your responses to the following questions will not have any impact on your submission.

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Which of the following best fits you?*
If you don’t want to share, no problem! Just put ‘N/A’
What is your gender?*

What is your sexual orientation?*
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What is your sexual orientation? (old)*

How do you racially identify yourself?*

Have you written for Elephants and Tea before?*
Theme of article*

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

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Elephants and Tea is a trademark of the Steven G. Cancer Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit under federal tax guidelines.

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