Rock & Sling is a journal of witness. That definition arose initially as a commitment to a kind of writing—“poetry of witness”—that remains a distinctive part of our identity. We also believe it offers us as a Christian literary magazine a unique way to invite all voices into one conversation.

When Christians speak of bearing witness, they should think mainly about bearing witness to the life and work of Jesus. As a literary magazine, we are not looking for philosophies or generalities. We seek concrete witnesses to concrete realities. We don’t need the work we publish to be rooted in encounters with any privileged set of religious traditions. We believe that every person is made in the image of God and, for that reason, any witness to a lived human life may let us glimpse a reality beyond us, to catch sight of existence itself.

We seek pieces that affirm people and the natural world. We want to publish works that bear witness to the very fact that each of us—wherever we find ourselves—is beloved. That does not mean we want pieces that shy away from the violence and horror that exist. Instead, we seek work that looks at the world as it is and says, even here there is something of beauty, something inherently valuable and worthy of love.

While we strongly prefer electronic submissions through Submittable, we also accept submissions (year-round) to the address below. Please include a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope with postage for a response.

Rock & Sling

ATTN: [Genre] Editor

Whitworth University English Department

300 W. Hawthorne Rd.

Spokane, WA 99251