Share Your Experience,
Strength & Hope

Literature

Share your poetry, articles, or 12-step reflections. Ideal length: 300–800 words (max 1,000 words). Submit plain text — no special formatting, fonts, or spacing needed. Pieces that reference specific individuals by name (other than public figures) should be reviewed for anonymity before submission. Submissions should align with the PIR® 12 Traditions.

Deadline

Submissions are due by the 15th of the month preceding publication — e.g., submissions for the June newsletter are due May 15. Late submissions may be held for a future issue.

Art & Photography

Please upload high-resolution images (JPG or PNG) that reflect your journey of recovery. Our team will resize and format your artwork to fit the newsletter template. Original files are archived in the committee's Google Drive.

Byline Preferences

• Full name: Published exactly as entered on the form.
• First name & last initial: e.g. "Written by Sarah M."
• Anonymous: No name appears anywhere in the published newsletter.

What Works Best

• First-person, experience-based writing
• Clear, specific, and honest reflections
• Complete pieces — not notes, bullet points, or partial drafts. Please save and finish your work before submitting.
• Short, clear submissions (300–800 words) are more likely to be included than longer, unfocused ones.

Content Standards

All submissions are reviewed for alignment with the PIR® 12 Traditions and the spirit of the Fellowship. The Literature Committee reserves the right to suggest minor edits or, in rare cases, decline a submission that falls outside these guidelines — always with a respectful explanation.

What We Love to Publish

• Personal stories of recovery and integration
• Step-by-step reflections and working notes
• Poetry inspired by plant medicine, healing, or the 12 Steps
• Artwork and photography rooted in the recovery journey
• Short essays on harm reduction, sponsorship, or service

Size Limits

• Under 10 MB — uploads smoothly on any connection.
• 10–25 MB — accepted, but may time out on slower connections. A warning will appear; if the submission fails, use the email option below.
• Over 25 MB — cannot be uploaded through the form. Please compress or email the file directly.

Free Compression Tools

These tools reduce file size without visible quality loss and take under a minute:

• TinyPNG / TinyJPG — drag & drop, no account needed. Works on PNG and JPG.
• Squoosh (by Google) — more control over output quality and format.
• On iPhone/iPad: use the Files app to share the photo → Save to Files — iOS often compresses automatically on export.
• On Android: use Google Photos → share → choose a lower resolution option before saving.
• Command line: pngquant --quality=65-80 yourfile.png — free & open-source, excellent quality. Install with brew install pngquant on Mac.

Share a Link Instead

Skip the upload entirely — share a link from any cloud storage and paste it in the Artist's Note field, or include it in your email to us:

• Google Drive — upload your file → right-click → Share → "Anyone with the link can view" → Copy link.
• Dropbox — upload your file → Share → Copy link. Free accounts include 2 GB.
• iCloud Drive — on iPhone or Mac, share the file and choose "Copy iCloud Link."

Email Us Directly

You can always reach the committee at:

pir.devine.news@gmail.com

Include your name, the piece title, which issue it's for, and any artist's note. We'll handle the rest.

Accepted Formats

JPG, PNG, or WebP. High-resolution originals are preferred — our team resizes everything to fit the newsletter template.

We noticed your email address isn't a Gmail account. You're absolutely welcome to submit — your work matters regardless of your email provider. Just a few things to know:

What Works Fine

• Submitting literature, artwork, or both — no Gmail required.
• Your confirmation receipt email will be sent to the address you provided.

Potential Limitations

• Confirmation email delivery: Our automated Thank You email is sent via Google. Some non-Gmail providers (especially school or organization addresses) may filter it as spam — check your junk folder.
• Committee portal access: The editorial review dashboard requires a Google / Gmail login. If you ever join the committee, you'd need a Gmail account (or link your address to a Google account at accounts.google.com) to access it.
• Editor follow-up: If your piece is selected, an editor may contact you. Gmail-to-Gmail delivery is most reliable; non-Gmail may occasionally be slower.

If you have any trouble receiving a confirmation, email us directly at pir.devine.news@gmail.com.