2026 Submission Season: September 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026
Email Submissions to: Dragonfly@HopeWorksOfHC.org
• Poetry
• Photography
• Music
• Essay
• Prose
• Sculpture
• Painting
Open to the Public: Writers/Artists/Musicians do not have to be survivors.
At HopeWorks, we use the arts in three important ways to accomplish our mission: to support survivors in their healing; as a vehicle to increase awareness; and to imagine creative solutions to bring about social change.
Dragonfly arts & transformative justice magazine, published each spring, is one of our most popular arts-based projects.
Themes for all submitted work should focus on reflections about activism, joy, oppression (e.g., sexism, racism, ableism, xenophobia, poverty) love, advocacy, hope, transformative justice, trauma, equity, intersectionality, relationships, surviving, thriving, healing, or wellbeing.
Please review the submissions guidelines before submitting.
ABOUT HopeWorks
HopeWorks is Howard County Maryland’s rape crisis and domestic violence center. HopeWorks provides direct support to survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence (including adult survivors of child sexual abuse). And we work in the community to change the culture that allows these forms of violence to continue. HopeWorks’ services include crisis shelter, counseling, advocacy, legal resources, survivor leadership & wellness programs, prevention education, professional trainings, community self-care & social justice programs and volunteer opportunities.
To accomplish our mission, we use an analysis and framework that enables us to address and decrease the root causes of sexual and intimate partner violence, as well as the systems that fuel sexism, racism, ageism, poverty, transphobia, health disparities, homophobia, ableism, genocide, xenophobia, and other forms of oppression. We support and partner with others who are focused on violence prevention work, efforts to achieve healthier relationships and a world where each person is safe, valued and affirmed.