Open for Submissions in April

Coming Soon!

We will be open for submissions
for Volume 14

Liminal Spaces | The Noleta Issue

April 1 - 30, 2026

This issue of the Santa Barbara Literary Journal honors a special little corner of Santa Barbara County affectionately known by the locals as Noleta.

We’re looking for stories and poems that capture Noleta, not just its particular locations but also its liminal, transitional nature. We’re also interested in submissions that explore the theme of liminal spaces in general.

Noleta does not officially exist. The community occupies the Eastern third or so of the Goleta Valley, the space between Santa Barbara, Hope Ranch, and the City of Goleta, whose voters were left with little choice but to exclude it from the city limits they drew up when forming their new city in 2002. Why, you may ask? Well, the voters in Noleta kept voting “no” whenever the boundaries included the whole valley.

Noleta is the view as you drive down San Marcos pass. It’s home to San Marcos High School, More Mesa, the Orchid Estate, and the blackened palms of the Modoc preserve, which remind us how quickly suburbia can go up in flames.

Noleta is more than just track homes and open spaces, though. The Goleta Cemetery is here, as is the Goleta Post Office and the county coroner’s office along with other critical county facilities. All ripe locations to set your story.

To view our full submission guidelines, please see our Submissions page.