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Literary Journal

So It Goes is the literary journal of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum * Library—a unique
publication designed to bring together work from veterans and civilians, established
authors and virtual unknowns, high school students and nonagenarians. It’s a journal
that has been, in a way, unstuck in time.

So It Goes XV: America@250: Vonnegut’s Timeless Call to Love

True to Kurt Vonnegut’s ethos of love and kindness, common decency, and free expression, as well as his passion for social justice, environmentalism, and peace, So It Goes is a literary journal with a conscience. A significant percentage of each issue’s contents come from veteran artists and authors. Each issue revolves around a theme in keeping with Vonnegut’s persona. Previous themes include War and Peace (I), Humor (II), Creativity (III), Social Justice (IV), Indiana (V), A Little More Common Decency (VI), Lonesome No More (VII), Slaughterhouse-Five (VIII), Civic Engagement (IX), The Good Earth: Vonnegut and the Environment (X), 1922 – 2122 (XI), Core of the American Experience (XII), A Labor of Love (XIII), and Year of the Journalist (XIV).

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Submissions 2026

“I try to keep deep love out of my stories because, once that particular subject comes up, it is almost impossible to talk about anything else. Readers don’t want to hear about anything else. They go gaga about love. If a lover in a story wins his true love, that’s the end of the tale, even if World War III is about to begin, and the sky is black with flying saucers.”

― Kurt Vonnegut in Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut, edited by William Rodney Allen, University Press of Mississippi, 1988, 185.

“Be aware of this truth that the people on this earth could be joyous, if only they would live rationally and if they would contribute mutually to each other’s welfare.”

― Kurt Vonnegut, Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage

In 2026, the Kurt Vonnegut Museum * Library celebrates something even more extraordinary than our fifteenth anniversary: America’s 250th birthday and the enduring power of love. It is a theme that touches on love for nature, love of others (filial, eros, and agape love), self-love, love of the creative arts and free expression, and the love of liberty. We do this for the love of Kurt Vonnegut! He brought us all together. He spoke out for our rights. He put his life at risk for others. He gave us himself with his words and actions. For that, we are grateful. 
 
As part of a year filled with KVML national festivals, community wellness programs, literary celebrations, exhibitions on human rights expressed through the arts, and events that uplift creativity, courage, and compassion, we also will publish our fifteenth So It Goes journal.
 
The So It Goes XV: America@250: Vonnegut’s Timeless Call to Love issue recognizes stories of love: soulmates, friends, or that always loyal pet. And don’t forget the importance of self-love/self-care. Then there’s love of community and country—love for the people making a positive difference in our lives: librarians, teachers, environmentalists, tribal members, cultural groups, community leaders and organizers, family members and caregivers, volunteers, and YOU. We know we can all make a difference through Kurt’s timeless call to love.
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So It Goes 2026 Inspiration

Need inspiration?

Here are some works that have explored aspects of America and love over 250
years to provide inspiration and jump-start your creativity

Submission Requirements

  • The submission period for our fifteenth annual edition of So It Goes journal opens January 1, 2026, at 12:00 am EST and ends March 1, 2026, at 11:59 pm EST.
  • Submissions must incorporate the 2026 theme, America@250: Vonnegut’s Timeless Call to Love.
  • Submissions are limited to one work of prose (fiction or nonfiction) that is 1,250 words max, OR two works of prose (fiction or nonfiction) that are a combined total word count of 1,250 words max, OR up to five poems that are 1,250 words max for all five, OR five photographs or artworks. You may submit both written and visual work. Those submitting written and visual works should complete the separate forms.
  • Please do not submit Vonnegut fan fiction or fan art.
  • Employees of KVML and KVML Board of Directors and Advisory Board Members are not eligible to participate in the 2026 issue.
  • Everyone else is encouraged to send in a submission(s): Students; amateur or professional writers, poets, artists, and photographers; young or old; and current/retired military veterans. The veteran community was important to Vonnegut—a veteran and POW—so we imagine he’d love to see literary representation from current and former military personnel. Please let us know if you are associated with the military.
  • We will accept new and previously published work (simultaneous submissions are allowed with notification) and will credit the original publisher. If your submission(s) has been published elsewhere (even if it is your own work), you may need permission to publish it in this issue of So It Goes. If this is the case, you must obtain written permission from the rights holder(s) and include this written permission with your submission(s). Please request worldwide rights for print and electronic formats in all languages and editions.
  • Please use 1.5 spacing for prose and single spacing for poetry. Use 12-point, Times New Roman font. Group multiple poems into ONE document. Poets: Keep in mind that the journal is 6 x 9 inches. Most submissions come to us set up in an 8 ½ x 11-inch space. Poems with long lines, multiple columns, or specific layouts can be difficult to reproduce in the smaller format.
  • Do NOT group artwork. You will be able to upload up to five works. Artwork must be labeled with titles. If one or multiple are untitled, label as “Untitled 1,” Untitled 2,” etc. DO NOT SUBMIT A PDF, or it will be disqualified. Please include additional information–year of work, size, and whether it’s done in oil, acrylic, pen and ink, etc.
  • All submitters must include a cover letter with a biography (no more than five brief sentences).
  • NOTE: SUBMISSIONS THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

Thank you in advance for your submissions to our fifteenth issue of So It Goes. The
journal will launch in November 2026. Selected contributors will receive one free hard
copy. Previous issues of So It Goes journals are available in the library’s online gift shop through kvmlshop.org.

If you have any questions, contact us at [email protected].
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FOURTEENTH Edition Contributors

  • LISA ALVAREZ
  • SARAH BARKER
  • BRIAN BEATTY
  • NANCY BOTKIN
  • ELENA BOWMAN
  • WARREN BRONSON*
  • ADELE QUARTLEY BROWN
  • MARY M. BROWN
  • RANDY “SHERPA” BROWN*
  • DIANE BUTNER
  • MIKE CALLAGHAN
  • PATRICK CANNING
  • KURT CHRISTIAN
  • CHAD CORRIGAN*
  • DJ BEAN COLLECTIVE
  • JOHN DUFFY
  • EMMETT DULANEY
  • JEFF FLEISCHER
  • KEVIN FLYNN
  • HARRY GORDON*
  • DAN GROSSMAN
  • LAURA HILDRETH
  • KEN HONEYWELL
  • KIM HORNER
  • MARYLOU HURLEY
  • SAMANTHA KIRSCHMAN
  • RENÉE M. LANDERS
  • ROBERT J. LYSOBEY
  • E. H. MAXWELL
  • ANDREW SHATTUCK MCBRIDE*
  • JACKIE MUNN*
  • JAMES NEVEAU
  • EV AN NOREN
  • NATHAN POOLE SHANNON
  • LINDA NEAL REISING
  • ERICA RICCI
  • JIM ROSS
  • MATTHEW ROY
  • BRITTANY SHEPHERD
  • DAKOTA SILLYMAN
  • DENNIS SIPE
  • JACKIE SLATER
  • TYLER STALLINGS
  • KELSEY STEWART
  • LIAM SWEENY
  • TIM TAYLOR
  • STEPHEN TERRELL
  • B. A. VAN SISE*
  • ELLEN WEIMAN
  • BRYAN YOUNG

WRITING AND YOGA RETREAT

  • ANGELA HERRMANN
  • TED LARKIN
  • CELIA LATZ
  • RICK METCALF
  • STACY NANCE
  • THERESE ROSENBARGER
  • JILL RUTTENBERG

Kathi Badertscher, PhD

Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Kathi Badertscher, PhD, is Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Dr. Badertscher teaches a variety of BA, MA, and doctoral courses, including Applying Ethics in Philanthropy and History of Philanthropy. She has participated in several Teaching Vonnegut workshops and is a member of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. Dr. Badertscher has been a guest speaker on ethics in philanthropy, including at the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners – Indianapolis Council; Association of Fundraising Professionals – Indiana Chapter; and Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin, China. In 2019 she received IUPUI Office for Women, Women’s Leadership Award for Newcomer Faculty. In 2019 and 2020 she received the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Graduate Teaching Award.
Dr. Badertscher’s publications include “Fundraising for Advocacy and Social Change,” co-authored with Shariq Siddiqui in Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, 5th ed., 2022; “Insulin at 100: Indianapolis, Toronto, Woods Hole, and the ‘Insulin Road,’ co-authored with Christopher Rutty, Pharmacy in History (2020); and three articles in the Indiana Magazine of History: “A New Wishard Is on the Way,” “Evaline Holliday and the Work of Community Service,” and “Social Networks in Indianapolis during the Progressive Era.” Her chapters on social welfare history will appear in three upcoming edited volumes on the history of philanthropy, including “The Legacy of Edna Henry and Her Contributions to the IU School of Social Work,” Women at Indiana University: Views of the Past and the Future, edited by Andrea Walton, Indiana University Press, 2022 (forthcoming). Dr. Badertscher is also the Philanthropy and Nonprofits Consulting Editor for the forthcoming Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Elizabeth Van Allen, Indiana University Press, 2021. Dr. Badertscher is an active volunteer in the Indianapolis community. At present, she is a Coburn Place Safe Haven Board Member and a Children’s Bureau/Families First Brand and Marketing Advisor. Dr. Badertscher holds the MA in History from Indiana University and the MA and PhD in philanthropic studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Volunteer With KVML

Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library Volunteer Application

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions about this application’s content.