The Annual Gathering of Pilgrims marks an unofficial start to a new pilgrimage year. The theme for the 2026 Gathering of Pilgrims planned for April 9-12 seeks to listen for “Echoes from the Camino: The Gifts We Carry. The Gifts We Share.”

The 2026 Gathering theme considers elements of the Hero’s Journey—the archetypal story structure famously identified by mythologist Joseph Campbell and told in countless works across literature, film, and song. This theme invites us to reflect on the gifts that summon us to journey, the gifts that serve as waymarkers, and the gifts that continue to shape us and reach others long after we return home.

We have drawn on the Gathering’s overarching and supporting themes to form a cohesive set of quarterly topics to guide a year of shared reflections, poetry, and imagery in La Concha. We invite you to think about how your pilgrim experiences, creative works, scholarship, and insights intersect with these themes La Concha will explore in upcoming seasons:

• Parting Gifts (Spring 2026) – When your call to the Camino came, did it tickle like a feather or strike like a sledgehammer? Did the germ of your journey take root with a changing season of life, or did it sprout suddenly from the ashes of a metaphorical wildfire? In a moment of fear or doubt, did someone offer you a token of encouragement to send you off on your quest? In this issue, we unpack not the necessities we carried, but the tangible and intangible gifts that helped us step over the threshold from our everyday into the foreign territory of pilgrimage.
• Hidden Arrows (Summer 2026) – What trials did you face or obstacles did you navigate along the way that were blessings in disguise? Did they offer vital lessons in adaptability, resourcefulness, assertiveness, surrender, compassion, or humility? Was there a friend or foe, a place that felt dark or dangerous, or specific ordeal that provided a moment of clarity, sudden insight, or sense of direction? In this issue, we’ll map the unexpected yellow arrows—the people, places, and points in time—that guided us and became defining features of our journey.
• Buried Treasures (Autumn 2026) – As you trod your path, what seed of potential did you unearth? What inner resource did you tap into, what latent gift did you rediscover, or what forgotten part of yourself did you remember? Did you find it in a creative act—journaling or writing poetry; sketching or painting; singing or playing music? Did you discover it through an act of service—providing aid to a fellow pilgrim, preparing a communal meal, experiencing traditional Camino hospitality? Or did you receive joy, feel a sense of deep peace, and experience oneness through the act of simply walking and living simply? This issue celebrates the ways we listened to our hearts, followed our truths, and found our bliss.
• Enduring Gifts (Winter 2027) – At journey’s end, the hero returns to their ordinary world carrying the “elixir,” a magic potion of wisdom and power gained through their odyssey. They return with something they didn’t start with and share it with their community. The story of getting the treasure is the treasure. This issue explores the ways we bring the magical elixir of our pilgrimage back to our lives and communities, each offering an echo of the Camino—an outward ripple that touches others far beyond the trail.

We invite American Pilgrims members to share their pilgrim experiences and insights on these themes over the coming year. Watch your email for our call for submissions and associated deadlines for each La Concha issue. If you would like to submit materials and are not yet an American Pilgrims member, learn more at americanpilgrims.org/membership.

Your original creative contributions may take the form of:

• Personal accounts, reflections, and essays 
• Poetry
• Artwork 
• Photography

Please limit written works to 400 words maximum.

Submissions to the Spring 2026 issue close March 28.

Access the LA CONCHA SUBMISSION FORM for complete submission guidelines and to submit your creative work. We include as many submissions as possible in each issue. We may defer some items to future issues.