IMPORTANT: This contest is meant to support early-career poets. Only poets who have NOT previously published a chapbook or full-length collection of poetry are eligible to submit.

–Submit a chapbook-length poetry manuscript (20-40 pgs — not including front and back matter) via Submittable. Manuscripts will not be considered via email or snail mail.

–Poems may be previously published in print journals or online, if you own the rights for reprints.

Simultaneous submissions accepted. Please notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Reading fees are not refundable.

–DO NOT include a bio or formal cover letter.

–DO NOT include an acknowledgments page for previously published work. If your manuscript is selected for publication, you may send along this information later.

–DO NOT include your name ANYWHERE on your manuscript or in the Submittable title of your submission. Submissions that reveal authors’ identities will be disqualified, and fees will not be refunded.

–DO NOT include any poems that we have published in our journal Sheila-Na-Gig online (or in any of our anthologies published by Sheila-Na-Gig Editions). If we have published your work and you win the contest, you will have an opportunity to add these poems later.

–$500 honorarium + 50% royalties

–25 copies of the published manuscript (and 55% discounts on future orders)

–All participants will receive a copy of the winning volume upon publication. International participants will receive pdf copies.

THE READING FEE: $20.00

THE SUBMISSION PERIOD: July 1-30, 2023 by 8:00pm (Pacific)

THE JUDGE: Hayley Mitchell Haugen, Founder & Editor, Sheila-Na-Gig online & Sheila-Na-Gig Editions: https://sheilanagigblog.com/about/

RESPONSE TIME: The winner will be announced on or before December 31, 2023

THE FINE PRINT: Sheila-Na-Gig Editions reserves the right to not select a winning manuscript. In the case of this unlikely event, reading fees will be refunded. We really want to publish manuscripts, however! Familiarize yourself with the works in Sheila-Na-Gig online to get a sense of our aesthetic. We publish well-crafted free verse poetry and especially seek poems with excellent imagery and a strong sense of voice. Chapbooks should also include a consistent theme.

Sheila-Na-Gig Editions seeks to support the work of marginalized voices. BIPOC and members of the LGBTQ+ community are encouraged to submit their work.