Quillkeepers Press

Quillkeepers Press, LLC is holding a poetry chapbook competition to be released by Spring 2026.  We will choose 1-3 winners. Those selected will receive 5 complimentary copies of the chapbook and a standard publishing contract. 

We do not have a specific theme in mind; we just want something that grabs us by the throat and dares to never let go. Captivate us with your words! Please keep in mind that, although we are not looking for a designated theme, your work should have a central theme. For example, please refrain from submitting a manuscript that combines love poetry and mental health poetry. We set a deadline of September 21, 2025, for the submission window, but we will close early if we find the ideal manuscript or extend the deadline if we do not. Our goal release dates for these collections will be March-May 2026.

 *PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK IS NOT ACCEPTED FOR OUR TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES. WHETHER IT BE SINGULAR PIECES IN THE COLLECTION OR THE ENTIRE MANUSCRIPT. PLEASE READ OUR GUIDELINES THOROUGHLY. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL DISQUALIFY YOUR SUBMISSION.


   FAQ’s - Please read through these diligently before submitting:
 

• Must be 18+ years to submit
• Manuscript should be 30-40 pages
• Please submit the entire manuscript. 
• We DO NOT accept previously published work for our traditional publishing opportunity (this applies to the entire collection and includes singular pieces in magazines, anthologies, online, or any other means of publishing)
• We DO NOT accept co-author collections
• We only accept work in English.
• We will contact you about developments via the email you have listed on Submittable (please ensure that info is up-to-date)
• Our traditional publishing opportunities are paid as a percentage of royalties from sales. Payable 3 months from the last day of the month in which the sale was made to allow time for returns/exchanges/refunds unless otherwise stated in the contract
• If selected, you will receive a standard industry contract
• If you need to withdraw your submission, please notify us as soon as possible by email
• Contributor or Publisher may withdraw the offer of publication at any time before the ISBN number is purchased.
• Edit your work before submitting it. We don't expect it to be perfect, but we do expect it to be professional and a reflection of you as a creative.
• We accept .doc, .docx
• Please use a 12pt, sans serif fonts, standard size print paper (8.5x11), and 1.5 or double spaced.

It's time to show some love for the fellas!

Calling All Writers: Honor the Men in Your Life!

We just celebrated the incredible women in our lives with a phenomenal anthology, and now it's only natural to turn our attention to the amazing men who shape our world. From the everyday heroes to the silent supporters, the inspiring mentors to the goofy dads – we want to hear their stories!

We're putting out the call for poetry, essays, short stories, and memoirs that appreciate, celebrate, and reflect on the men who have impacted you. Did your dad always have a "pun-ishing" sense of humor? Did your brother "lift" you up when you were down? Did a friend teach you the true meaning of "man's best friend" (even if he wasn't a dog)? Share those moments that make you smile, reflect, or just say, "Thanks, Dad!"

Don't be a "square" – get those submissions in! We're looking for heartfelt tributes, humorous anecdotes, and everything in between. Let's give the men in our lives the standing ovation they deserve.

Submission Deadline: November 2nd

FAQs - Please read through these diligently before submitting:

General Guidelines

• You must be 18+ years of age to submit
• We accept previously published work for our anthology and journal opportunities. Given that the previous publishers allow it.
• Please include all previously published credits at the bottom of the correlating title in the body of the submission, not in the bio, subject line, separate messages, or anywhere else.  
• We do not accept previously published work for our traditional and chapbook publishing opportunities.
• Once accepted, you will be added to our email newsletter, and we will contact you about developments via the email you have listed on your submittable account. You are welcome to unsubscribe at any time.
• Please send any follow-up inquiries through your Submittable submissions portal.
• We are not yet a paying market for our anthology opportunities. Contributors will receive a PDF version of anthology collections unless otherwise indicated.
• If you need to withdraw the submission, please notify us through submittable.
• Contributor or Publisher may withdraw the offer of publication at any time before print.
• By submitting your work, you are agreeing to give us non-exclusive rights to publish it/them, if selected, in the anthology described above. Traditional publishing of full collections or novels requires exclusive rights.
• You may submit to more than one genre, but please do so in separate submissions. Multiple files or subs will be automatically rejected.
• Edit your work before submitting it. Please make sure the line breaks, stanza breaks, spelling, and grammar are EXACTLY how you want them. We will publish it as it is (except for glaring mistakes). We want to stay true to your formatting as best we can, and will assume minor variations are for artistic flair. There will not be an opportunity to make changes. Should you need to change something, please request that we open the submission for editing through your submissions portal on Submittable. This also prevents you from having to withdraw the submission to edit and saves you a 2nd submission fee.
• Quillkeepers Press has the right to make any revisions to the work in the interest of uniformity and style (this includes capitalization of titles). However, we will solicit the Contributor’s approval for any significant changes.
• We are not babysitters. Please watch your email for updates, release letters, etc. If we don't receive the release letter back by the date listed on the document, we will assume you no longer want to be a part of the anthology, and your work will not be included in the manuscript.
• Fee waivers are not something we can do without complicating our submission and project process, so we do not honor those requests. We are genuinely sorry.

Submission Specifications:

• 1 story, essay, or memoir up to 4k words.
• Up to 5 poems or prose poetry in a single document. Please ensure each selection starts on a new page. Anything over those numbers will not be read.
• Please use a 12pt, serif family font, standard size print paper (8.5x11), and 1.5 or double-spaced. 
• Please only include a short 3rd person bio starting with your name in the application part of the submission. Include any information you would like the readers to know about you, including any previous publications (this will not hinder or increase your chances of acceptance. We enjoy celebrating your wins in our publication.)
• Please include an author picture (if you want it in the anthology)
• Allow 4-8 weeks after the submission deadline date to receive a response.
• Reader fees cover this ad space and other overhead costs associated with the project.

We invite writers to submit to Rebellion of Quiet Things, an anthology of essays, memoirs, poetry, and short stories that seeks to uncover the profound within the gentle and the extraordinary within the hushed. This collection will be a sanctuary for the moments that often escape our notice—the subtle rebellions waged in silence, the stillness that holds a universe of meaning. We are looking for work that understands the language of pauses, the weight of a sigh, and the power that resides in softness. We seek poems that give voice to the unspoken: the breath held before a shift in a life, the sacred space between words, the quiet strength that emerges not with a shout but with a profound, steady grace. We believe that true rebellion isn't always loud; sometimes it's found in the quiet, the pause, and the unsaid. This collection will be a tribute to those subtle moments that carry immense weight and meaning. Join us in celebrating the quiet details, for they are often the ones that carry the most weight and tell the most compelling stories.

Submission Deadline: December 31st

FAQs - Please read through these diligently before submitting:

General Guidelines

• You must be 18+ years of age to submit
• We accept previously published work for our anthology and journal opportunities. Given that the previous publishers allow it.
• Please include all previously published credits at the bottom of the correlating title in the body of the submission, not in the bio, subject line, separate messages, or anywhere else.  
• We do not accept previously published work for our traditional and chapbook publishing opportunities.
• Once accepted, you will be added to our email newsletter, and we will contact you about developments via the email you have listed on your submittable account. You are welcome to unsubscribe at any time.
• Please send any follow-up inquiries through your Submittable submissions portal.
• We are not yet a paying market for our anthology opportunities. Contributors will receive a PDF version of anthology collections unless otherwise indicated.
• If you need to withdraw the submission, please notify us through submittable.
• Contributor or Publisher may withdraw the offer of publication at any time before print.
• By submitting your work, you are agreeing to give us non-exclusive rights to publish it/them, if selected, in the anthology described above. Traditional publishing of full collections or novels requires exclusive rights.
• You may submit to more than one genre, but please do so in separate submissions. Multiple files or subs will be automatically rejected.
• Edit your work before submitting it. Please make sure the line breaks, stanza breaks, spelling, and grammar are EXACTLY how you want them. We will publish it as it is (except for glaring mistakes). We want to stay true to your formatting as best we can, and will assume minor variations are for artistic flair. There will not be an opportunity to make changes. Should you need to change something, please request that we open the submission for editing through your submissions portal on Submittable. This also prevents you from having to withdraw the submission to edit and saves you a 2nd submission fee.
• Quillkeepers Press has the right to make any revisions to the work in the interest of uniformity and style (this includes capitalization of titles). However, we will solicit the Contributor’s approval for any significant changes.
• We are not babysitters. Please watch your email for updates, release letters, etc. If we don't receive the release letter back by the date listed on the document, we will assume you no longer want to be a part of the anthology, and your work will not be included in the manuscript.
• Fee waivers are not something we can do without complicating our submission and project process, so we do not honor those requests. We are genuinely sorry.

Submission Specifications:

• 1 story, essay, or memoir up to 4k words.
• Up to 5 poems or prose poetry in a single document. Please ensure each selection starts on a new page. Anything over those numbers will not be read.
• Please use a 12pt, serif family font, standard size print paper (8.5x11), and 1.5 or double-spaced. 
• Please only include a short 3rd person bio starting with your name in the application part of the submission. Include any information you would like the readers to know about you, including any previous publications (this will not hinder or increase your chances of acceptance. We enjoy celebrating your wins in our publication.)
• Please include an author picture (if you want it in the anthology)
• Allow 4-8 weeks after the submission deadline date to receive a response.
• Reader fees cover this ad space and other overhead costs associated with the project.

We invite writers to submit essays, memoirs, poetry, and short stories for Unfinished Conversations, a collection dedicated to the words we leave unsaid, the stories we hesitate to tell, and the dialogues that continue to echo in memory. These might explore fractured family histories, cultural dialogues interrupted, conversations with the self, or even the silence left by someone no longer here.

We want reflective, personal, and bold pieces that lean into complexity and explore the tension of what remains unresolved.

Submission Deadline: January 31, 2026

FAQs - Please read through these diligently before submitting:

General Guidelines

• You must be 18+ years of age to submit
• We accept previously published work for our anthology and journal opportunities. Given that the previous publishers allow it.
• Please include all previously published credits at the bottom of the correlating title in the body of the submission, not in the bio, subject line, separate messages, or anywhere else.  
• We do not accept previously published work for our traditional and chapbook publishing opportunities.
• Once accepted, you will be added to our email newsletter, and we will contact you about developments via the email you have listed on your submittable account. You are welcome to unsubscribe at any time.
• Please send any follow-up inquiries through your Submittable submissions portal.
• We are not yet a paying market for our anthology opportunities. Contributors will receive a PDF version of anthology collections unless otherwise indicated.
• If you need to withdraw the submission, please notify us through submittable.
• Contributor or Publisher may withdraw the offer of publication at any time before print.
• By submitting your work, you are agreeing to give us non-exclusive rights to publish it/them, if selected, in the anthology described above. Traditional publishing of full collections or novels requires exclusive rights.
• You may submit to more than one genre, but please do so in separate submissions. Multiple files or subs will be automatically rejected.
• Edit your work before submitting it. Please make sure the line breaks, stanza breaks, spelling, and grammar are EXACTLY how you want them. We will publish it as it is (except for glaring mistakes). We want to stay true to your formatting as best we can, and will assume minor variations are for artistic flair. There will not be an opportunity to make changes. Should you need to change something, please request that we open the submission for editing through your submissions portal on Submittable. This also prevents you from having to withdraw the submission to edit and saves you a 2nd submission fee.
• Quillkeepers Press has the right to make any revisions to the work in the interest of uniformity and style (this includes capitalization of titles). However, we will solicit the Contributor’s approval for any significant changes.
• We are not babysitters. Please watch your email for updates, release letters, etc. If we don't receive the release letter back by the date listed on the document, we will assume you no longer want to be a part of the anthology, and your work will not be included in the manuscript.
• Fee waivers are not something we can do without complicating our submission and project process, so we do not honor those requests. We are genuinely sorry.

Submission Specifications:

• 1 story, essay, or memoir up to 4k words.
• Up to 5 poems or prose poetry in a single document. Please ensure each selection starts on a new page. Anything over those numbers will not be read.
• Please use a 12pt, serif family font, standard size print paper (8.5x11), and 1.5 or double-spaced. 
• Please only include a short 3rd person bio starting with your name in the application part of the submission. Include any information you would like the readers to know about you, including any previous publications (this will not hinder or increase your chances of acceptance. We enjoy celebrating your wins in our publication.)
• Please include an author picture (if you want it in the anthology)
• Allow 4-8 weeks after the submission deadline date to receive a response.
• Reader fees cover this ad space and other overhead costs associated with the project.