We've Always Done It!: Poems about Wartime Women (free form)

We’re seeking poetry about women during times of war, from ancient wars to the War of the Roses to every war of independence to Rosie the Riveter to Afghanistan. Please note that we are looking for the centering of women (or anyone who identifies as a woman or has previously identified as a woman) during wartime, not just general poems about war.

We especially want to hear from marginalized and underrepresented authors, and we are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space. All accepted pieces receive $10, publication in the anthology, and a complimentary digital copy of the finished anthology.

Submissions open: August 1, 2024

Submissions close: December 31, 2024

Pieces selected: Within 4 months

Publication: 2025/2026

• Poetry only. NO fiction or nonfiction, but hybrid, experimental, and prose poems will be considered. All poetry styles considered.
• Poems should touch on the historical or the personal, whether about a public figure or your own sister, mother, wife, or daughter, and that woman’s wartime role, whether as a spectator watching soldiers tear through her crops, a war nurse patching eyes and limbs, a fighter in the fray, a peacemaker trying to stop the fighting, &c. We’re seeking personal connections and personal details. We don’t want biographies-with-line-breaks; we want heart, soul, humanity, essence, passion, intrigue, duty, pain, laughter. Kudos for diversity; we especially want to hear from writers of color and Indigenous Peoples. Specific subjects will be given more preference than general subjects.
• “Woman” is left open to interpretation and all-inclusive. We are an LGBTQUIA2+ safe-space.
• Poems should be about women or women-identified persons, but the poems do not have to be written by women.
• The anthology currently has a deadline of December 31, 2024; we may extend as necessary for filling the volume. Acceptances and declines will be notified as they are read.
• No word-count or line-count limits.
• You may submit up to 10 poems in a single document file.
• All work must be in English and must be the author’s own. Single work by multiple authors considered. We do not consider AI-generated works.
• These submissions are not read incognito. It doesn’t matter if your identifying information is or isn’t inside your submission file.
• If you need to adjust a submission, please use the Request to Edit option through Submittable. Please don’t request to edit for minor flaws, however—all accepted work will go through an editing process and will have the chance to be updated before publication, and your work will not be disqualified for a missing comma.
• All authors must be at least 18 to submit.
• Simultaneous submissions allowed. You do not have to withdraw a piece that is accepted elsewhere, as long as you still own the reprint rights after first publication.
• Previously published pieces are considered, as long as you still own the reprint rights.
• Submit via Submittable only. We do not accept email submissions.
• This is a free form that is unique to you and shouldn't be shared with others. There is a $2 fee for each submission for anyone able to pay.
• We will send a response and notification to every submission within 4 months. Form response only, unless we are interested in publishing your work. We are regretfully unable to provide feedback. If you have not heard back after 4 months, please feel free to follow up (kindly).