Annual First Chapbook Contest: July 1-31

Sheila-Na-Gig Editions invites entries for our annual First Chapbook contest.
Please follow the guidelines below:

This Year’s Judge: Jessica Manack,

Winner of the 2023 First Chapbook Prize:

Important:

This contest is meant to support early-career poets. Only poets who have NOT previously published a chapbook or full-length collection 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 are accepted. Please notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Reading fees are not refundable.

Please follow these guidelines carefully:

Work will be judged on the merits of the manuscripts alone. Please help us judge the work anonymously by following these next guidelines carefully:

• 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 without notice, and fees will not be refunded.
• DO NOT include any poems that we have published in Sheila-Na-Gig online. If we have published your work and you win the contest, you will have an opportunity to add these poems later (even if it increases the length of your manuscript).
• Do NOT ask to edit your work while it is under consideration; please do not email us while your work is under consideration.
• Do NOT submit collections that contain photos or other visual art. We do not publish chapbooks with visuals.
• DO NOT submit AI-generated or assisted work!

The Prize:

The selected manuscript will be published by Sheila-Na-Gig Editions. For sample chapbooks, check out https://sheilanagigblog.com/shop-sheila-na-gig-editions/ (2023 winner, Jessica Manack’s Gastromythology; 2024 winner, Elinor Ann Walker’s Fugitive by Gorgeous; 2025 winner, and Jimmie Shields’ Time Under Tension–Coming soon).

• $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.

Reading Fee:

$15.00

The Submission Period:

July 1-31, 2025 by 11pm (Eastern)

Response Time:

The winner will be announced on or before December 31, 2025

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! 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 tightly 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.