Women of Appalachia Project: Women Speak
The Women of Appalachia Project™ celebrates its 11th volume! Submit your work for inclusion in the Women of Appalachia Project’s forthcoming anthology.
SUBMISSIONS PORTAL WILL BE AVAILABLE: JUNE 29 (12:01 AM) through JUNE 30, 2025 (11:59 PM) EST. The submission portal will close when we receive 150 submissions. Please only submit ONCE!
We will not re-open the portal for late submissions. Thanks for your understanding.
ELIGIBILITY: • Women residing in or having strong ties to any of the 420 Appalachian counties are eligible to submit. Also, women whose ancestors identified as Appalachian. • Entrants must be at least 16 years or older. • Previously unpublished work is preferred or please note first publication. • Work previously read/performed in this exhibition may not be re-submitted.
Writers may enter a maximum of three (3) poems OR (3) songs OR one (1) short story OR 1) essay or memoir, MAXIMUM 2500 WORDS. Do NOT mix genres. Submit your work as a SINGLE FILE: WORD DOCUMENTS ONLY
Musicians must email audio MP3 format files of each piece submitted to: womenofappalachia@gmail.com.
Use Times font, 12 pt., single-spaced: at the top of the page 1. type your name 2. your address 3. next, the title of your piece 4. next, flow the body of your work/pieces Provide a 50-word, third person bio in the box provided. A cover letter is not required.
The anthology of accepted work will be published by Sheila-Na-Gig Editions and marketed on Amazon and other online venues, in bookstores, and gift shops. Those selected for publication will receive one contributor copy and discount author pricing for any additional copies you wish to purchase.
ACCEPTANCE • Writers/poets/musicians who are accepted will be notified by email by September 15, 2025. Scheduled Readings:
Reading venues from the anthology in progress are:
March 2026: TBD
April 2026: TBD
May 2026: TBD
(NOTE: Additional reading venues will very likely be added to this list)
For those who find travel difficult, we will schedule a virtual ZOOM reading through Sheila-Na-Gig Editions in February 2026.
