Sheila-Na-Gig online publishes well-crafted poetry and short fiction. See webpage for Submissions and Contest information.
Poetry Submissions: July 1-31
Sheila-Na-Gig online seeks well-crafted poems with excellent imagery and a strong sense of voice. Our bias leans toward free verse.
Please submit up to THREE previously unpublished poems as one file (.doc, .docx) via the Submittable link (top right-hand corner of our website). Include a brief bio in the cover note field.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. If you need to withdraw submissions, please just add a “Message” in Submittable. If you write a “note” in Submittable, editors don’t see these. Please do not ask to EDIT submissions. If your work is accepted, you may make changes at that time.
We award on Editor’s Prize of $100 for each issue. All poems accepted for publication are eligible for this prize.
SUBMISSION FEES: We charge a $3.00 reading fee for submissions. These fees help us cover our overhead for the use of Submittable, WordPress, and Zoom. A no-fee Early-bird option is available (for the first 50 submissions only) meant for fixed-income and student writers who are less able to pay submission fees. We cap our paid submissions at 150.
IMPORTANT: A note on Deadlines. The submission portals will close at 8:00 pm (Pacific) on the deadline dates noted below. We will not reopen the portals, so please be mindful of the cutoffs.
July 1– July 31 for Fall issue, published in September
October 1 — October 31 for Winter issue, published in December
January 1 — January 31 for Spring issue, published in March
April 1 — April 30 for Summer issue, published in June
At Sheila-Na-Gig online, we expect to receive 200 submissions for each issue quarterly. Each volume will usually contain 30 to 45 poets (15-22% acceptance rate). Some Sheila-Na-Gig Editions authors (those who have published books with us) will always appear in our issues, but they are not counted among the 30-45 acceptances, to keep that space open to our broader community of writers. Sheila-Na-Gig Editions authors are not eligible for our Editor’s Prize. We strive to reserve space (about 15-20 slots) in each issue for writers new to Sheila-Na-Gig online.
Editors will select up to six poems yearly (drawn from all of our issues, not each issue) to nominate for the Pushcart Prize and/or The Best of the Net.
Sheila-Na-Gig online acquires First North American Serial Rights. All rights revert back to authors upon publication. If your work is later republished, please acknowledge Sheila-Na-Gig online in subsequent journals.
We are actively seeking submissions from underrepresented populations. BIPOC poets and LGBTQ+ poets are encouraged to submit.
Sheila-Na-Gig Editions First Chap Contest: Accepting Submissions July 1-31, 2025
Sheila-Na-Gig Editions invites entries for our annual First Chap contest. Please follow the guidelines below to be eligible for the contest.
- 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.
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 may 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 submit collections that contain photos or other visual art. We do not publish chapbooks with visuals.
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/ (last year's winner, Elinor Ann Walker, will be published in 2025)
- $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 1-30, 2025 by 8:00pm (Pacific)
THE JUDGE: Hayley Mitchell Haugen, Founding 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, 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.
This Submissions link is ONLY for Sheila-Na-Gig Editions BOOK AUTHORS who have already published a book with Sheila-Na-Gig.
All others, please return to the website and select the general submissions link. Submissions received from all others will be unread/rejected.
Early-bird Poetry Submissions: –July 1-10, 2025
Sheila-Na-Gig online seeks well-crafted poems with excellent imagery and a strong sense of voice. Our bias leans toward free verse.
Please submit up to THREE previously unpublished poems as one file (.doc, .docx) via the Submittable link (top right-hand corner of our website). Include a brief bio in the cover note field.
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. If you need to withdraw submissions, please just add a “Message” in Submittable. If you write a “note” in Submittable, editors don’t see these. Please do not ask to EDIT submissions. If your work is accepted, you may make changes at that time.
We award one Editor’s Prize of $100 for each issue. All poems accepted for publication are eligible for this prize.
SUBMISSION FEES: No fee for first 50 submissions (please do NOT submit more than once per issue through our free portal)
IMPORTANT: A note on Deadlines. The submission portals will close at 8:00 pm (Pacific) on the deadline dates noted below. We will not reopen the portals, so please be mindful of the cutoffs.
July 1– July 31 for Fall issue, published in September
October 1 — October 31 for Winter issue, published in December
January 1 — January 31 for Spring issue, published in March
April 1 — April 30 for Summer issue, published in June
At Sheila-Na-Gig online, we expect to receive 200 submissions for each issue quarterly. Each volume will usually contain 30 to 45 poets (15-22% acceptance rate). Some Sheila-Na-Gig Editions authors (those who have published books with us) will always appear in our issues, but they are not counted among the 30-45 acceptances, to keep that space open to our broader community of writers. Sheila-Na-Gig Editions authors are not eligible for our Editor’s Prize. We strive to reserve space (about 15-20 slots) in each issue for writers new to Sheila-Na-Gig online.
Editors will select up to six poems yearly (drawn from all of our issues, not each issue) to nominate for the Pushcart Prize and/or The Best of the Net.
Sheila-Na-Gig online acquires First North American Serial Rights. All rights revert back to authors upon publication. If your work is later republished, please acknowledge Sheila-Na-Gig online in subsequent journals.
We are actively seeking submissions from underrepresented populations. BIPOC poets and LGBTQ+ poets are encouraged to submit.
SUBMIT