A Call for Submissions

Bearing Witness 2025 Anthology

We welcome poems that document and respond to the personal, political, environmental, or societal struggles of our time. There is no single theme—trouble has come in many forms.

Send us your best work. Any length. Any form. Previously published poems are welcome, provided you retain the copyright.

Bearing Witness: Poems for Troubled Times

“A poem cannot stop a bullet. Nor can a chapbook shoot a rifle. No, in troubled times—like these—the poet’s job is not to soldier, but to bear witness.”
— Salman Rushdie

At Sligo Creek Publishing, we believe in the poet’s power to respond, record, and reflect. In this moment of unrest, reckoning, and renewal, we are calling for poems of witness—poems that speak to the troubled events of recent years and the truths that persist through them.

Submission Period

Open: May 1, 2025
Closes: July 31, 2025 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET)
Submissions will be capped at 100 entries.

Prizes & Publication

Selected poems will be featured in our upcoming anthology, Bearing Witness 2025. In addition, we will award:

  • First Place: $100

  • Second Place: $50

  • Third Place: $25

All contributors whose work is selected will receive a free copy of the anthology.

Submission Guidelines

  • Submit up to 5 poems per entry

  • Accepted file formats: .DOC or .DOCX only

  • Use 11 pt Times New Roman, single-spaced formatting

  • Poems with lines longer than ~70 characters may wrap due to layout limitations

  • Do not include your name anywhere on the manuscript; submissions will be read blind

  • A short bio and acknowledgments page (for previously published poems) is optional

Eligibility:
Open to poets of all backgrounds, including international writers. English-language poems only (bilingual poems welcome if English is primary).

What We Do Not Want:
We do not accept abusive or discriminatory content. We welcome honesty and fire—but we will not publish hate. Sligo Creek Publishing is proudly progressive and intentionally inclusive.

Reading Fee

There is a $15.00 reading fee to help cover the cost of publication and prizes.

If you are unable to pay the fee, please email: alan@sligocreekpublishing.com. We believe cost should not be a barrier to participation

Reading Fee

There is a $15.00 reading fee to help cover the cost of publication and prizes.

If you are unable to pay the fee, please email: alan@sligocreekpublishing.com. We believe cost should not be a barrier to participation.

How to Submit

Please submit your work through our Submittable portal:
https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/sligo-creek-publishing-Ii8SW

We do not accept submissions via email.

Response Time

You can expect a response within 8–12 weeks after the submission period closes.

Contact

For questions (not submissions), contact:
alan@sligocreekpublishing.com