Call for Submissions
SouthWest Writers in partnership with New Mexico Arts & the Military is creating an anthology of reflections on military life tentatively titled Unbreaking the Circle. These short stories, essays, and poetry will be perspectives of military life in general, and/or insights into the broad scope of events, feelings and viewpoints of veterans and their families.
New Mexico Arts (NMA) [part of the State of New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs] has approved a grant of $2,500 to SouthWest Writers to sponsor publishing this anthology that supports healing through the arts, creates more opportunities for military and veteran audiences, and builds capacity among New Mexico organizations to offer art programs for military-connected participants.
Eligibility: Authors must be: active-duty service members, reservists, National Guard members, veterans, their families, or live-in caregivers who live in New Mexico. Active duty service members currently stationed outside the state are eligible if their home of record is New Mexico. Family members include significant others and children of military or veterans. Membership in SWW is not required, but a current tie to New Mexico is.
Timeline: Submissions are due between January 1 – March 31, 2025. Authors whose work is accepted will be notified by mid-April 2025. Publication of the anthology is expected at the end of April. There is no entry fee.
Submission Process & Information
Each author is allowed up to 2,000 words. Authors may submit multiple pieces in English in multiple genres as long as the total words submitted does not exceed 2,000. For instance, an author may submit two poems, a memoir piece, and an essay, as long as the cumulative total does not exceed 2,000 words.
Submissions should be fully edited and ready for publication. Anything which has been previously edited and published is allowed as long as the author has the right to republish the work. Certification of the right to publish any previously published material will be requested on the submission page.
- Examples of writing done as a part of healing are encouraged.
- Submissions can exemplify what goes on inside the minds of military members, veterans, or their families.
- We welcome prose and poetry, story or essay, factual or fictionalized, ranging from the serious to the light-hearted. We ask only that it involve your personal reflections on some aspect of military service: where you went; what you did; who you met; what you learned; how your world contracted or expanded; the worst or best of humanity you encountered.
Writing that disparages our country or military or primarily focuses on violence and/or sexual situations will not be acceptable. SWW reserves the right to decline any writing it deems inappropriate. Submissions are to be made exclusively through this website — the link to submit is at the bottom of the page.
Entry Guidelines:
- All entries must be in Microsoft Word .doc or .docx format.
- The text must be in New Times Roman 12pt font, black font, with white background.
- Single-spaced, left justified, each new paragraph indented on the first line.
- No extra lines between paragraphs.
- The first page must include the Title and the author’s name. These should be centered at the top of the first page of each entry.
- Page numbers must be centered at the bottom of the page.
Compensation: Each person published will receive a complimentary copy of the anthology, with additional copies available on Amazon at a nominal cost to cover printing and shipping fees. To preview the type of work, see the Holes in Our Hearts anthology, a 2023 project in the same vein.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Wetmore at military@swwriters.com or (505) 267-8407.
To Submit a story, essay, or poem click HERE between January 1 and midnight on March 31, 2025.