Call for Submissions: All the Quiet Things: A Collective Portrait of Modern Womanhood
We are seeking intimate, personal writing by women that explores the private thoughts and emotional landscapes we often assume we experience alone.
This anthology will gather unsent letters, diary entries, personal essays, fragments, and reflections that reveal the interior lives of women navigating modern life.
We are especially interested in writing that explores:
• the emotional impact of living in a world shaped by conflict, crisis, and constant information
• the experience of womanhood in a hyper-sexualized culture and under the male gaze
• burnout, loneliness, and the quiet exhaustion of continuing anyway
• moments of decentering men and redefining identity on one’s own terms
• the search for meaning, peace, and authenticity in an unstable world
We welcome writing that is honest, reflective, and deeply personal. Pieces do not need to offer solutions or tidy conclusions. We are drawn to work that captures the complexity of inner life — including confusion, contradiction, tenderness, humor, and quiet recognition.
Our hope is to create a collection that reveals how many of our most private thoughts and feelings are shared.
Tone examples we’re seeking:
vulnerability + reflection
specificity over abstraction
emotional honesty without self-mythologizing
We welcome work that is honest rather than resolved. Pieces do not need tidy endings, but we are especially drawn to writing that reveals awareness, curiosity, humor, tenderness, or moments of breath within difficulty.
We will be seeking publication from an independent publisher or small press once a draft is completed.
Payment - a note on compensation:
We want to be upfront that this is not an upfront-paid submission call. Contributor compensation is contingent upon the anthology being acquired by a publisher. If the project is accepted, all contributors will be compensated in accordance with the terms of the publishing agreement.
We recognize that many writers prioritize guaranteed payment—and rightfully so. Please only submit if this model aligns with your current goals and expectations.
What contributors can expect:
Full credit for accepted work
Inclusion in a professionally developed, curated anthology
Clear communication throughout the submission and publishing process
Compensation if and when the project is acquired
Who this is for:
We’re looking for writers who are excited about contributing to a collaboratively built anthology at the pitching stage and who resonate with this theme.
Deadline: May 31, 2026
Please visit jackiebluu.com or email writerjackiebluu@gmail.com to submit!
