Submission Sunday 9.3.23: Submitting to Anthologies

Kind of like a litmag, kind of like a book

I first discovered the joy of submitting to anthologies when I was working on my Ph.D. in New York. I wanted to publish something—academic, literary, it didn’t matter—but the prevailing notion seemed to be that I should focus on finishing my dissertation and then publish that.

I am not a patient person. I wish I could remember exactly how I came upon the anthology call that led to my first publication—a university listserv or email somewhere, I’d guess—but I submitted a pitch and, much to my surprise, it was accepted! The book had already been contracted by a reputable publishing company and my acceptance led to a bunch of firsts—the publication, of course, but also the first time working with a professional editor, first time holding printed pages of my work in my hands, first mention in a blurb, first mention in a review, first quote in a different publication (credited to —Chris Daley, American writer 😲).

An all-around excellent experience and one I thought I’d recommend here with some tips and suggestions for where to find anthologies to submit to.