The Itch Press Anthologies The Itch Lit Gold Star Program Gold Star

Chapbook & Collection Submissions

Open Now – December 31, 2026

Apparently, publishing a literary magazine wasn't enough for us.

The Itch is growing.

We're opening submissions for The Itch Press, a new small-press imprint dedicated to publishing the kind of writing that won't leave you alone.

We're looking for chapbook-length collections of flash fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry.

We like strange. We like uncomfortable. We like funny in ways that probably shouldn't be funny. We like writing that makes us put the manuscript down for a minute and think about what we've just read.

But more than anything, we want collections that feel like they belong together.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

We're particularly interested in collections with a narrative arc.

That doesn't mean every piece needs to tell the same story or feature the same characters. It means we're looking for manuscripts that move somewhere. Collections with a sense of progression, connection, or transformation.

We want to finish the last piece and understand why it had to come after the first.

We're accepting:

• Flash fiction collections
• Creative nonfiction collections
• Poetry chapbooks
• Hybrid collections incorporating these genres

We welcome experimental work, unconventional structures, Southern voices, and perspectives we haven't encountered before.

We aren't looking for a particular theme. Surprise us.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Reading fee: $16 per manuscript

Submission deadline: December 31, 2026

Reading period: Open now. We'll begin reviewing manuscripts immediately.

Number of acceptances: No predetermined limit. We'll select manuscripts based on their individual merit and fit with The Itch Press.

Please submit a complete, polished manuscript as a single document.

Include a brief cover letter introducing yourself and your collection.

Previously published individual pieces are welcome, provided you retain the necessary rights to include them in a new collection.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please notify us promptly if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.

The $16 reading fee supports the editorial review process and the development of The Itch Press. Payment does not guarantee publication.

WHAT SELECTED AUTHORS RECEIVE

We're building a small press with a simple goal: publish good books and give their writers a fair share of what those books earn.

Selected manuscripts will receive:

Professional publication

• Paperback edition
• Kindle ebook edition
• Consideration for Kindle Unlimited distribution through KDP Select, subject to eligibility and publishing rights
• Cover design, interior formatting, and production handled by The Itch Press
• Editorial collaboration and proofreading
• Promotion through The Itch's website and social media channels

Author compensation

• 40% of the royalties and sales proceeds actually paid to The Itch Press by Amazon
• This includes eligible paperback sales, Kindle ebook sales, and Kindle Unlimited page-read revenue.
• No additional deductions for editing, cover design, formatting, or marketing from the author's 40% share.
• Two complimentary paperback copies of the finished book.

The Itch Press retains the remaining 60% to cover production, distribution, promotion, and operating expenses.

There is no cash advance or guaranteed payment. Author earnings depend on actual book sales and eligible subscription reads.

Selected authors will receive a written publishing agreement detailing royalty accounting, payment schedules, publication rights, and other terms before committing to publication.

Authors retain copyright to their work. The publishing agreement will specify the rights licensed to The Itch Press.

A NOTE ABOUT KINDLE UNLIMITED

We hope to make eligible titles available through Kindle Unlimited.

Participation in Amazon's KDP Select program requires digital exclusivity during enrollment periods. Authors selected for publication will be able to review these requirements before signing a publishing agreement.

ONE LAST THING

We're not interested in publishing books just to say we've published books.

We're interested in manuscripts that itch.

The ones that linger. The ones that make us uncomfortable. The ones that make us laugh when we shouldn't. The ones that feel like somebody had to write them.

If you've got a collection that's been sitting in a folder waiting for somewhere to belong, we'd love to read it.

Send us something that won't leave us alone.

Submit

TO BE HONEST: Best Creative Nonfiction 2027

An Anthology from The Itch Press

The Itch Press is seeking exceptional creative nonfiction for TO BE HONEST: Best Creative Nonfiction 2027, our inaugural creative nonfiction anthology.

We want the funny, the uncomfortable, the ordinary, the devastating, and everything in between.

We welcome personal essays, memoir, flash nonfiction, lyric essays, fragmented narratives, experimental nonfiction, and work that challenges the boundaries of the genre.

We’re interested in voice, originality, emotional resonance, and the particular ways writers make sense of being human.

We aren’t looking for tidy resolutions or universal lessons.

Tell us something we won’t forget.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Submission Period: November 12, 2026 – February 28, 2027

Word Limit: 1,500 words maximum per piece. Titles do not count toward the word limit.

Entry Fees

$8 — One creative nonfiction piece

Each piece will be considered individually. Multiple pieces from the same author may be selected.

Writers may submit additional entries with the applicable entry fee.

Entry fees are nonrefundable, except where required by law.

Reprints

Previously published work is welcome!

Please disclose the original publication name and date in your submission.

Authors must retain or obtain the rights necessary to authorize republication in both print and digital formats.

Previously published work receives the same consideration as unpublished work.

Simultaneous Submissions

Simultaneous submissions are welcome.

Please notify us promptly if your work becomes unavailable for publication.

Formatting

Please submit your work as a .docx file.

For two-piece entries, combine both pieces into one document, beginning each piece on a new page.

Use a readable 12-point font.

Eligibility

Submissions are open to writers aged 18 and older.

Both emerging and established writers are encouraged to submit.

PRIZES & CONTRIBUTOR COPIES

FIRST PLACE — $100

SECOND PLACE — $25

THIRD PLACE — $25

Prize winners will be selected from the work accepted for publication in the anthology.

All three winners will be recognized in the published collection.

Every accepted contributor will receive two complimentary paperback copies of TO BE HONEST: Best Creative Nonfiction 2027.

Contributor copies are provided in place of additional monetary compensation or ongoing royalties.

PUBLICATION & RIGHTS

Selected pieces will appear in TO BE HONEST: Best Creative Nonfiction 2027, published by The Itch Press.

The anthology is anticipated for publication in Summer 2027 in paperback and ebook formats.

Publication dates are estimates and may change during production.

Authors retain copyright to their individual work.

Accepted contributors will receive a publication agreement outlining the rights licensed to The Itch Press for publication, distribution, and continued availability of the anthology in print and digital formats.

Submission does not constitute acceptance of a publication agreement.

EDITORIAL SELECTION

All submissions will be evaluated for literary merit, originality, voice, and overall contribution to the finished anthology.

The Itch Press will determine the final number of accepted pieces based on the quality of submissions and the needs of the collection.

Submission does not guarantee publication.

ABOUT THE ITCH PRESS

The Itch Press is an independent publishing venture from The Itch Lit, a literary magazine dedicated to writing that won’t leave you alone.

Our mission is to publish exceptional literature, champion emerging voices, and build a sustainable independent press.

We believe great writing deserves an audience.

The Itch Press

Writing that won’t leave you alone.

Submit

HALF TRUTHS: Best Micro Fiction 2027

An Anthology from The Itch Press

Big stories. Little word counts.

Some stories need a hundred pages. Others need a hundred words.

The Itch Press is seeking exceptional microfiction for HALF TRUTHS: Best Micro Fiction 2027, our inaugural microfiction anthology.

We want the strange, the ordinary, the funny, the devastating, the uncomfortable, and the impossible.

We welcome literary fiction, speculative fiction, surrealism, absurdism, experimental fiction, and everything in between.

We want stories that take risks. Stories that surprise us. Stories that do something with their smallness.

We don’t care whether you’ve published fifty stories or this is your first submission.

We care about the writing.

Make every word count.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Submission Period: November 12, 2026 – February 28, 2027

Word Limit: 400 words maximum per piece. Titles do not count toward the word limit.

Entry Fees

$6 per microfiction piece.

Writers may submit as many pieces as they wish. There is no limit on the number of entries per author.

Each piece must be submitted separately with its own $6 entry fee.

Each submission will be considered individually. Multiple pieces from the same author may be selected for publication.

Entry fees are nonrefundable, except where required by law.

Reprints

Previously published work is welcome!

Please disclose the original publication name and date in your submission.

Authors must retain or obtain the rights necessary to authorize republication in both print and digital formats.

Previously published work receives the same consideration as unpublished work.

Simultaneous Submissions

Simultaneous submissions are welcome.

Please notify us promptly if your work becomes unavailable for publication.

Formatting

Please submit your work as a .docx file.

Submit one microfiction piece per entry.

Use a readable 12-point font.

Eligibility

Submissions are open to writers aged 18 and older.

Both emerging and established writers are encouraged to submit.

PRIZES & CONTRIBUTOR COPIES

FIRST PLACE — $100

SECOND PLACE — $25

THIRD PLACE — $25

Prize winners will be selected from the work accepted for publication in the anthology.

All three winners will be recognized in the published collection.

Every accepted contributor will receive two complimentary paperback copies of HALF TRUTHS: Best Micro Fiction 2027.

Contributor copies are provided in place of additional monetary compensation or ongoing royalties.

PUBLICATION & RIGHTS

Selected pieces will appear in HALF TRUTHS: Best Micro Fiction 2027, published by The Itch Press.

The anthology is anticipated for publication in Summer 2027 in paperback and ebook formats.

Publication dates are estimates and may change during production.

Authors retain copyright to their individual work.

Accepted contributors will receive a publication agreement outlining the rights licensed to The Itch Press for publication, distribution, and continued availability of the anthology in print and digital formats.

Submission does not constitute acceptance of a publication agreement.

EDITORIAL SELECTION

All submissions will be evaluated for literary merit, originality, voice, and overall contribution to the finished anthology.

The Itch Press will determine the final number of accepted pieces based on the quality of submissions and the needs of the collection.

Submission does not guarantee publication.

ABOUT THE ITCH PRESS

The Itch Press is an independent publishing venture from The Itch Lit, a literary magazine dedicated to writing that won’t leave you alone.

Our mission is to publish exceptional literature, champion emerging voices, and build a sustainable independent press.

We believe great writing deserves an audience.

The Itch Press

Writing that won’t leave you alone.

Submit