For the second time in over three decades of supporting artists living with mental health issues and/or addictions, Workman Arts is curating a print literary anthology. That’s big news!

The theme of this upcoming collection is rebellion. We are calling on Canada-based writers with lived experience of mental health and addiction, to send us your stories, poems, daydreams, imaginings, and manifestos exploring all the things it can mean to rebel.  

While mental health does not need to be a central focus, we welcome characters and settings which challenge, subvert, and reclaim mainstream notions of what it means to be “mentally ill. ”  

What We are Looking For

Please send us original, unpublished work. Workman arts purchases first print rights to pieces appearing in the anthology; work which has been published in zines, blogs, or your personal website counts as being previously published.

Please send us only your best. Take your time preparing submissions; do not send us your first or second draft.  

We are open to speculative fiction and poetry, but hard sci-fi, high fantasy, or true horror will be a tough sell. If you’re unsure of the distinction between these genres, check out this handy breakdown from Book Riot.  

Please send us authentic stories, not appropriation: if your work is culturally sensitive, include a line or two in your bio about how it relates to your lived experience. For more information on writing diverse characters while avoiding appropriation, check out these free resources from author Nisi Shawl.

Above all else, we want work that is challenging, groundbreaking, uplifting, and unique. Don’t be shy about taking creative risks: surprise us!

Word Limit

Preferably under 3000 words for fiction. Poems should be a maximum of two pages. We are open to reading longer pieces if they really dazzle us.

Please limit submissions to two pieces of fiction or five poems. If you would like to combine fiction and poetry in one submission, please send one piece of fiction and a maximum of three poems.

What We Don’t Want

Do not send graphic depictions of violence, sex, child abuse, or anything else of a gratuitous nature. Submissions may contain elements which are violent/disturbing/sexual, but please do not send us excessive gore or outright erotica. In consideration of our editorial team, we ask that you include content notes for other potentially triggering material.

Do not send work that has been published anywhere before ( yes, this includes your website or blog).

Do not send your first or second draft. Please take your time editing your submissions, and when you’ve done that, edit some more! 

Payment

$75 honorarium per piece, minimum. If we select a lower volume of pieces, honorarium amounts will increase.

Voluntary Self-Identification

We want this anthology to accurately reflect the diverse world we live in. We are especially interested in publishing writers who live at the intersection of mental illness and other marginalized identities: queer and trans people, people of colour, people with disabilities, and anyone else who has been systematically excluded from the world of publishing. We would love to prioritize writers who have experienced incarceration in the mental health system and/or the criminal justice system. If you wish to self-identify in your bio, please feel free to. Your self-identification helps us ensure a quality selection of voices and experiences are reflected in this book. 

Please note that submissions from Workman Arts members will be prioritized. 

Simultaneous submissions: it’s ok if you have submitted your work elsewhere, but we ask that you inform us immediately if it is accepted and needs to be withdrawn from our consideration.

How to Submit

Please upload your submission as a single attachment, using this form. Make sure that your submission is in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format. Submissions will be read anonymously; do not include your name anywhere in the document itself.  Give your submission a title and include this title in the name of the document.

Submissions will be open until October 14th, 11:59PM

Info Session

Join us for a two hour virtual information session on Monday, August 26th at 6PM where Kelly from the editorial team will provide a run-through of what we are looking for, and answer any questions you may have. 

You can register for the info session here.

Please note that this meeting will be recorded.  Recordings will be available after the meeting by request. 

Kelly Rose Pflug-Back is a writer and creative writing workshop facilitator. Her fiction, poetry, and journalism has appeared recently in publications like The Briarpatch, The Deadlands, and This Magazine, as well as anthologies such as Queer Little Nightmares (Arsenal Pulp, 2022) and Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing (ChiZine, 2012) . Their debut collection of poems, The Hammer of Witches (Caitlin Press/Dagger Editions, 2020), recently placed as a finalist in the upcoming Bisexual Book Awards.  

Hanan Hazime is a multidisciplinary artist, creative writer, community arts educator and, creative writing instructor. She has a Master of Arts degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Windsor. Hanan’s writing has appeared in a number of publications including The Windsor Review, Feckless C*nts: An Anthology of Feminist Writing, and on CBC Arts.  Her poetry chapbook Aorta was published by ZED Press in 2018.  Hanan is one of the co-editors of the anthology Muslim American Writers at Home (Freedom Voices Publications, 2021).  She is also a former editorial assistant for Rampike Magazine. Currently, Hanan is the Education Manager at Workman Arts.