2025 Winter Issue: Release, Reimagine, Re(cycle) Submission Guidelines

For many of our Indigenous communities, Winter is a season of storytelling. We gather the harvest, we reflect with loved ones, and we honor all that has grown and passed in the warmer time. For our winter issue, we invite works that beckon us towards this (re)generative cycle of life, decomposition, seed, and spurt. What are we offering to release, to break down? What will we tuck within our homes and hearts to keep for spring? What will we embrace or plant for the coming year? Who will we sit with around the winter fires? What griefs will we mourn, what joys will we carry on? What must we remember, to pay forward in another time? We are looking for work that turns with us this season, that invites us into standing still, and/or that calls us into a greater sense of knowing where we have been and where we must go.

Open for submissions from November 1 through December 31. 

We welcome submissions of visual arts & practice in all forms, including photographs or scans of artwork, craftwork, and digital creations. Whether your work tells a story (narrative or abstract) or captures the intricacies of the macro or the minute, we’re excited to see your perspective.

•  Submit up to 5 images of your work as JPEG files
•  Both 2-D and 3-D pieces are accepted
•  Images should be clear, high-quality photographs or scans

Let your visual storytelling speak, boldly or subtly, in detail or in broad strokes.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please withdraw your submission promptly using our online system should your work be accepted elsewhere.

We do not accept previously published material. This includes personal blogs and websites.

About Chapter House Journal

Mission Statement

Chapter House Journal is an online literary journal committed to empowering and uplifting Indigenous and marginalized stories, values, cultures, and art. We publish writers and artists from a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, styles, and aesthetics whose work aligns with this mission. We strongly encourage submissions from Native American, First Nation, and Indigenous people, Black and Brown people, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non-binary people, individuals with disabilities, and all members of historically marginalized communities. We welcome submissions from both emerging and published writers.

Housed within the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Low Residency MFA Program, we publish issues on a biannual basis. We accept submissions in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. All submissions, including solicitations, are read by our dedicated editors, comprised of IAIA MFA students and faculty advisors. Our editors also manage publication decisions, website design, and blog content. 

We are committed to serving as a literary well for Indigenous and marginalized communities. We warmly invite all creators with aligned interests and passions to contribute to this powerful, dynamic, and ever-growing landscape of art and literature.

Visit our website atchjournal.com

2025 Winter Issue: Release, Reimagine, Re(cycle) Submission Guidelines

For many of our Indigenous communities, Winter is a season of storytelling. We gather the harvest, we reflect with loved ones, and we honor all that has grown and passed in the warmer time. For our winter issue, we invite works that beckon us towards this (re)generative cycle of life, decomposition, seed, and spurt. What are we offering to release, to break down? What will we tuck within our homes and hearts to keep for spring? What will we embrace or plant for the coming year? Who will we sit with around the winter fires? What griefs will we mourn, what joys will we carry on? What must we remember, to pay forward in another time? We are looking for work that turns with us this season, that invites us into standing still, and/or that calls us into a greater sense of knowing where we have been and where we must go.

Open for submissions from November 1 through December 31. 

We invite submissions of creative nonfiction that engage the truth with imagination, precision, and voice. We are interested in work that explores lived Indigenous experience through memory, identity, observation, and the personal in relation to the collective. Whether lyrical, braided, fragmented, or narrative, we welcome inventive forms and styles.

•  Submit one full-length piece or up to three shorter pieces, totaling no more than 5,000 words combined. 
•  We encourage submissions that take risks in form, language, and perspective while remaining grounded in truth. 
•  Please include a cover letter with a brief bio and any relevant context for your work.
•  Double-space your manuscript and use a standard, readable font (e.g., Times New Roman, 12 pt).
•  All work must be previously unpublished, including on personal blogs or websites.
•  Simultaneous submissions are welcome; please notify us promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere.

We are especially interested in work from Indigenous, Black, Brown, queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent, and otherwise marginalized voices. Writers from all backgrounds are welcome to submit.

About Chapter House Journal

Mission Statement

Chapter House Journal is an online literary journal committed to empowering and uplifting Indigenous and marginalized stories, values, cultures, and art. We publish writers and artists from a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, styles, and aesthetics whose work aligns with this mission. We strongly encourage submissions from Native American, First Nation, and Indigenous people, Black and Brown people, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non-binary people, individuals with disabilities, and all members of historically marginalized communities. We welcome submissions from both emerging and published writers.

Housed within the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Low Residency MFA Program, we publish issues on a biannual basis. We accept submissions in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. All submissions, including solicitations, are read by our dedicated editors, comprised of IAIA MFA students and faculty advisors. Our editors also manage publication decisions, website design, and blog content. 

We are committed to serving as a literary well for Indigenous and marginalized communities. We warmly invite all creators with aligned interests and passions to contribute to this powerful, dynamic, and ever-growing landscape of art and literature.

Visit our website at chjournal.com

2025 Winter Issue: Release, Reimagine, Re(cycle) Submission Guidelines

For many of our Indigenous communities, Winter is a season of storytelling. We gather the harvest, we reflect with loved ones, and we honor all that has grown and passed in the warmer time. For our winter issue, we invite works that beckon us towards this (re)generative cycle of life, decomposition, seed, and spurt. What are we offering to release, to break down? What will we tuck within our homes and hearts to keep for spring? What will we embrace or plant for the coming year? Who will we sit with around the winter fires? What griefs will we mourn, what joys will we carry on? What must we remember, to pay forward in another time? We are looking for work that turns with us this season, that invites us into standing still, and/or that calls us into a greater sense of knowing where we have been and where we must go.

Open for submissions from November 1 through December 31. 

We welcome original works of fiction that engage, challenge, and expand the boundaries of Indigenous narratives. We’re interested in character-driven narratives, experimental forms, flash fiction, and everything in between. Whether your work is grounded in realism or reaches toward the speculative, we are looking for writing that resonates, emotionally, culturally, or politically.

•  Please submit one story, or up to three shorter pieces (such as flash fiction), with a combined word count of no more than 5,000 words.
•  All submissions must be original and unpublished, including online (blogs, websites, or social media).
•  Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please notify us immediately through our submission platform if your work is accepted elsewhere.
•  Include a brief cover letter with your submission, introducing yourself, your background, and any relevant publication history or context for your work. If you identify as an Indigenous writer, please include your tribal affiliation in your letter.
•  Use a standard, readable font (e.g., Times New Roman, 12 pt), and format your manuscript with double spacing and page numbers.
•  Please submit your work as a single document (.doc, .docx, or PDF) via our online submission system.

We encourage submissions from writers of all backgrounds, with a particular emphasis on uplifting Indigenous, Black, Brown, queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent, and other historically marginalized voices.

About Chapter House Journal

Mission Statement

Chapter House Journal is an online literary journal committed to empowering and uplifting Indigenous and marginalized stories, values, cultures, and art. We publish writers and artists from a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, styles, and aesthetics whose work aligns with this mission. We strongly encourage submissions from Native American, First Nation, and Indigenous people, Black and Brown people, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non-binary people, individuals with disabilities, and all members of historically marginalized communities. We welcome submissions from both emerging and published writers.

Housed within the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Low Residency MFA Program, we publish issues on a biannual basis. We accept submissions in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. All submissions, including solicitations, are read by our dedicated editors, comprised of IAIA MFA students and faculty advisors. Our editors also manage publication decisions, website design, and blog content. 

We are committed to serving as a literary well for Indigenous and marginalized communities. We warmly invite all creators with aligned interests and passions to contribute to this powerful, dynamic, and ever-growing landscape of art and literature.

Visit our website at chjournal.com

2025 Winter Issue: Release, Reimagine, Re(cycle) Submission Guidelines

For many of our Indigenous communities, Winter is a season of storytelling. We gather the harvest, we reflect with loved ones, and we honor all that has grown and passed in the warmer time. For our winter issue, we invite works that beckon us towards this (re)generative cycle of life, decomposition, seed, and spurt. What are we offering to release, to break down? What will we tuck within our homes and hearts to keep for spring? What will we embrace or plant for the coming year? Who will we sit with around the winter fires? What griefs will we mourn, what joys will we carry on? What must we remember, to pay forward in another time? We are looking for work that turns with us this season, that invites us into standing still, and/or that calls us into a greater sense of knowing where we have been and where we must go.

Open for submissions from November 1 through December 31. 

We seek poetry that resonates through voice, form, rhythm, and image. Whether grounded in Indigenous tradition or breaking new ground, we welcome work that speaks truth, challenges boundaries, and evokes the personal, political, and spiritual. Surprise us. Move us. Reshape the silence.

•  Submit 3–5 poems, not exceeding a total of 5 pages.
•  Begin each poem on a new page and include all poems in a single document (.doc, .docx, or PDF).
•  We accept all poetic forms and styles, including hybrid, experimental, and visual poetry—as long as the work can be read in a primarily text-based format.
•  All submissions must be previously unpublished, including on personal blogs or social media.
•  Simultaneous submissions are welcome; please withdraw your work promptly if it is accepted elsewhere.
•  Include a cover letter with a brief bio and any relevant context you'd like to share about your work.
•  Use a standard font (e.g., Times New Roman, 12 pt). If your formatting is integral to the poem, please ensure it appears correctly in your file.

We especially encourage submissions from Indigenous poets, as well as Black, Brown, queer, trans, disabled, neurodivergent, and other historically marginalized voices.

About Chapter House Journal

Mission Statement

Chapter House Journal is an online literary journal committed to empowering and uplifting Indigenous and marginalized stories, values, cultures, and art. We publish writers and artists from a diverse range of backgrounds, experiences, styles, and aesthetics whose work aligns with this mission. We strongly encourage submissions from Native American, First Nation, and Indigenous people, Black and Brown people, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and non-binary people, individuals with disabilities, and all members of historically marginalized communities. We welcome submissions from both emerging and published writers.

Housed within the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) Low Residency MFA Program, we publish issues on a biannual basis. We accept submissions in fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and visual art. All submissions, including solicitations, are read by our dedicated editors, comprised of IAIA MFA students and faculty advisors. Our editors also manage publication decisions, website design, and blog content. 

We are committed to serving as a literary well for Indigenous and marginalized communities. We warmly invite all creators with aligned interests and passions to contribute to this powerful, dynamic, and ever-growing landscape of art and literature.

Visit our website at chjournal.com