Submission Email: Send your manuscript to voicexvirtue@gmail.com with APRIL CONTEST in the subject line.

Mood Descriptions: For the complimentary cover design, include any details you envision for the cover design. If you have no idea, that's okay! We will offer you something based on the content of your manuscript.

Cover Letter: Provide a brief cover letter describing how your poetry manuscript aligns with Voice & Virtue’s mission of publishing Catholic, Christian, and socially conservative works. If your work is not explicitly religious, it should relate to socially conservative ideals (e.g., pro-life themes, traditional values, moral philosophy, etc.).

Unifying Theme: Ideally, poetry chapbooks should center on a unified theme (e.g., trauma to healing, nascent faith to spiritual maturation). While this is not a strict requirement, it will strengthen your submission. For example, a poetry collection about discovering God in gardening is better than a collection of poems generically about God. They are both acceptable, but the former is more likely to win.

Content:

• Your manuscript ​must contain at least 15 and no more than 50 poems.

• The manuscript should not exceed 100 pages (formatted for 8.5x11 full-size pages).

• All poetry styles are welcome.

• The collection may be unpublished or include a mix of published and unpublished poems. However, as submitted, the collection as a whole must not have been previously published as a poetry collection.