We are so excited to work with poet & editor, Nicole Pomeroy, and our friends at Pink Eraser Press to compile, edit, and publish an anthology collecting the poems, essays, and stories of Maine writers who are 1st or 2nd generation Americans.
Maine is a mosaic of languages, cultures, lands, and experiences and we are all the better for it. This collective effort will showcase the vibrant prose and poetry penned by writers living in Maine who are from immigrant and/or mixed culture/race communities.
2026 Universe, Vast Universe Submission Guidelines:
SUBMISSIONS
+ Submissions to the Universe, Vast Universe Anthology will be open from November 1, 2025 to February 15, 2026.
ELIGIBILITY
+ The Universe, Vast Universe Anthology seeks submission from writers of all ages and all levels who live full or part-time in Maine AND who are 1st or 2nd generation Americans.
GUIDELINES
+ We are most interested in reading previously unpublished work.
+ We will accept previously unpublished nonfiction and/or fiction submissions of 20 pages or less.
+ We will accept previously unpublished poetry submissions of all lengths. Please submit between 1 and 5 poems.
+ Simultaneous submissions are fine. Please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere.
+ Submissions must be made via Submittable. If you do not have a Submittable account, please register for a free account.
+ Contributors will receive $50 and two copies of the anthology.
Nicole Pomeroy is an Iranian-American poet based in rural Midcoast Maine. Her debut collection, A Reckoning, was published by Raspberry Bow Press in 2023.
“I came to Maine by way of Los Angeles and Seattle—places where cultural diversity felt ordinary. When I told people I was moving to the whitest state in the country, the questions came quickly: Why Maine? Wouldn’t you feel isolated? But after a single visit, I fell deeply in love—with the land, the people, and the quiet wildness and slowness of life here. Within months, I moved across the country and made Maine my home. I want other people of diverse cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds who love Maine for these same reasons to feel welcome and rooted here, too.
This anthology was born from a desire to connect first- and second-generation immigrants across Maine, particularly at a moment when immigrant voices are being challenged and silenced. We seek poetry and prose that reflect the many ways immigrants and children of immigrants experience home: stories of arrival and staying, memory and change, joy and grief, belonging and becoming. If you are a first- or second-generation immigrant who calls Maine home, we invite you to share your work and help shape a fuller, more honest portrait of our community.”
Please contact taryn@mainewriters.org with questions.