Are you a queer poet or spoken word artist based in the Netherlands?
We are inviting you to submit your work for the second volume of the Queer & Feminist Poetry Anthology.
About the Anthology
The Queer & Feminist Poetry Anthology Vol II: Queer Joy & Gender Euphoria Edition is a bilingual publication (Dutch and English) that brings together the voices of LGBTQ+ poets and spoken word artists living in the Netherlands.
This edition is dedicated to queer joy, gender euphoria, pleasure, pride, softness, resistance through happiness and collective imagination. In a time when queer narratives are often framed through trauma, loss or survival, this anthology deliberately centers joy and the euphoria of affirming your gender and identity as a radical, political and transformative force.
We are looking for work that celebrates being alive in queer bodies, loving outside the norm, choosing oneself, finding community, and imagining futures rooted in freedom. Joy does not need to be loud or perfect. It can be quiet, complicated, messy, tender or defiant.
Why this Anthology?
Throughout history, LGBTQ+ people have used art, poetry and storytelling to find each other, name ourselves and survive. Yet our stories are still often told about us, rather than by us.
This anthology exists to reclaim narrative power. To document our voices in our own words. To write ourselves into the cultural archive as we truly are.
Our focus to center queer joy and gender euphoria for this book is to offer a counter-narrative. One that insists that our lives are not only valid, but vibrant, creative and worth celebrating. Too often, queer lives are reduced to stereotypes, tragedy or spectacle. This is intended to be a moment of collective reimagining of our struggle, towards the possibilities of the present and future of what our lives are capable of containing and expressing.
Theme: Queer Joy & Gender Euphoria
For the second volume of the Queer & Feminist Poetry Anthology, we invite poets and spoken word artists to submit work centered on queer joy and gender euphoria.
We want this book to feel like a warm hug from and for our community. A breath of hope. A gentle permission to remember and imagine all the beauty we can create, share and experience together. In a world that often asks queer people to explain, defend or survive, this anthology makes space for joy as something radical, healing and deeply political.
Queer joy can be loud or quiet, soft or fierce, intimate or collective. Gender euphoria may live in the body, in language, in clothing, in love, in rest, or in becoming. It does not have to be perfect or uncomplicated. Joy can be layered, fragile, tender or defiant.
What kind of work can you submit?
We are looking for poetry and spoken word texts that:
- explore joy, pride, softness or freedom in queer life
- make gender euphoria felt, in any form
- move beyond stories of trauma alone
- leave space for hope, imagination and future-making
- celebrate community, chosen family and care
Texts can be personal, political, playful or experimental. Traditional poetry and spoken word that translates well to the page are both welcome. Your work does not need to explicitly name queer joy or gender euphoria, as long as it embodies or evokes it.
We invite you to write from abundance, curiosity and care, and to share what makes you breathe, believe and imagine more.
About Unwanted Words Project
The Queer & Feminist Poetry Anthology is initiated by Stichting Unwanted Words Project, an award-winning platform for emerging queer voices in poetry and spoken word, based in Rotterdam. Since 2018, Unwanted Words has created safe, inclusive and accessible spaces for LGBTQ+ artists through Queer Poetry Nights, publications, awards and community programs across the Netherlands.
Who can apply?
This open call is for:
- Queer poets, writers and spoken word artists
- Based in the Netherlands at the time of submission (we welcome all nationalities and origins)
- Works in Dutch and/or English
We especially encourage submissions from:
- Queer BIPOC
- Migrants, refugees and diasporic voices
- Trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming artists
- First-time or early-career publishers
Your work should engage with themes related to:
- Queer joy and pleasure
- Gender euphoria
- Feminism(s)
- Queer life and identity
The connection to the theme does not need to be explicit, as long as it is felt, lived or embodied in the work.
Unwanted Words takes a clear stance against racism, islamophobia, antisemitism, transphobia, ableism and any form of discrimination. We are a pro-Black, pro-feminist organization. Submissions that promote hate speech, exclusion or harm will not be considered.
What will be published?
- The anthology will be published as a physical book, with national distribution
- Approximately 50 poets will be selected
- Each selected contributor receives:
- 3 to 5 pages in the book
- Space for bio, photo and contact details
- Multiple poems or spoken word texts
- Complimentary copies of the publication
The anthology will be launched through public events and performances, including during Poetry International Festival 2026.
How to apply
Applicants must submit via the official online form and provide:
- Full name
- Stage name / Pen name (if applicable)
- Pronouns
- Email address
- Location in the Netherlands
- Short bio
- A single document containing 5–6 poems or texts (via Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)
- Consent for publication and promotional use
Submissions do not need to be new or unpublished, but must be original work. You must hold full publishing rights to the submitted texts.
If you reference another poet’s work (for example in a quotation) please mention the title and author of the original source.
Applications are accepted in English. Poems may be written in English or Dutch.
Timeline
- Open Call opens: February 4th 2026
- Open Call closes: March 4th 2026
- Announcement of selected writers: Early to mid-April 2026
- Publication and launch: Summer 2026
All applicants will be informed about the outcome.
Privacy
We adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Your personal data will only be used for the purpose of this anthology and related communication by Stichting Unwanted Words Project. Data will not be shared with third parties.
This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of Het Cultuurfonds.
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