House of Becoming Accepting Submissions
Calling All Retreat House Authors, Poets, Photographers, and Artists!
House of Becoming Accepting Submissions
Through Midnight on Sunday, March 22, 2026
Reveal Party: Friday, May 8, 2026
Can you believe we’re publishing our 22nd book? Submissions may speak to one or more themes. Essays are limited to 2700 words. Artwork is limited to high-resolution (600 dpi) grayscale photographs or photographs of original artwork. Full color photo submissions for cover art are welcome.
Becoming: What does becoming mean to you? Why does it matter? Is becoming an innate process or can you set a goal to become?
Time and Becoming: Are you aware of the process of becoming? Do we ever stop becoming? Has your experience of becoming changed over your lifetime?
Becoming and Identity: What is the difference between becoming and individuality? How do they empower each other? How does identity fuel or limit becoming?
Becoming and Story: Does becoming have a beginning, middle, and an end? Share your story of becoming.
Self, Soul, Spirit, and God: How does becoming intersect with your relationship with Self, Soul, Spirit, or God? Is becoming a spiritual practice or expression? How does your faith drive becoming? Is becoming something that takes place alone or in community, or both?
House and Home: What is the relationship between house, home, and becoming? How is home a space for becoming? How does/did home nurture, or inhibit, your becoming?
Becoming in Hard Times: How does trauma or challenge encourage, or inhibit, your becoming? They say what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. How does that apply to becoming?
Becoming in a Judgmental World: Without getting political. . . . How do we allow for individuation and becoming in ourselves and others in a world shaped by culture and social expectations? How have you pushed back against the structures in society (familial, cultural, social) in a way that preserves and encourages becoming? Where have you curtailed your becoming to fit in?
Photos: We love family or personal photos that relate to your stories! We can do some basic retouching for old photos, and we’ll send you a copy. We can’t use photos from the internet because, as published books, we have to be careful with copyrighted works.
Author Fee of $100 defrays the publication cost and entitles authors and artists to 3 books; additional books may be pre-ordered at the author rate of $5 per book. After the initial print run, books are $10. Discount for first-time authors: $50 fee.
Scholarships are available on a first come-first served basis by contacting Lil Smith (lil@retreathousecommunity.org). Scholarships must be approved before you submit. Receiving a scholarship in the past does not guarantee receiving a scholarship for this book. Donations to the scholarship fund or full author sponsorships are gratefully accepted.
Ready to submit? Questions on submitting? Nervous as a first-time author? Contact Gretchen Martens, your friendly editor, atGretchenMartens@gmail.com.
