Food, Memory, and Reckoning (#ForTheChefs)

A new call for submissions invites writers and poets to confront the realities of kitchen life in Food, Memory, and Reckoning (#ForTheChefs). Inspired by Laurie Woolever’s memoir Care and Feeding, the project seeks essays and poetry that grapple with the power struggles, adrenaline, and fallout of professional kitchens. Contributors are asked to move beyond polished menus and into the chaos behind them—the wreckage after service, the bonds and fractures of food, and the marks left long after the plates are cleared. Submissions are open through June 31, 2026.

Call for Submissions

Food, Memory, and Reckoning (#ForTheChefs)

In honor of Laurie Woolever’s Care and Feeding, we invite writers and poets to submit work that dives into the raw intersections of food, power, relationships, and transformation. We’re looking for nonfiction and poetry that cuts to the bone, work that exposes the brutal truths of professional kitchens, the industry’s relentless grind, and the lives shaped by it. Give us the weight of the line, the high-stakes adrenaline of service, the wreckage left behind after closing time. Show us how food binds and breaks us, feeds more than just the body, and leaves its mark long after the last plates have been cleared.

In this sharp, poignant, and darkly humorous memoir, Laurie Woolever charts her journey from a small-town upbringing to the heart of the food world, navigating revered restaurants and top publications—often lifted, yet sometimes eclipsed —by two of the industry’s most commanding figures.

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Submission Guidelines

• Genres: Creative Nonfiction and Poetry

  
  

• Word Limit: Up to 2,000 words

  
  

• Deadline: June 31, 2026

  
  

• Cover Letter: Times New Roman, Size 12; PDF

  
  

• Format: Times New Roman, Size 12; Double-Spaced; PDF

Submit

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Laurie Woolever’s Care and Feeding rips the lid off the fine dining world, exposing the chaos, the power plays, and the people who thrive—or unravel—inside it. We want work that does the same. Give us the grit, the hunger, the sharp edges of kitchen life, and the ghosts that linger long after the last meal has been served.

The table is set.

Bring us your best.