The Island Reader
Published by Maine Seacoast Mission The Island Reader is a multi-arts anthology that
showcases Maine’s unbridged island writers and artists.
The Island Reader is a project that started in 2006 as a labor of love to bring together island artists and provide a space to showcase their work. Over the years, the Reader evolved annually into what it is today: a conversation about islanders and their creative spirits. Your donations support future anthologies and validate the importance of art off the coast of Maine.
The editorial team for The Island Reader includes Kendra Chubbuck of Isle au Haut, Ingrid Gaither of Great Cranberry Island, Kristy McKibben of Matinicus, Kimberly Peabody of Matinicus, Laurie Webber of Matinicus, and Editor-in-Chief Gary Rainford of Swan’s Island. Sunbeam Steward Siobhan Harrity and Sunbeam Director Douglas Cornman provide administrative oversight and support to the editorial team.
The Island Reader is also available in print. To order a copy, please complete the form and consider making a donation.
Browse previous volumes of The Island Reader, including the 19th volume from 2025, 18th volume from 2024, and the 17th volume from 2023.
The editorial team is developing a digital format for previous volumes. These will be made available here in the future.
Submitting to The Island Reader
Submissions are now being accepted for the 21st volume of The Island Reader, which will publish in spring 2027. The theme for the 2027 edition is “If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It.”
To submit, click the buttons below or email [email protected].
Please carefully read the guidelines before submitting your work:
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- Submissions are accepted from writers and artists living on unbridged Maine islands.
- Include your first name, last name, mailing address, email address, and the island you call home.
- Submit up to three (3) items in any genre or medium including high resolution photography, poetry, prose, and images of visual art.
- Use Times New Roman in 12-point font for all writing pieces.
- Portrait orientation for photography is preferable.
- Prose pieces should be no more than 3000 words.
- The Island Reader has contributors and readers of all ages. While we welcome work that touches on difficult topics, please be sensitive to our audience when choosing the subject matter and language of your submissions.
- We encourage submissions that are inspired by and relevant to the issue’s theme; however, we are happy to consider submissions outside of our theme as well.
- The Island Reader editors reserve the right to make slight revisions and/or changes to your submissions to satisfy formatting requirements and our vision.
The Island Reader began in 2006 as a thin, black & white, saddle-stapled arts anthology showcasing the work of artists living on four of Maine’s unbridged islands. Since then, The Island Reader evolved into a beautifully produced perfect-bound publication and includes artists and writers from sixteen unbridged islands. The Island Reader is truly unique in regard to its submissions and is special to Maine’s island communities.
Since 2006, the Mission’s Sunbeam and its caring crew, have provided a floating, winter oasis for The Island Reader’s team. Once a year island editors gather on the Sunbeam for an editor retreat, where they design a working cover and build a draft of the artwork and written pieces they intend to anthologize. The Sunbeam and its crew are an extension of the process, expertise, and resources that make publishing The Island Reader possible.
Our work is your work, made possible by your generous gifts.
No matter how hard times get, the Mission will be there, helping sustain and strengthen families and communities. Please join us. Your donations bring warmth when it’s cold, shed light where it’s dark, and give strength when burdens grow heavy.
Contact us to donate, volunteer, or arrange for planned giving.