Theme: Noise 

Noise is what we hide behind when silence is too honest. 

It takes shape as sound, internal chatter, distraction, interruption, and the volume people create before something difficult can be said. It is the subtext beneath conversation, and the pressure of living in a world that makes endless demands. We live inside it so continuously that we often tune it out. 

But noise can also be a declaration. Proof that someone was there. A refusal to disappear. Sometimes what is dismissed as noise is the most direct communication available, while what gets called signal is often simply what has been most carefully controlled. 

This issue is interested in what gets heard, what is ignored, and who gets to decide the difference. We invite work about private noise and public noise, noise as avoidance or resistance, noise created by grief, desire, technology, memory, family, crowds, bodies, institutions, or the mind itself. 

We are drawn to writing that listens closely, not only to what is said, but to what remains unsaid. Writing that explores the difference between what is merely loud and what carries weight. 

A piece does not have to be about sound to be about noise. It has to know what it is trying to drown out. 

Guidelines:  Short Stories: Up to 4,000 words. Please limit submissions to one story at a time. Poetry: Up to 5 poems per submission, each poem no longer than 3 pages. Essays: Up to 3,000 words. Submit only one essay per submission window.

We encourage concise, polished work that fits comfortably within these limits. Submissions that go slightly over may still be considered, but please respect the spirit of the guidelines.

The Navy Pen editorial team will be providing brief personalized feedback for each submission.