Our Mission

Pencilhouse endeavors to help writers of all stripes, creeds, and classes engage the creative process and improve at their craft.

We do that by hosting regular open submission calls to our patrons and the public, working directly with writers and poets on their work through in-depth critique, notes, and discussion, and by publishing the process-centered journal Zero Readers.

Writing is an activity that’s fundamental to our relationship with the world around us, and with each other.  At the same time, development opportunities for writers are frequently difficult to find, difficult to access, or prohibitively expensive. 

Pencilhouse believes the writing process should be more accessible to writers—regardless of their background, skill level, demographics, or their ability to pay.  We also believe the collaboration most people leverage for their development doesn’t have to be profit-driven.  

Writing takes time, reading takes time, connecting with one another takes time—Pencilhouse is striving to develop a platform that just about anyone can use for the purpose of getting better at writing.