Scribbled: The First Year is a community-powered anthology celebrating emerging creative talent. Bringing together pieces carefully selected from 1000+ submissions from writers in over 100 different countries, this new literary anthology spans prose, poetry and culture: sharp essays, luminous poetry, original voices.

Compiling the best of the best of our first year of existence, Scribbled: The First Year is a celebration of not just the written word, but of creativity itself. By platforming new and emerging writers in this print publication, we hope to make the world of writing more accessible, as well as shine a light on how the spirit of creativity and imagination lives on in humanity, in spite of a zeitgeist which asserts that such things have been lost. 

Every piece in this book has been sourced from our open, global call-outs. No submission fees. No gatekeeping. We strive to be a genuine platform where emerging creative voices can be encouraged and uplifted. Our community is our lifeblood, and we work every day with and for them. This project is just one way we hope to give back to this community and prove to them that their work deserves to be celebrated.

Scribbled began as a defiant answer to a world that says “why write?” – and became a global chorus that cried back, “because we must.” Human-first, fee-free, and radically accessible, Scribbled champions emerging writers with care, feedback, and opportunity. This isn't just another anthology. It's not even just a book. This project is a blueprint for a new kind of creative culture; one which eschews elitism and champions community.

Creating is a deeply human act. As long as humans have lived, we have created: we have sung songs, daubed paint on walls, carved words into stone. When we create, we connect, and we leave the world a slightly better place than it was the day before. Every day we wake up to submissions from people we would have never known, had it not been for Scribbled. That human connection, forged through creativity, made possible through community, is what we hold onto. We creatives need no longer shout into a void. We can call out for each other and be met not with silence but with vibrant cries of support and celebration. Scribbled: The First Year is that defiant, joyful cry in book format.

Specs: clothbound hardback; 204pp; prose, poetry, essays, and articles; illustrated