Privacy and submissions

What we keep, and why.

Last updated October 4, 2026

Mailing list

When you join the mailing list, we keep your email address and the date you consented. We use it only for occasional news from Gathered Commons Press. We do not sell or rent the list. You may unsubscribe from any message or ask us to remove your address.

Writing submissions

When you answer an open call, we keep the manuscript, cover sheet, contact information, Central Valley connection, biography, publication history, accessibility information you voluntarily supply, and our internal review and decision records. We use that material only to receive, evaluate, edit, contract, publish, credit, and deliver contributor copies.

Submitting work does not transfer copyright and does not promise publication. We do not publish, license, or share a submission outside the people helping the press review it unless the writer separately agrees in writing.

Publishing and services inquiries

When you use the Services for Writers inquiry form, we keep your contact information and the project details you provide so we can assess fit and reply. The form does not accept manuscript files. Sending an inquiry does not promise publication, paid services, or a contract.

Website operations and tracking

We do not use advertising trackers or sell or share personal information for advertising. We use the technical services needed to host this site and keep its private forms and mailing-list records working. Those providers may process information only to operate the site and its forms for us. If we add analytics, advertising, or another service that changes these practices, we will update this policy before collecting information through it.

Contact and software support messages

When you use the contact form or email the press, we keep your name, email address, topic and message so we can reply. Contact form messages are saved by the website. When email notifications are enabled, a copy is sent to the press mailbox through Resend, which processes it only to deliver it. A form confirmation means your message has been saved; it does not confirm email delivery. We keep contact and support messages for 24 months after our last reply and then delete them, unless a message becomes part of a publishing, licensing or legal record. Each app has its own privacy policy, listed on the software support page.

Storage and deletion

We keep mailing-list records until you unsubscribe. We retain declined and withdrawn manuscripts, service inquiries, and review notes for 12 months after final decisions, then move them to recoverable deletion. We may retain a basic submission or inquiry log for three years after removing unnecessary contact details. Accepted manuscripts, agreements, permissions, approved biographies, proofs, and delivery records remain publishing business records.

Anonymous reviewers receive the manuscript and submission ID rather than the contact sheet whenever practical. We collect mailing addresses only when contributor copies are ready to ship and remove unnecessary working duplicates after delivery.

Contact

Questions, corrections, withdrawals, accessibility requests, or deletion requests may be sent through the private contact form. Read our accessibility statement.