Trace Fossils Review positions itself as a refuge for poetry that resists easy consumption—work that is hard as stone and leaves the reader possessed. The journal's editorial statement is unusually candid about its appetite: it craves material that is difficult to comprehend, difficult to put on paper, and difficult to submit. This is not a venue for polished, accessible verse; it is a space for writing that carries the weight of obsession and formal risk. The review is quarterly, with four submission windows per year, and the current call falls within the Winter window, closing on October 31st at 11:59pm EST. The editors, Jessie and Ellie, frame their promise in domestic terms: they will treat accepted thoughts as they would an old house—tenderly, with open ears, and with the knowledge that the work will never be truly theirs. This suggests a curatorial vision rooted in stewardship rather than ownership, where the poet's voice remains intact even as it is housed within the journal's pages. There is no submission fee, which aligns with the review's stated purpose of removing barriers for difficult work. No prize or monetary compensation is mentioned, so contributors should understand this as a literary venue rather than a contest. What the journal offers is publication within a quarterly review that explicitly values the unclassifiable and the intense. The Winter issue will be shaped by poems that feel necessary rather than merely competent. The editors' language—'resonant,' 'possessed,' 'hard as stone'—signals a preference for work that operates on the reader long after the page is turned. Poets should consider whether their submissions meet this threshold of difficulty and necessity, as the review's identity is built on that very distinction.