Submissions wanted (womanhood) | £300 per poem
Added 2025-08-26 18:29:22 +0000 UTCCOMPANY/PUBLICATION: WOMAN, MAPPED
Deadline: 12 October 2025
Woman, Mapped
A Rebecca Swift Foundation Anthology
Edited by Jennifer Wong
Published by Fly on the Wall Press
Deadline: 11:59 pm, 12 October 2025
Publication: July 2026
The Rebecca Swift Foundation and Fly on the Wall Press invite submissions for a powerful new anthology celebrating the complexity, resilience, and creativity of women’s lives today. We’re excited to hear from poets whose voices are under-represented in publishing, including working-class writers and those who’ve faced barriers to participation. This opportunity is open to anyone for whom woman is a meaningful identifier or lived experience.
Curated by acclaimed poet and critic Jennifer Wong, the anthology will feature twelve UK-based poets, from emerging voices to established names. Each will contribute a portfolio of up to ten poems and/or a reflective essay.
This collection will explore the journey of becoming a woman: the joys, the pain, and the defining moments that shape us. We are seeking work that speaks honestly to what it means to live as a woman — politically, bodily, emotionally — and to be seen in our own voices, on our own terms.
We will be selecting works that together map out the stages of life, from girlhood to ageing, reflecting the breadth of lived experience across identities, cultures, and generations. We welcome submissions that surprise, delight, challenge, or move us – and those that push at the boundaries of form and experience.
We hope this anthology will become a generational gift: something that validates lived experience, inspires future readers, and offers the deep companionship of shared understanding.
Each contributor will receive:
A fee of £300
A copy of the anthology
In addition, one contributor will be selected to have their essay reprinted on the Mslexia blog and deliver a workshop for Mslexia’s Salon members. The selected poet will receive an additional fee for this work.
Contributors who are also members of the Rebecca Swift Foundation’s Women Poets’ Network (WPN) will receive an invitation to read at the in-person launch event, to be held in Northern England and live streamed in July 2026.
HOW TO SUBMIT
There is no submission fee, but if you are in a position to do so, donations to support the work of the Rebecca Swift Foundation are very welcome.
You can submit poetry, an idea for an essay, or both. Your submission should include:
3 poems (there is no upper line limit, just send your most excellent poems), and/or
A 300 word pitch for a reflective essay or piece of creative nonfiction related to the themes of the anthology (with a title of your choice), plus a sample of your work in that form,
A statement outlining your poetry career to date (up to 250 words). If you’re just starting out, tell us what you hope to explore or achieve in your future career.
Please note: Shortlisted poets will be invited to submit a further set of poems for consideration. Shortlisted essayists will be invited to submit the full text of their essay/piece of creative nonfiction.
CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO READ THE FULL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Submissions: Via the webform
Website: https://www.rebeccaswiftfoundation.org/anthology-of-women-poets/
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