Mythological Creatures Anthology

Submission Guidelines!

Submit up to three poems (you have a better chance of being chosen if we have multiple poems to choose from).

Poem title does not count toward your character count.

🖊 One poem must be a haiku or tanka. If you choose to submit more, you may submit an additional short poem and/or a longer poem of any type. We love variety in poem type!

🖊 The short poem has a limit of 250 characters (characters, not words).

🖊 The longer poem has a limit of 500 characters.

👍 WHAT WE WANT: Poems about legendary mythical creatures (cryptids) from around the WORLD (think whimsical, not terrifying--this is for children!) Some common examples of Euro-or-American-based cryptids are Unicorns, Bigfoot, Mermaids, Dragons, Loch Ness Monster, etc. We want your creative/poetic take on cryptozoology (crypto=hidden, zoology = study of animals). Can you make the Chupacabra not terrifying? Sure, submit it.

If you have a connection to a specific culture, we'd love to see a poem about mythical creatures from there. After all, there can only be so many Sasquatch poems.

👎 WHAT WE DO NOT WANT: We're not looking for poems about Deities (Gods & Goddesses) and no ghosts, please. Fairies are totally acceptable.

If you're unsure whether your cryptid creature qualifies, please email us wlpressbooks@gmail.com.

We want your best work with interesting line breaks, new perspectives, and different poetic types. We want to hear the music of the words. These can be cute, funny, informative, and just plain fun! Keep in mind it doesn't have to rhyme. We are looking for beautiful sounds in the poems that connect the reader to the subject and evoke strong feelings. See our past anthologies, AN ASSORTMENT OF ANIMALS and FRIENDS & ANEMONES to get an idea of the range we're looking for.

ILLUSTRATORS: If you're not submitting a poem please jump to the ART SUBMISSION SECTION after filling out your personal information.

💫 Here's the submission link: https://forms.gle/vejKdwCVCbRpH2N77

Anthology Schedule:

Now-June 15, 2022: SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED

June 1-September: The anthology team and judges read submissions and choose authors and illustrators that will be published.

Before October 15: Accepted authors and illustrators are announced!

November-Jan: Critique groups meet and help edit the poems, and editorial letters sent out.

Jan-Feb: Final poetry drafts done

March: First Drafts artwork due

April-June: Critique Groups for artwork meet and editorial letters sent out.

End of June: Final artwork due.

July-August: Book Design and final editorial changes

September 2023: Off to the press!

September - November: Proofs and final final edits!

End of November 2023: Book done, author and illustrator copies are distributed

December 2023: Book Launch at the Writers' Loft Winter Bazaar!

Feb-June 2023: Marketing the book! Lots of book events!