Sunday, 12 October 2025

What is Invisible Poets?


Invisible Poets
is a global community of poets and writers that aims to promote creativity, inspire hope, and encourage one another through the power of poetry. Founded by poets Steve Wheeler and Charlene Phare in February 2023, the community has grown rapidly to more than 75,000 members on Facebook, with many more visitors reading and engaging with their content.

The Invisible Poets group hosts several regular interactive features including Live Poets Society shows from around the globe, picture challenges and the Fantastic Forum. Many poets consider it the friendliest and safest of all the Facebook poetry groups. The group is sponsored by UK poetry publishing house Wheelsong Books Ltd, which funds multiple publications of members work, including the globally renowned Wheelsong Poetry Anthology series, raising much needed funds for Save the Children charity. Wheelsong also funds the Invisible Poets Roadshow with similar charitable aims. 

Key Purposes:

- Platform for Poets: Provide a space for poets to share their work, receive feedback, and connect with like-minded individuals.

- Community Building: Foster a supportive and friendly environment where members can collaborate, learn from each other, and grow as poets.

- Promoting Poetry: Showcase poetry of all genres and styles, encouraging members to experiment and push the boundaries of their creativity.

- Real-World Impact: Use poetry to make a positive impact, such as supporting charities like Save the Children through book sales.

The IP community is built around six core principles:

- Give More Than You Take: Share your gifts and talents generously with others.

- Underground Movement: Focus on the art of poetry rather than seeking fame or fortune.

- Kind Words: Use poetry as a means of speaking truth with kindness and compassion.

- Eternal Quality: Strive to create poetry that will endure long after you're gone.

- Collaboration: Reach out to others and create something beautiful together.

- Support Each Other: Be there for fellow members and offer support when needed.

Sunday, 5 October 2025

Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 7

Do you want to be a part of something really amazing? Something that reaches much further than poetry? Would you live to achieve something that will leave a lasting legacy and do some good in the world? 

We will soon be publishing the latest anthology in our charity series. It's number 7 in a book series representing our efforts to make lives better for underprivileged children around the globe. We will literally mobilise poetry against poverty. Each book sold raises enough funds to feed a malnourished child for a month.

Wheelsong Books Ltd was established in the Plymouth, England in 2020 as a not-for-profit organisation. Its mission statement is twofold: To give emerging poets the means to reach larger audiences and to help those who are in need. Since then, Wheelsong, in partnership with Invisible Poets and its affiliated groups, has published over 50 books including 11 charity poetry anthologies. Here are some of our anthology statistics: 

Absolutely Poetry Anthology 1: 170 poems (310 copies sold)
Absolutely Poetry Anthology 2: 176 poems (286 copies sold)

Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 1: 183 poems (255 copies sold)
Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 2: 214 poems (233 copies sold)
Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 3: 229 poems (415 copies sold)
Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 4: 245 poems (392 copies sold)
Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 5: 248 poems (341 copies sold)
Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 6: 265 poems (339 copies sold)

Invisible Poets Anthology 1: 352 poems (317 copies sold)
Invisible Poets Anthology 2: 242 poems (83 copies sold)
Invisible Poets Anthology 3: 246 poems (84 copies sold)

No other poetry group on Facebook comes anywhere close to these charitable efforts. (We have published a total of 2570 poems written by more than 720 poets representing 112 countries across all 6 continents, and have sold 3055 copies at the time of writing). 

All the above books are still available on Amazon and through other online outlets, including Waterstones (UK) and Barnes & Noble (USA). The proceeds from Amazon sales of these books is donated directly to Save the Children - a worldwide charity that cares for children in crisis, providing emergency nutrition, health care, medicine, safety and education. At the time of writing, Wheelsong Books has donated £11,000.00 ($15,000.00) to Save the Children and we are only getting started! We plan to publish two more Wheelsong Poetry Anthologies and another Invisible Poets Anthology in 2026.

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Dear poet, please think about this... You possess an amazing creative gift ... you have the ability to capture your thoughts, ideas, memories and emotions and present them as beautiful, evocative words. 

You can, if you want to join us, use your wonderful talent to freely give back a little to children who are in desperate, often life-threatening situations

We all want our poetry to be read and appreciated by others. Publishing your work in Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 6 will ensure that you gain a new audience for your poetry, but that's not the most important aim! 

Better than that is this ... your poems will be helping to raise much needed funds to support children in crisis. You will also retain ownership of your poem, and Wheelsong Books will protect and administer your copyright for you. 

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To be considered for inclusion in the review process you will need to follow these instructions very carefully:

Firstly, do not bother to submit your poetry if you do not intend to buy at least one copy of the book. We will expect you to pledge to buy at least one copy direct from Wheelsong Books if your work is published. This is a charity publication, and all profits from Amazon sales will go to help children in crisis. If you're not prepared to invest in helping children, we won't be publishing your poetry (we are dismayed that around two thirds of featured poets do not purchase a copy of the anthologies once they have been published). Please give more than you take, because this is not about you or about Wheelsong Books - it's about helping children who are in desperate need. 

Secondly, only submit poetry that is a) your own work and b) has not been subject to any other publishing agreement. Poetry you've shared on Facebook and other social media is fine, but please do not send in work that has been published elsewhere, and is subject to a previous publishing contract. That could lead to legal action being taken against you. The editorial team will also reject poems if we suspect they have been either plagiarised in part or whole, or generated partly or wholly through artificial intelligence.

Thirdly, submit up to 3 poems as either plain text or in a Word file via email direct to this email address: wheelsong6@gmail.com. Submissions by any other means will not be considered. Poetry submitted as images or photos will not be considered, nor will links to external sites. Please supply a title for each of your poems. Please also supply your real name - we will not publish works by poets using pseudonyms. 

And before you ask: There is NO specific theme. Write about what you want. 

Finally, all poems submitted will be subject to review by our editorial team. Your poetry will be anonymised (your name blanked out) so the editorial team can't see who you are. If your poetry is selected, you will be informed via email and a publication agreement will be sent to you for you to complete and return. Your work will be then published under your name. If your work is not accepted for publication, you will receive an email informing you of the team's decision. No correspondence other than via email will be valid. Please don't try to text or direct message us. We won't answer. 

The window for submission is now open, and will be closed at midnight (UK time) on Sunday 19 October, 2025. Any submissions received after this time/date will be not be reviewed. If there is an extension to this date, you will be informed. The editors' decisions will be final. 

Please Note: Shorter poems are more likely to be accepted for publication than longer pieces - space will be limited in the book due to resource and production limitations. Several poetry groups will participate, including Invisible Poets, Wheelsong Poetry, Pure Poetry and Safe Haven. Poets from outside these groups are also eligible to take part, so please point anyone you think may be interested to this blog, and keep visiting this blog to find out news as it unfolds. We look forward to reading your submissions. Good luck! 

Steve Wheeler (Editor in Chief) 

Photo courtesy of Save the Children

What is Invisible Poets?

Invisible Poets is a global community of poets and writers that aims to promote creativity, inspire hope, and encourage one another through...