Wheelsong Books was established in the UK 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, the company has published 36 books including six charity poetry anthologies. Here are the anthology statistics:
(a total of 1324 poems written by more than 400 poets representing 104 countries across all 6 continents)
All the above books will remain on sale on Amazon and through other outlets, including Waterstones (UK) and Barnes & Noble (USA). The proceeds from Amazon sales of these six books is donated to
Save the Children - a worldwide charity that supports children in crisis. At the time of writing, Wheelsong Books has donated more than £2800.00 ($3600.00) to Save the Children and we intend to raise a lot more money. In April we will be publishing Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 4.
Poet, here's the deal.... You have been given a wonderful creative gift, which is your ability to articulate your thoughts, ideas, memories and emotions in beautiful, evocative words. Using your talent, you can 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 4 will ensure that you gain a new audience for your poetry, but that's not the most important aim! Better than this ... your poems will be helping to raise much needed funds to support children in crisis. You will also maintain ownership of your poem, and Wheelsong Books will protect and administer your copyright for you.
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. 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 almost two thirds of featured poets do not purchase a copy of the anthologies once they have been published!). Please give more than you take.
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. Please do not send in work that has been published elsewhere, or is subject to another publishing contract. That could lead to a law suit. The editorial team will reject poems if we suspect they have been either plagiarised, or generated by artificial intelligence.
Thirdly, submit up to 3 poems as either plain text or in a Word file via email to this 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 other sites. And before you ask: There is no specific theme.
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 on Tuesday 2 April. Any submissions received after this date will be rejected. If there is an extension to this date, you will be informed. The editors' decisions are final.
NB: 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 point them 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
