Call for poetry submissions: Furies

“They [the Furies] who with awful brows investigate men’s crimes and sift out ancient wrongs.”

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For Books’ Sake are calling all self-identifying women writers to take on the mantle of the Furies and right the wronged. Furies, a poetry anthology featuring established and emerging voices from all over the globe, will be published by For Books’ Sake in Autumn 2014.

We’re looking for poems about rebels and heroines from all walks of life – women who inspire, struggle and create – and your poetry can reflect any interpretation of the concept you consider relevant.

So whether you’re celebrating the bravery of those fighting for equality now, exploring the mystery of the missing Mrs Lear or composing a heartfelt treaty on an issue close to your heart, we can’t wait to read your work.

Women writers should submit a maximum of three poems, each no longer than 40 lines. The deadline for submissions is midnight on Sunday 30th March 2014.

The very best will be featured in the Furies poetry anthology, and selected contributors will be contacted by the end of April.

All profits from Furies will be donated to Rape Crisis, an independent, registered charity that provides “frontline, specialised, independent and confidential support services for women and girls of all ages who have experienced any form of sexual violence at any time in their lives.”

Approximately 85,000 women are raped on average in England and Wales every year, with over 400,000 women sexually assaulted each year. But despite these stats, alongside a reported 40% increase in calls to the national Rape Crisis helpline last year, many rape crisis centres are under threat of closure from lack of funding.

So in recognition and support of their incredible and essential work, For Books’ Sake will be donating all profits from Furies to Rape Crisis.

To submit a poem, writers are requested to make a donation of £1 per poem or £2 for three poems. If for any reason your financial circumstances make this difficult, please send the For Books’ Sake team an email.

For full terms and conditions and details of how to enter, please visit the Furies submissions page.

This is a guest post by Ali Williams on behalf of For Books’ Sake, the UK webzine, community and independent press dedicated to promoting and celebrating writing by women.

[The image is a photograph of a magnetic poetry set, with lots of different words cut out, in black and white. The poetry pieces are placed on the inside pages of a French language dictionary. It was taken by Natalie Roberts and is used under a Creative Commons Licence]