Submissions are OPEN for our 2021 anthology, The Book of Bad Betties.
Deadline: 30th April
Editors: VANESSA KISUULE and ANJA KONIG
We’re looking for poems that pay tribute to the women who’ve changed our lives—whether yours personally, or the wider world’s. From your mum to Marsha P Johnson, Enheduanna to Joan of Arc, Maya Angelou to Marlene Dietrich. We want to hear about the baddasses, the queens, the upstarts, the legends, the bosses, the matriarchs, the hellraisers, the darlings, the dames.
We aim to represent a broad range of poetic styles and approaches, so roam wild and take this wherever you want.
If your work’s chosen, you’ll receive a copy of the book and a £50 fee, and be invited to perform at an online launch in September.
Submission guidelines
- Please send 1-3 poems (in a single PDF or Word doc) to submissions.badbettypress@gmail.com
- Please use 2021 Anthology as your email subject
- We’re looking for work that has not been previously published (in a book, magazine or on social media – screenshare during online events is fine)
- There’s no line limit or requirements for font or contact details
- Submissions are welcome from anywhere in the world
- The deadline is Midnight, 30th April — poems sent after this won’t be read
The best way to get an idea of the kind of work we like is to read our books. (We don’t require any purchase and it won’t affect your chances of selection, but it will help to keep us in business and support indie publishing.) After sending work, you’ll get an immediate response confirming that we’ve received your submission. We’re aiming to make decisions and respond to everyone by July. If you have a question about submissions, please get in touch at info@badbettypress.com If you’re waiting to hear back about a pamphlet or collection submission, there’s more information here.
About the editors
Vanessa Kisuule is a writer and performer based in Bristol. She has won over ten slam titles including The Roundhouse Slam 2014, Hammer and Tongue National Slam 2014 and the Nuoryican Poetry Slam. She has been featured on BBC iPlayer, Radio 1, and Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Blue Peter, Don’t Flop and TEDx in Vienna. She has appeared at an array of festivals and was Glastonbury Festival’s Resident Poet in 2019. She has been invited to perform all over the world, from Belgium to Brazil to Bangladesh. Her poem on the historic toppling of Edward Colston’s statue ‘Hollow’ gained over 600,000 views on Twitter in three days. She has two poetry collections published by Burning Eye Books and her work was Highly Commended in the Forward Poetry Prize Anthology 2019. She has written for publications including The Guardian, NME and Lonely Planet and toured her one woman theatre show ‘SEXY’ in 2017. She was the Bristol City Poet for 2018 – 2020 and is currently working on an essay collection and her debut novel.
Anja grew up in the German language and now writes in English. Her first full collection, Animal Experiments, was published by Bad Betty Press in 2020, and was selected by The Telegraph as their poetry book of the month. Her first pamphlet Advice for an Only Child, from flipped eye, was shortlisted for the 2015 Michael Marks prize. She is looking forward to meeting the baddest betties in your submissions.
