Overview
We invite all Wolfson College members – staff, students, Fellows, Senior Members, alumni, and residential partners – to submit an original poem for consideration.
You can read the previous editions of our WolfWords anthologies online.
The anthology includes a small number of original artworks, either in association with a submitted poem or as an independent response to this year’s theme. The deadline and schedule is the same as for the poetry, but via a separate form.
The deadline for all submissions is Friday 27 March, and the anthology will be published in both online and print form before the end of Easter term 2026.
Getting Going
There will be a Poetry Writing Workshop in Lent term (date to be announced) to help inspire and prompt writing on the theme. Seasoned poets and shy beginners all welcome!
Submitting work
You may submit work at any time from now until the deadline of 18.00 on Friday 27 March 2026.
We also ask you to supply a brief third-person biography, to give readers a sense of who you are and why you write, as well as your affiliation to Wolfson.
Guidelines: poetry
- This year’s theme – 'lost and found' – is intended a stimulus and a springboard! Your work might explore either or both words, and, as every year, we look forward to seeing the interesting directions that our poets and artists take.
- The submission must be entirely your own work and should be previously unpublished. We do not require exclusive rights, and you are free to publish your work elsewhere after the publication of the Wolfson anthology.
- Poems should not exceed 30 lines. (And short poems are very acceptable, too!) Please note, too, that if your poem is near the limit but has generally long lines, then it may not be acceptable because some lines will run over on the printed page.
- Normally we will not publish more than one poem from any writer. We would make an exception for a sequence of short poems, but the 30-line limit will still apply to the entire sequence. We do encourage you to choose just one piece that you really like for submission. However, if you are unable to decide, you may submit two poems for consideration.
- Your poem should ideally be in English, but if it is in another language, please supply a translation via email.
- To submit your poetry, please complete this form.
Guidelines: artwork
- Artwork may accompany a poem you have submitted, or be a standalone piece. It may be a photograph or in any other art medium, but must be entirely your own work.
- Again, this year’s theme – Lost and Found – is intended a stimulus and a springboard! Your work might explore either or both words, and, as every year, we look forward to seeing the interesting directions that our poets and artists take.
- To submit artwork, please complete this form, and then send your image(s) to sro@wolfson.cam.ac.uk with the subject, ‘Anthology Artwork Submission’. Artwork must be supplied as a high-resolution image.
If your work is selected
- We will be in touch towards the end of April, to let you know whether or not your work has been selected.
- If your work is selected, we may have some queries or editorial suggestions for you. If that is the case, we will let you know about these at the same time as the notification, and will need a prompt response.
- We will send you a final proof for checking before the anthology goes to print, and will ask you to approve or send any final corrections. The timeframe for this is likely to be fairly short, so you will need to keep an eye on your inbox!
- PLEASE NOTE: that if your work is selected, there will need to be timely communication with us during the editorial and production process. Otherwise, it may not be possible to include your work.
- The anthology will be published towards the end of Easter term, with a launch planned during May week. If your work is selected, we will ask if you are able to attend and read at the launch. This year we plan to have a selection of recorded readings on the Poetry page of the College website, along with the digital version of the anthology. We will let you know nearer the time how to submit a recording if you would like to do that.
Contact
If you have any questions about the project, please get in touch with Caroline Banerjee, our Student Recruitment Officer: sro@wolfson.cam.ac.uk.
