How to submit your work to the White Lily Society
What to submit, how to submit, and everything in between.
Are you… a chronic yearner? A hopeless romantic? Addicted to tragedy? The sweetest beast around? Prone to whimsy? Then the White Lily Society is looking for you!
A little birdie told us that you want to submit your work to the White Lily Society. Great news! That’s a completely feasible quest, as the White Lily Society is indeed open to submissions. We are always looking for new magnificent writing, artwork, photography and anything else you could ever imagine by young, passionate creatives. This post will cover what we’re looking for, the terms of submission, and how to submit your work.
Now, let’s get acquainted, shall we?
This post was last updated on: the 6th of August, 2025.
LIMITED TIME SUBMISSION PROMPT: closing August 31st.
The theme is… Death and the Maiden! Time to have a Danse Macabre of one’s own. Take a sip of absinthe and wander down the dark paths of your imagination; imagine a whirl-wind romance with Death, think about the Intersection of Love and Violence(tm), or weep for a tenderness lost out on. Drive yourself towards Dionysian frenzy. Cast yourself as a Beauty, a Maiden, a Psyche, a Persephone, or even their loathsome counterparts. Pick your poison, little dove. Ingest it wisely.
“Lord Death came close to me. I could feel no heat from him, hear no breath in his lung. He was utterly still beside me, but there was a strange comfort in that stillness. It was as if he had eternity to stand beside me, and forever to listen. There was no time or motion to disturb us.”
by Martine Leavitt, from “Keturah and Lord Death” (2006)
☆ Getting inspired: Once the feast is over, see what fragile bones can be fished out of the remains. Cast a divination of katabasis, martyrdom, and succulent compassion. Have a dance with Death, tug at the edges of your own Maidenhood. Turn your piercing gaze towards both Beauty and the Beast. Look at fairytales and the tension they carry in their grotesque human/animal relationships. Wonder: What is your own relationship with Death like, personified or not? How can Death be seductive? What does it mean to hold space for the monster? Is there courage in being the lamb rather than the lion? What could persuade you to not look at the skeletons in Bluebeard’s closet? All manner of work is welcome, whether old or new, written or otherwise, personal or fictional.
See you in the underworld…
REGULAR SUBMISSION GUIDE.
I. What we’re looking for
I.I Types of work
☆ Writing: we are always looking for new poetry, essays (personal and otherwise), short stories, excerpts, and non-fiction writing, including reviews (yes, all you bonafide critics are welcome).
☆ Other: we are open to submissions of all other art forms including but not limited to photography, short films, performance art, graphic design, multimedia art, and crafts. For physical works this means sending in images of your work as you would display it in a portfolio.
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All submissions are intended for either the White Lily Society Substack and/or Instagram (depending on the piece). This will be discussed with you once your piece is accepted. If you have a preference for one or the other, feel free to include it with your submission.
I.II Themes and topics
☆ Don’t know what to submit? Here’s some clarification.
Think about the Intersection of Love and Violence. Example themes and topics include Romanticism, eroticism1, the Gothic, classic literature, girlhood, the esoteric and niche, the uncanny and the strange, mythology, vampires, necromancy or the afterlife, horror, Victorian times, the pre-raphaelites, feminism, history, occultism, philosophy, or pop culture.
The White Lily Society casts a wide net! Don’t see your preferred topics here? Don’t fret!
Alternatively, topics on the periphery of these are pretty much all welcomed. The ideas at the core of the White Lily Society are versatile and adaptable, and our audience have broad tastes. For a deeper understanding, you could peruse the masterlist of tWLS' short write-ups or the masterlist of past newsletters to get an idea of some of the topics we’ve written about in the past.
Note that these can be repeated! If you see we’ve written about something, but you have something to add, it’s still a valid submission. If in doubt, submit anyways. It really can’t hurt! Pinkie promise.
II. Technicalities and Terms
☆ Submissions are currently unpaid, but thoroughly credited.
II.I Credit
It’s a great source of pride that the White Lily Society is always extremely precise in accrediting works posted to their proper creators wherever possible. This attitude extends to direct submissions as well.
All Substack posts will be credited to you as a guest collaborator in the byline, which means your name will be listed as the author/creator of your submission. This also includes theoretical artist statements, background, and bio’s.
On Instagram you can expect roughly three to four kinds of credit per post, an example of which can be seen below. Once again, this is all subject to discussion. If you have preferences for how your submission is displayed, do not hesitate to include it in your submission itself.
II.II Other Terms
You may withdraw your work at any time, and for any reason. In submitting to the White Lily Society you retain ownership of your work. Multiple submissions are allowed. Previously published stuff is allowed, just make sure the first publisher allows simultaneous publishing of work.
Note: We will not ever attempt to make money off of your submissions without (1) your explicit permission, and (2) splitting revenues with you. If at any time we wish to advertise using your piece etc. this will be discussed in full, ie. we will cross that bridge once we get there. For now though, the White Lily Society is currently a one-woman-run-community and any funding is coming out of own pocket.
III. How to Submit
☆ Now that you’ve had a read of all of that, you’re now hopefully ready to submit your work!
💌 Any and all submissions can be sent to thewhitelilysociety@gmail.com
Submission e-mail checklist
Subject line formatting. [SUBMISSION], GENRE, ‘TITLE OF WORK’.
e.g. [SUBMISSION], Poem, ‘Fear is a Fig’
Artist Bio. You are highly encouraged to include some sort of artist background or personal bio to be displayed alongside your work. This could contain some information about you, your name, age, location, inspirations, social media handles, or anything else you see fit. Anonymous submissions are allowed.
Ekphrasis or exegis. Where relevant we would like to see an explanation of the work (themes, materials, or other relevant details) and/or some background information, quotes, inspiration etc to include. This is especially relevant for submissions shared to Instagram, whether artwork or writing.
Cover Image. Work for Substack should include a cover image of some sort, which you either have the rights to, is copyright free, or is properly sourced and credited.
Formatting. Make sure your work is formatted correctly and requires no or minimal editing. If you’re afraid e-mail might mess up formatting (such as with curiously spaced poems), don’t be afraid to attach your work as a pdf to the e-mail.
Multiple submissions. If you are submitting multiple things at a time, please consider giving each their own e-mail, just for clarity’s sake. It’s greatly appreciated.
Please note that submissions are not guaranteed to be accepted, and only successful submissions will receive a response. If your work does not get accepted, that simply means it was not the right fit for the White Lily Society at this current time. Don’t be afraid to try again later. We promise we won’t bite (unless… you’re into that?).
In submitting your work you certify that you have read and accepted the above information. If anything is unclear, do not hesitate to reach out via the e-mail above or Instagram DM to thewhitelilysociety.
Happy submitting!
x the White Lily Society, White Lily Society links
The White Lily Society is dedicated to the Intersection of Love and Violence. Come, become a martyr of deliciousness. Join the White Lily Society today.
Referring to Georges Bataille’s book ie. eroticism is the method through which humans as discontinues beings reach for a continuous experience through ancient universal principles (sex, taboo, death, violence, transgression, etc.).
We do not accept work that goes against Substack and/or Instagram’s content policies. We know these platforms have vague policies. If in doubt, we can help navigate how and if your work is appropriate when it is accepted.