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!
So, a little birdie told me 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’re 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 3rd of February, 2025.
LIMITED TIME SUBMISSION PROMPT: closing February 28th.
The theme is… fairytales, folktales, and traditional storytelling. All different types of gold-spun submissions are allowed, including visual art, essays, short stories, poems, and photography (as well as previously published work!). So take a restful nap in the forest, and see what emerges from your mind.
“The latent content of those traditional stories … is violently sexual and violently sexist. But the reappropriation of traditional stories, however pessimistic, can also be a means of reclaiming the dark, the sensual, and the fantastic as part of female imagination”
by Angela Carter, from “the Sadeian Woman & the Ideology of Pornography”, 1979
☆ Getting inspired: Think about the shared cultural iconography of fairytales (the magic mirror, the red riding hood, the spinning wheel), think about Sleeping Beauty, about the love for the wolf. Think of Angela Carter’s work, especially “the Bloody Chamber” (1979), think about Perrault, and Grimm, and Andersen. Think of those local folktales that filled your childhood ears with wonder and fear. Question if a modern tale of suffering could ever be wrapped up into a delicate fairytale. Think about all little ways fantasy bleeds into our world from the outside, those storybook moments that make us wonder. What moral guidelines would a damsel in distress require today? Do the woods still brim with traitors and thieves? Could a kissed frog become a prince?
Oh, what big claws you have!— All the better to create with.
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.
~~~
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 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.