Before submitting your poetry letter, read it a few times, silently and then aloud. Reading your letters aloud helps you catch any mistakes. You may submit up to 3 poetry letters for consideration. If you send multiple letters, present them all in one Word or PDF document.
Youth Poetry Letters will publish two inspiring poetry anthologies:
Volume 1 - PUBLISHED! In partnership with Vallejo Teaching Artist, will feature youth from Vallejo, CA.
Volume 2 invites youth outside of Vallejo, including participants from around the globe.
It is open to anyone up to age 21.
Publication Date Volume 2 December 2025 or sooner.
IMPORTANT! ***Please note that a parent or guardian must submit all work for any student under the age of 18 years. The submission of your poetry letters indicates that a parent, guardian, and youth submitter agree to their letter being published in the upcoming anthology. The letter may be typed, handprinted, or written in cursive; however, adjustments may be made if the handwritten submission is unreadable. Typed is preferable.
When submitting content for the Youth Poetry Letters Project, it is essential to ensure that the work is entirely original and not copied, AI-generated, or plagiarized from any other source. The parent and student contributor, upon submitting work, declare that the content is solely the student's own and take full responsibility if it is found to be plagiarized or copied.
Youth Poetry Letters project reserves the right to hold onto personal information such as the writer's/parents' name and email address as part of the submission process. This information will be stored for the submission process and the period of publication or broadcast, should the content be accepted. Writers also consent to receive status updates regarding their submitted work, including confirmation of receipt, acceptance, or non-acceptance.
It's important to note that Youth Poetry Letters, Jacalyn Eyvonne, and Kathleen Herrmann cannot be held liable for any issues arising from the use of copied or plagiarized content, and the onus is entirely on the writer or contributor to ensure that their work is original. By submitting only original work, we can ensure the project's integrity.
Please provide full name of the parent/guardian, email address, the student's full first and last name, and the grade level of the submitter of the poetry letters if applicable. If you submit a handprinted or cursive letter, only sign with your first name and grade level and include your full name in the submission box below.
Publication of your letters by Youth Poetry Letters will not impair your right to distribute your work elsewhere, either online or in print. However, we request that if you submit, you allow us to retain the right to be the first to publish your letter in our anthology. After which, we understand that our publication is just one potential avenue for your writing and that you may wish to pursue multiple channels for your work after publication.
Please note that we may also edit your work at our discretion to ensure that it meets our publication standards or if handwritten submissions are unclear or unreadable. Please trust that we will always strive to maintain the integrity and coherence of your writing. Further, submitting indicates your understanding that not all submissions may be selected for publication depending on the number of submissions received.
PLEASE INCLUDE THE NAME OF THE PARENT/GUARDIAN, THE YOUTH SUBMITTER, GRADE LEVEL, AND THE TITLE (IF APPLICABLE) ON EACH PAGE'S HEADER BEING SUBMITTED.
You may upload your file by attaching it below or emailing it to Poetry@youthpoetryletters.com.
The completed anthology will be available in many locations where books are sold, and purchasing is optional.
Submitting confirms that you have read and understand the submission Terms and Conditions.
If accepted you will receive an electronic publishing agreement for signature.
Please retain a copy of our submission guidelines for your records.
