Anthologies, once a staple of genre publishing, have become a rarity at major publishing houses over the past couple of decades.

Vanity anthologies are a popular way for unscrupulous companies to make money on writers’ hunger for publication. By far the most common vanity anthology scheme is the free contest scheme, in which writers are enticed to enter poems or stories in a competition, and then pressured–though usually not required–to buy the anthologies in which their work appears.

Page updated/Links checked 12/20/23 The Contest Scheme “Contributor” Anthologies Resources A pay-to-play anthology is an anthology where the writer must hand over money in some form in order to be included–whether handing over a fee, buying copies, or purchasing some other good or service. No reputable anthologist or publisher has such requirements. Because their profit […]

Once upon a time, there was an infamous vanity anthology company called the International Library of Poetry, also known by the name of its website, Poetry.com.

What You’ll Find on This Website There are sharks in the literary waters. Deceptions abound, from fee-charging literary agents, to dishonest freelance editors, to predatory vanity publishers, to fake contests, to imposter scams, to ripoff schemes targeted at self-published authors. Add to that the complications of copyright, the plethora of dubious writers’ services, and the […]

Page updated/links checked 12/17/23 Predatory Contests and Awards Contest and Award Profiteers Is It Worth It? Assessing Contests and Awards Resources There are hundreds of literary contests and awards. Many are real; some are prestigious. But others are either exploitative or pointless. And some are outright scams. Predatory Contests and Awards Predatory contests and awards […]

Every January, I look back over this blog and pick out what I think were the most useful, interesting, and/or important posts of the previous year. Here goes.

If you’ve been reading this blog for long, you may have guessed that I’m not a big fan of writing contests.

Writer Beware hears from a fair number poets. Much of the time, they’re contacting us to ask about self-publishing, or to check the reputation of a journal or a contest. Sometimes, unfortunately, they’ve gotten mixed up with one of the vanity anthology companies, such as Eber and Wein.

Somewhere during the summer, when I got the latest “I can’t sell this” from an agent, I realized, “You can’t, but I can.” I have not looked back since.