Into the Willows accepts poetry, reviews, fiction, and music in the genres of high fantasy, swords-and-sorcery, and historical fantasy. Please refer to the guidelines below for more details.
Poetry and Fiction
We like meaningful work that is image-oriented, melodious, and rooted in fantasy. Send us the laments of love-struck knights, dew-jewelled songs of faeries, arcane spells of warlocks, chants of epic battles, retold legends, and the decrees of queens. We adore poems/stories set in haunted oak groves, moonlit herb gardens, and musty castles, and we’d especially like to see well-crafted rondeaus, ballades, and virelais, though free verse poems are excellent as well. Maidens, wyverns, magic swords, potions, goblins, mysterious brews, archers, and even the occasional unicorn are also welcome here. Most importantly, take us somewhere with your works, to another realm, the realm beyond: take us into the willows. We don’t want works that are gory for goriness’ sake or that are sexually explicit. Please don’t send us science fiction or horror. We are not currently open to urban fantasy.
Send 3-5 poems, or up to 3 short stories (max word count: 5000 per piece) along with a brief bio in the body of an email to intothewillowssubmissions [at] gmail [dot] com. (You will receive an email saying that we got your submission. If you don’t get this email, please send your submission again!) Please no reprints or simultaneous submissions. We request first-time publishing rights and indefinite online archival rights; all other rights revert back to the author upon publication. Attachments will not be opened.
Reviews
Into the Willows welcomes original reviews of fantasy novels, short stories, movies, magazines, and related media. Please keep your submission between 500-1000 words, and send it in the body of the email to the address listed above.
Music
We also accept submissions of fantasy-themed music, evoking a medieval, Celtic, New Age, Gregorian, or Renaissance aesthetic. Music must be either original compositions or performances of songs that no longer have copyright (such as Scarborough Faire or Greensleeves), and the music must be uploaded to YouTube like this. If it contains images, please ensure that you have the copyright of those images or that the images no longer are copyrighted. Send a brief bio, description of/inspiration for the song, and a link to its YouTube location to the email listed above.
A Word About Payment and Rights
At this time, we do not offer payment for contributions. This magazine is run as a labor of love and for the enjoyment of poetry and art. Since we take first publishing rights and infinite online archival rights, you will be able to market your work after publication here only as a reprint. Reprints are open to fewer publishing markets and receive less pay than do never-before-published works. Thus, before submitting to us, please consider whether giving up your first publishing rights to a non-paying magazine is what best suits you. Thank you!
Into the Willows 