League Anthology 2026

Rules and Guidelines

• 5,000 word maximum, hard limit

• Poetry, flash fiction, short stories, and personal essays welcome

• All genres

• Submissions must:

  • Be in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format

  • Use a 12-point Times New Roman

  • Be double-spaced with one-inch margins

  • Contain no personal identifying information, including author name, anywhere in the file (including the file name)

• Unpublished works only

• Do not send work generated or assisted by AI

• Multiple submissions: No 

  • Please send us your best work—only one entry per author

  • A set of up to four short, related poems, such as a series of haikus that build on each other, may be considered one entry. Such entries will be accepted or rejected as a set. Submit all poems on the same document. Do not submit unrelated poems as a set. 

• Simultaneous submissions: Yes

  • We particularly encourage you to also submit your work to the League of Utah Writers Woolley Awards Contest, for which your work will still be eligible even if selected for inclusion in Humanity Through a Lens.

  • If your piece is accepted for publication elsewhere before Humanity Through a Lens selections are made, please email publishing@leagueofutahwriters.org right away to withdraw your piece from consideration.

• You must be a League of Utah Writers member in good standing for the entirety of the publication process (November 2024 - August 2025) 

  • If you are not sure if your membership is active, please email president@leagueofutahwriters.org

  • You can also renew your membership early at https://www.leagueofutahwriters.com/join-renew. Renewing early will add a year on to your previous expiration date, so you won’t lose any of the time you’ve paid for.

• All entries will be judged anonymously. Selection criteria will include adherence to formatting requirements, publishing readiness, connection to the theme, and overall narrative quality.

• We are not looking for stories which include graphic rape and/or sexual assault, or which promote ableism, racism, sexism, homophobia, or transphobia

Authors of selected submissions will receive a digital copy of the anthology and two tickets to the anthology launch party.
No monetary compensation is being offered at this time.