The 2024 Authors in Bloom Anthology will center around the theme:

“Growth, Change, and Becoming.”

Think personal transformation, emotional seasons, healing, blooming, unraveling, starting over, and stepping into your truth.

This theme is intentionally broad, so poets can explore it from any angle—grief, love, identity, nature, rebirth, or resilience. Whether your poems are tender, bold, vulnerable, or powerful, you’ll have a place in this garden of voices.

You’re free to explore any theme in your personal chapbook, but to be featured in the collaborative anthology, at least 5 of your poems should connect to the theme:
“Growth, Change, and Becoming.”

Here are a few guiding ideas:

• What are you learning to let go of?

• Who are you becoming?

• What does healing look like for you?

• How has nature mirrored your internal journey?

• What does blooming feel like in your body, mind, or relationships?

No, it doesn’t. You are welcome to choose any theme you wish. We just ask that 5 of your poems fit the theme of “blooming” for the anthology. You’re welcome to center your chapbook around that theme or create something entirely different.

May is focused solely on you writing your poems. There is an additional 2-3 months for the additional features, like the anthology, feedback on your poems, creating your chapbook, and publishing your chapbook.

• Aspiring poets or new authors who want to quickly publish a poetry book.

• Writers who want structure, support, and accountability as they create.

• Poets excited to participate in a creative, collaborative, and community-based project.

• Anyone who dreams of holding a professionally published book with their name on the cover.

• Writers who already have a complete poetry manuscript and need full-service publishing — check out our Self-Publishing Packages instead.

• Individuals seeking a highly customized or artistic cover design — we recommend hiring our Book Cover Designer separately.

• Poets who want very specific formatting or advanced layout features.

If you still want to join Authors in Bloom, but add on additional services, please contact us and we’ll create for you a custom experience with a custom price.

We offer three flexible payment plans:

1. One-Time Payment: $250 due at sign-up.

2. Two Payments of $125: First due at sign-up, second by May 31.

3. Three Monthly Payments of $84: First due at sign-up; remaining links will be emailed monthly.

You’ll receive links for your second/third payments via email if you choose a plan.

Simply email your daily poems to info@jackwildpublishing.co. You can send them daily or weekly. Either is fine!

Nope! While the challenge encourages consistent writing, you don’t have to write daily. Some poets prefer to write in batches or revise older drafts. You just need 20–30 polished poems by your final submission date.

Yes! If you have already written poems that fit the theme of “blooming,” feel free to add them to your collection, as long as they have never been published.

Once your final draft is submitted, we’ll get to work! Your chapbook will be formatted and designed. You will receive a book cover questionnaire, so we can create your cover. We’ll also select 5 poems to include in our anthology. And you will receive feedback on 5 poems of your choice by Christopher Poindexter.

While the writing challenge runs during May, you have up to 2–3 months after May 31 to finalize and submit your manuscript. We want your work to feel complete - not rushed!

Yes! You’ll get a book cover questionnaire so we can design a cover that fits your style. You’ll choose your images, colors, fonts, own book title, and have the chance to approve your final cover.

Each poet will receive a professionally designed book cover customized to match their style and poetry collection. After signing up, you’ll complete a book cover questionnaire to help us understand your preferences.

We use high-quality stock photography, fonts, and design elements to create a beautiful, print-ready cover with the book title of your choice. You’ll be able to review and approve the design before publication.

If you’d like to upgrade to a fully custom design service, we’re happy to refer you to our cover designer for additional support and pricing.

Yes! You are welcome to submit original artwork, photography, or illustrations for your book cover—as long as it is your own or you have full rights to use it.

Please make sure any files are high-resolution so we can format them properly for print. We’ll provide specific file dimensions and guidelines if you choose to go this route.

We're happy to incorporate your art into the full wraparound design or build a cover around your image with custom typography.

⚠️ Note: We cannot accept images or artwork generated by AI tools (like Midjourney or DALL·E) unless you have the proper commercial rights and license to use them in a published product.

Your author branding experience starts with a short aesthetic quiz to help us get a feel for your voice, visual style, and the kind of emotions your poetry evokes. Based on your answers, we’ll create:

• 🎨 A custom mood board (colors, fonts, imagery)

• 🪞 A branding snapshot with actionable steps for how to visually represent yourself as a poet online (think: Instagram, website, or book promo)

• ✨ Guidance on how to carry your look and tone into future books, social media posts, and author pages

This is a foundational branding experience—perfect for poets building their author presence for the first time or refreshing their creative identity.

You’ll receive written feedback on 5 of your poems, directly from Christopher Poindexter.

His notes will focus on:

• 💬 The emotional impact of your work

• ✍️ Suggestions for refining voice, line breaks, and clarity

• 💡 Encouragement and insight into how your poems land with readers

Feedback will be delivered via email before the final submission deadline, giving you time to revise before publishing your chapbook and anthology pieces.

Note: You’ll choose which 5 poems to submit for feedback, and you’ll send them to us at info@jackwildpublishing.co when requested!

• Guided writing prompts and encouragement

• Feedback on 5 poems from Christopher Poindexter

• A custom mood board + branding plan

• Private group chat with our team + fellow poets

• Interior layout and formatting of your chapbook

• Full book cover design (title of your choice)

• Publishing your book on Amazon KDP

• Featuring 5 of your poems in the Authors in Bloom anthology

Because Authors in Bloom includes access to digital materials, editorial time, branding support, and limited community spots, all payments are non-refundable once you sign up.

If something urgent comes up, please contact us. While refunds aren’t available, we may be able to:

• Move you to a future round of the challenge

• Transfer your payment to another service

• Extend your submission deadlines if needed

We’ll always do our best to support you.

Yes! We offer two flexible options:

• 2 Payments of $125
  (First due at sign-up, second by May 31)

• 3 Monthly Payments of $84

If you need a custom plan, just email us and we’ll work something out!

You’ll receive a welcome email with next steps, including:

• A link to your author branding quiz

• Details on where and how to submit your poems

• A link to your book cover questionnaire

• An invitation to join our private group chat

• Timeline and resources to guide you

• A 20% coupon code off your next service at Jack Wild Publishing that never expires.