2026 Iconic: The Anthology of Erie Poets
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Iconic: The Anthology of Erie Poets is a forthcoming poetry anthology featuring the work of poets located or with roots in Erie, Pennsylvania.
A collaboration between the Gannon University English Department and NWPA Poetry, the anthology highlights the iconic people and vibrant poetic textures that weave between lake effect snow; stark, industrial spaces; and brilliant, summertime waves.
In doing so, it develops a canon of contemporary and historical Erie-based poets and brings out the the history of Erie, its culture, its natural wonder, and its optimistic future. It is a collaboration that unites voices across the local, cultural spectrum and breathes life into iconic representations of our high-spirited, lakefront community.
There are no restrictions on content. Your work does not need to focus on Erie as its subject or occasion. The goal is to highlight Erie poets and poets with ties to Erie, PA.
We are interested in work from poets of all backgrounds, including poets of color, queer poets, disabled poets, unhoused and previously unhoused poets, and economically disadvantaged poets. We want to read and curate work that represents all of Erie.
If you have any questions, please contact Clayton Bradshaw-Mittal at bradshaw013@gannon.edu.
Deadline: August 15th
Eligibility
Poetry submitted must be written by a current or former resident of Erie County, Pennsylvania.
Poems may have been previously published elsewhere, but rights to the work must have reverted back to the poet before submission.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please withdraw the poem if it is accepted elsewhere. If one poem in a packet of several poems is accepted elsewhere, do not withdraw the entire packet. Instead, leave a message on your submission with the poem you are withdrawing or email Clayton Bradshaw-Mittal at bradshaw013@gannon.edu.
If you have any questions about eligibility, please email Clayton Bradshaw-Mittal at bradshaw013@gannon.edu.
Formatting and Guidelines
You may submit up to ten pages of poetry. Each poem must begin on a new page.
Submit the work as a Word doc or PDF. Remember that a PDF will preserve any unique formatting.
You may submit as many times as you'd like, but remember that selection for publication will be restricted to a few poems to allow for as many voices as possible.
If you would like to make edits to a poem already submitted, please withdraw the entire submission and re-submit.
Selection Process
All submissions are read concealed by faculty and students at Gannon University, alongside volunteer readers who have not submitted to the Anthology. After the first round of reading and recommendations, the editor (Clayton Bradshaw-Mittal) will select the final set of work to be included in the Anthology.
If any reader is familiar with the work they are asked to read and judge, then they will recuse themself from the process for that poem.
All work is considered at the aesthetic of the poem. There is not a singular form or feature that distinguishes itself as an overarching aesthetic in the Anthology. Erie is a county with a wonderfully varied set of poetic talent, and this Anthology seeks to represent this.
If you have any questions, please email Clayton Bradshaw-Mittal at bradshaw013@gannon.edu.