Poetry Competitions, Submissions & Opportunities – January 2019

Happy New Year!

Time to hit the reset button on your poetry goals with the January poetry list – over 110 poetry competitions, writing submissions and opportunities open or with deadlines in January 2019!

January can often feel like a bit of a let down after all the holiday festivities so I thought I’d try something a little different to kick-start the year – a 30 day challenge with a series of daily writing prompts to spark the imagination and get those creative juices flowing.

Welcome to the #JanuaryWriteOff!

All you have to do is set aside 15 minutes each day and free-write around that day’s prompt. The challenge isn’t about producing finished work but about playing with ideas and trying something new. By the end of the month, at the very least you’ll have a whole bunch of new first drafts and have made a productive start to 2019!

Here’s what to do:

1. Download the prompt image below – save to your laptop, phone or device, or print out and pin up in your writing spot.
2. Share the image on social media with the hashtag #JanuaryWriteOff and tag @adreamingskin.
3. Join the Facebook group for daily encouragement and to share your experiences: https://www.facebook.com/groups/januarywriteoff/
4. Write every day!

Will you join me???

Whether writing or submitting poetry this January, best of luck!

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January 2019

Boyne Berries – Poetry, Fiction – closes 2 Jan (submit online)

Rabbit Poetry – Poetry, theme: Tense – closes 4 Jan (submit online)

SAND – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Artwork – closes 5 Jan (submit online)

Arvon Mentoring Programme – Poetry, Fiction, Playwriting – closes 7 Jan (submit online)

Nazim Hikmet Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 7 Jan (submit online)

Brewery Lane Writers’ Weekend Bursary – Poetry, Fiction (unpublished/low income writers) – closes 9 Jan (submit online)

The Fresher Writing Prize – Poetry, Fiction – closes 9 Jan (submit online)

The Stinging Fly – Poetry, Fiction – closes 9 Jan (submit online)

Centre Culturel Irlandais Artist Residency – All genres – closes 10 Jan (submit online)

Full Bleed – Poetry, Fiction, Graphic Essays, Art & Illustration, theme: Machines – closes 10 Jan (submit online)

The Bangor Literary Journal – Poetry, Flash, Art – closes 10 Jan (submit online)

The Disquiet Prize Scholarship – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction – closes 10 Jan (submit online)

Magma Poetry Competition – Poetry – closes 12 Jan (submit online)

Munster Literature Centre Poetry Mentorship – Poetry, Flash, Art – closes 13 Jan (submit online)

Panning for Poems – Micro Poetry (3-8 lines) – closes 13 Jan (submit online)

Shepton Mallet Snowdrop Festival Poetry Competition – Poetry – closes 13 Jan (submit online)

The Colorado Prize for Poetry – Poetry manuscript (48-100 pages) – closes 14 Jan (submit online)

The Keats-Shelley Prize – Poetry, theme: Wandering or Fiery Dust – closes 14 Jan (submit online)

Writers in the Forest – Poetry, Spoken Word, Fiction, Essay – closes 14 Jan (submit online)

Rattle Chapbook Prize – Poetry (15-30 pages) – closes 15 Jan (submit online)

Rattle Instagram Poets – Poetry – closes 15 Jan (submit online)

Seashores Haiku Journal – Poetry – closes 15 Jan (submit online)

Slice Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, theme: Birth – closes 15 Jan (submit online)

Stephen A. DiBiase Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 15 Jan (submit online)

The Kundiman Retreat – Poetry, Fiction (Asian American writers only) – closes 15 Jan (submit online)

Vassar Review – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Art, theme: Fact, Fiction, Fabrication – closes 15 Jan (submit online)

Visual Verse – Poetry, Flash, Non-Fiction – closes 15 Jan (submit online)

Bothy Project Residency – All genres – closes 20 Jan (submit online)

Poems from Home – Poetry – closes 20 Jan (submit online)

Engage the City – Writers, Artist, Designers & Creatives – closes 21 Jan (submit online)

Finished Creatures – Poetry – closes 21 Jan (submit online)

Poetry Kit Winter Competition – Poetry – closes 22 Jan (submit online)

The Writers’ Cafe Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, theme: Letters – closes 22 Jan (submit online)

The A3 Review – Poetry, Flash, Art, theme: Top – closes 26 Jan (submit online)

The Well Review Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 26 Jan (submit online)

The Edward Thomas Fellowship Poetry Competition – Poetry – closes 26 Jan (submit online or by post)

Honest Ulsterman – Poetry, Fiction, Critical Writing – closes 21 Jan (submit online)

Amsterdam Quarterly – Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Art, theme: Media – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Leicester – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Essay – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Beech Street Review – Poetry – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Geoff Stevens Memorial Poetry Prize – Poetry manuscript (15 poems) – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Kent and Sussex Poetry Society Open Competition – Poetry – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Lunch Ticket – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Creative Non-fiction and more – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Mother’s Milk Books Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Neon Magazine – Poetry, Flash, Art and more, theme: Futurism – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Nothing Substantial – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Essays and more, theme: Self – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Not Very Quiet – Poetry, theme: Performing Gender (women/queer writers only) – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Ó Bhéal Five Words Annual Prize – Poetry – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Prole Laureate Poetry Competition – Poetry – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Room 204 Writer Development Programme – All genres (emerging writers living/working/studying in the West Midlands) – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Room Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Art – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

St Petroc’s Poetry Competition – Poetry, theme: Homeless – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Strix – Poetry, Fiction – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

SurVision Books – Poetry manuscripts (20 poem sample) – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Teignmouth Poetry Festival Open Competition – Poetry – closes 31 Jan (submit online and by post)

The Adroit Journal – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

The Bookends Review – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Art and more – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

The Butcher’s Dog – Poetry – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

The Deaf Poet’s Society – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Ideas, Art (seeking inter-sectional work from artists and writers who identify as Deaf, disabled, chronically ill, mentally ill, or neurodiverse) – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

The Iowa Review Awards – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Tigershark – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Non-fiction, Artwork, theme: Love and Hate – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Wannabe Cities: Dublin – Poetry, Fiction, Essay (strange/experimental/beautiful) – closes 31 Jan (submit online)

Eye Flash Poetry Journal – Poetry – closes 1 Feb (submit online)

Griffith Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Memoir and more, theme: Crimes & Punishment – closes 1 Feb (submit online)

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JOURNALS / OPPORTUNITIES WITH RECURRING DEADLINES 

Ó Bhéal Five Words – Poetry – deadline each week, annual prize (submit online)

Rattle: Poets Respond – Poetry, theme: current events – deadline each week (submit online)

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JOURNALS / OPPORTUNITIES WITH OPEN SUBMISSION PERIODS IN JANUARY:

FOURXFOUR – Poetry – closes 9 Feb (submit online)

Poetry Ireland Introductions – Poetry – closes 13 Feb (submit online)

Hippocrates Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 14 Feb (submit online)

The Blue Nib – Poetry manuscript (8 poems) – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Impossible Archetype – Poetry (LGBTQ+ only) – closes 1st Mar (submit online)

Listowel Writers’ Week Writing Competitions – Poetry, Fiction, Drama, Essay – closes 1st Mar (submit online)

2 Elizabeths – Poetry, Fiction, Flash – open (submit online)

400 & Falling – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Translation, Artwork (emerging writers)  – (submit online)

Acumen – Poetry – open (submit online)

Algebra of Owls – Poetry – open (submit online)

Apple Picking Press – Poetry – open (submit online)

A New Ulster – Poetry, Fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

Antiphon – Poetry – open (submit online)

Apartment Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)

Atrium – Poetry – open (submit online)

Bear Review – Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Artwork – open (submit online)

Brittle Star – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)

By and By Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)

Carve Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

Cheat River Review – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

Disclaimer Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Journalism, themes: Politics, Economics, Art – open (submit online)

Driftwood Press – Poetry, Fiction, Literary Criticism – open (submit online)

Fields Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

FIVE:2:ONE – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Artwork by underrepresented writers (POC, LGTBQ, non-binary, neurodivergent, trauma survivors etc.) – open (submit online)

GFT Press – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Non-fiction – open (submit online)

Gravel – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Creative Non-Fiction, Artwork – open (submit by post)

Guernica – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Photo Essays – open (submit by post)

HCE Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Photo Essays – open (submit online)

Hosking Houses Trust Residencies – Women writers over 40 (all genres – must have contract to publish / broadcast / perform) – open (submit online)

I Am Not A Silent Poet – Poetry, theme: protesting abuse – open (submit online)

Idler – Poetry, Fiction, Essays – open (submit online)

Inside the Bell Jar – Poetry, Fiction, theme: mental illness – open (submit online)

Irish Literary Review – Poetry – open (submit online)

Lighthouse Literary Journal – Poetry & Short Fiction – open (submit online)

LitMag – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Essays – open (submit online)

Memorius – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)

New Contrast – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)

Noepe Center Residency Program – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Memoir, Plays – open (submit online)

One – Poetry, a single poem – open (submit online)

PANK – Poetry – open (submit online)

Poetry Ireland Review – Poetry – open (submit by post)

Poetry Saltzburg – Poetry – open (submit by post or online)

Peepal Tree Press – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction manuscripts from Black & Carribean writers – open (submit online)

Rattle – Poetry – open (submit by post and online)

Riggwelter – Poetry, Short Fiction, Visual Art – open (submit online)

Shakespeare & Co Tumbleweeds Residency – all writers – open (submit online)

South Bank Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)

Spry Literary Journal – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Creative Non-fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

Squawk Back – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Reviews, Plays – open (submit online)

Stepaway Magazine – Poetry, Flash Fiction, theme: walking in the city – open (submit online)

The American Journal of Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)

The Brooklyn Quarterly – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Translation, Humour – open (submit online)

The Cardiff Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Flash (preference given to students and unpublished graduates of Creative Writing, English Literature & Journalism) – open (submit online)

The Collapsar – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

The Curlew – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, theme: the natural world – open (submit online)

The Curly Mind – Poetry, theme: experiemental – open (submit online)

The Ellis Review – Poetry, published weekly – open (submit online)

The Galway Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Reviews, Plays – open (submit online)

The Great American Literary Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Reviews, Plays – open (submit online)

The Lake – Poetry – open (submit online)

The Lascaux Review – Poetry, Fiction, Essays – open (submit online)

The MacGuffin – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

The Missouri Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

The Next Review – Poetry, Fiction, Reviews – open (submit online)

The Nottingham Review – Poetry & Fiction – open (submit online)

The Ofi Press Magazine – Poetry & Short Fiction – open (submit online)

The Quill Magazine – Poetry, Prose, All Genres (new writers only) – open (submit online)

The Sea Letter – Poetry, Fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

The Southeast Review – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Reviews, Artwork – open (submit online)

The Sun Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Interviews – open (submit online)

Three Drops From a Cauldron – Poetry, Flash, theme: Myth, Folklore, Fables, Fairytales – open (submit online)

Tinderbox Poetry Journal – Poetry – open (submit online)

Vending Machine Press – Poetry, Flash, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Essay – open (submit online)

Wildness – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

Best of luck!

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If you have a competition or journal with a deadline in January 2019, and it is not included above, feel free to add the details with a link in the comments section below!

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(Illustration by Nicole Ray via Etsy)

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Last-minute Christmas Gift: Poetry Mentoring Gift Voucher

If you’re stuck for a perfect gift for the poet in your life – or want to drop a hint to Santa for yourself – gift vouchers are available for my one-to-one poetry mentoring sessions.

Each session includes a preliminary report on up to 6 poems (or 150 lines), a one-hour mentoring session via Skype/phone and a follow up email with reading recommendations.

The voucher can be personalised and delivered by email, ready to be printed and popped into an envelope, ready for Christmas morning.

And if you’d like to know more about what to expect, here’s what one writer had to say about a recent poetry mentoring session:

‘I didn’t have any set expectations, but I did have hopes and these were more than matched by the turn of events. The initial written feedback immediately latched on to the problems that I was experiencing and the mentoring session advanced tidily from there into a detailed critical examination of my poems… It was pretty focused – sometimes very focused – on the details of how I could advance my skills and understanding of form and content. This focus was facilitated by the relaxed and discursive mode of joint examination of my poems. I got so involved that for a while I forgot the time and everything else really, becoming pretty well immersed in the liminal moment of it…which (speaking as a teacher myself) I think is pretty much exactly how teaching / learning events should be. I found it powerfully effective as a tool for opening up blockages in my own thinking process and revealing potential ways that I can advance my skill and understanding as a poetic writer.’

– C. Sparks, Co. Sligo

To book, go to the poetry mentoring page on my website OR just drop me a line!

Poetry Competitions, Submissions & Opportunities – December 2018

December, again – where did the year go? If you’ve been promising yourself this would be the year to finally send out your work, there’s still time!! Here are over 120 poetry competitions, writing submissions and opportunities open or with deadlines in December – so get cracking and end the year in style.

2018 has been a bumper year here on the blog, with almost double the number of readers as last year! I’ve been thinking for a while that I’d like to expand the site to provide even more advice, information and resources to help poets with writing and publication and I’ll post more about that anon.

In the meantime, I’d like to thank you all for your support and hope these lists have helped you find homes for your work. If you’re in a position to give back (see below) it would be very much appreciated.

And as you’re ticking off your Christmas shopping list, don’t forget to support writers and small presses. Poetry makes the perfect stocking filler:

https://www.bustle.com/p/8-reasons-to-give-the-gift-of-poetry-this-season-13046340

Wishing you all a happy holiday season and the very best of luck. See you in 2019!

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Creating this list is a labour of love, taking the best part of 20 hours to source, organise and write each month. If you find it useful and would like to show your appreciation, click the button below and make a small contribution toward a writer’s necessities of life, like:

€1.00 (a cheeky wee bar of chocolate or a new pen)
€3.00 (a piping hot creamy latte or a new notebook)
€5.00 (a lovely cold pint of Guinness or a competition entry)
€10.00 (a scrumptious pizza or a new book)

You’re a star, thank you. May all your poems be award-winning instant classics!

(Click on links below for info)

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December 2018

Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize – Poetry manuscript (48-88 pages) – closes 1 Dec (submit online)

Doolin Writer’s Competition – Poetry, Fiction – closes 1 Dec (submit online)

Foglifter – Poetry, Prose, Cross-genre (especially queer, cross-genre, intersectional, marginal, and transgressive work) – closes 1 Dec (submit online)

Heron Tree – Poetry – closes 1 Dec (submit online)

Hot Metal Bridge – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Artwork – closes 1 Dec (submit online)

Porter Gulch Literary and Arts Journal – Poetry, Fiction, Plays, Artwork – closes 1 Dec (submit online)

Tammy – Poetry, Prose, Artwork – closes 1 Dec (submit online)

Peter Porter Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 3 Dec (submit online)

Ralph Gustafson Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 3 Dec (submit online)

Three Drops from the Cauldron – Poetry, Flash, Artwork, theme: Midwinter – closes 3 Dec (submit online)

Into the Void – Poetry, Flash, Creative Non-fiction, Artwork – closes 7 Dec (submit online)

Strokestown International Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 7 Dec (submit online)

Brunel International African Poetry Prize – Poetry (emerging – not yet published a full-length collection) – closes 12 Dec (submit online)

Poetry Jukebox: A Deeper Country – Poetry recording (max. 2 mins) – closes 14 Dec (submit online)

AWP Ireland Call for Papers – Topics relating to creative writing – closes 14 Dec (submit online)

Modern Poetry in Translation: UK Focus – Poetry (languages and language communities of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) – closes 14 Dec (submit online)

Not Your Mother’s Breast Milk – Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Artwork, theme: Mental Health – closes 14 Dec (submit online)

Tara Building Creative Scholarship – All disciplines – closes 14 Dec (submit online)

Baltic Writing Residency in Sweden – Poetry (10 Pages) – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

BLYNKT – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, theme: New Beginnings – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Constellate – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Artwork – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Copper Nickel – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Duende – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Artwork – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

F(r)iction’s Winter 2018 Literary Contests – Poetry, Flash, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Mikrokosmos Fiction & Poetry Contest – Poetry, Fiction – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

New Ohio Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Porter House Review Editor’s Prizes – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Artwork – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Pretty Owl Poetry – Poetry, Flash, Art – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Sequestrum – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Art – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

So To Speak – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Art – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Swimming with Elephants Chapbooks – Poetry (25-75 pages) – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

The Blue Nib Chapbook Contest – Poetry manuscript (8 poems) – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

The Hunger – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Artwork – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Third Coast – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Drama – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Visual Verse – Poetry, Flash, Non-Fiction – closes 15 Dec (submit online)

Dodging the Rain – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction and more, theme: Christmas & New Year – closes 18 Dec (submit online)

Programming Proposals for Poetry Day Ireland 2019 – Poetry events, theme: Truth or Dare – closes 19 Dec (submit online)

Overton Poetry Prize – Poetry sequence (up to 300 lines) – closes 20 Dec (submit online)

The Deva Literary Prize – Poetry manuscript (48-120 pages) – closes 20 Dec (submit online)

ROPES Literary Journal – Poetry, Flash, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction and more – closes 24 Dec (submit online)

Quercus Review Press Poetry Book Award – Poetry manuscript (up to 125 pages) – closes 28 Dec (submit online)

1919 Limerick Soviet Anthology – Poetry, Prose, Artwork – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

Brexit in Poetry Competition – Poetry – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

Brighthill Press Poetry Book Competition – Poetry manuscript (48-64 pages) – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

Calyx Journal – Poetry, Flash, Fiction, Artwork – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

Carte Blanche – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction and more – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

Dorset Prize – Poetry manuscript (48-88 pages) – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

Five Aspects Poetry Competition – Poetry, theme: Spirit of Childhood – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

River Styx – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

Tampa Review Prize for Poetry – Poetry manuscript (48-100 pages) – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

The Moth Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

Winter Tangerine Workshops: Feathered We Remember – Femme-identified writers, any genre – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

WoLF Poetry Competition – theme: Wanderer – closes 31 Dec (submit online)

Boyne Berries – Poetry, Fiction – closes 2 Jan 2019 (submit online)

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JOURNALS / OPPORTUNITIES WITH RECURRING DEADLINES 

Ó Bhéal Five Words – Poetry – deadline each week, annual prize (submit online)

Rattle: Poets Respond – Poetry, theme: current events – deadline each week (submit online)

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JOURNALS / OPPORTUNITIES WITH OPEN SUBMISSION PERIODS IN DECEMBER:

SAND – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Artwork – closes 5 Jan 2019 (submit online)

Arvon Mentoring Programme – Poetry, Fiction, Playwriting – closes 7 Jan 2019 (submit online)

The Stinging Fly – Poetry, Fiction – opens 3 Dec – closes 9 Jan 2019 (submit online)

2 Elizabeths – Poetry, Fiction, Flash – open (submit online)

400 & Falling – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Translation, Artwork (emerging writers)  – (submit online)

Acumen – Poetry – open (submit online)

Algebra of Owls – Poetry – open (submit online)

Apple Picking Press – Poetry – open (submit online)

A New Ulster – Poetry, Fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

Antiphon – Poetry – open (submit online)

Apartment Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)

Atrium – Poetry – open (submit online)

Bear Review – Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Artwork – open (submit online)

Brittle Star – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)

By and By Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)

Carve Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

Cheat River Review – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

Disclaimer Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Journalism, themes: Politics, Economics, Art – open (submit online)

Driftwood Press – Poetry, Fiction, Literary Criticism – open (submit online)

Fields Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

FIVE:2:ONE – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Artwork by underrepresented writers (POC, LGTBQ, non-binary, neurodivergent, trauma survivors etc.) – open (submit online)

GFT Press – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Non-fiction – open (submit online)

Gravel – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Creative Non-Fiction, Artwork – open (submit by post)

Guernica – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Photo Essays – open (submit by post)

HCE Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Photo Essays – open (submit online)

Hosking Houses Trust Residencies – Women writers over 40 (all genres – must have contract to publish / broadcast / perform) – open (submit online)

I Am Not A Silent Poet – Poetry, theme: protesting abuse – open (submit online)

Idler – Poetry, Fiction, Essays – open (submit online)

Inside the Bell Jar – Poetry, Fiction, theme: mental illness – open (submit online)

Irish Literary Review – Poetry – open (submit online)

Lighthouse Literary Journal – Poetry & Short Fiction – open (submit online)

LitMag – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Essays – open (submit online)

Memorius – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)

New Contrast – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)

Noepe Center Residency Program – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Memoir, Plays – open (submit online)

One – Poetry, a single poem – open (submit online)

PANK – Poetry – open (submit online)

Poetry Ireland Review – Poetry – open (submit by post)

Poetry Saltzburg – Poetry – open (submit by post or online)

Peepal Tree Press – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction manuscripts from Black & Carribean writers – open (submit online)

Rattle – Poetry – open (submit by post and online)

Riggwelter – Poetry, Short Fiction, Visual Art – open (submit online)

Shakespeare & Co Tumbleweeds Residency – all writers – open (submit online)

South Bank Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)

Spry Literary Journal – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Creative Non-fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

Squawk Back – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Reviews, Plays – open (submit online)

Stepaway Magazine – Poetry, Flash Fiction, theme: walking in the city – open (submit online)

The American Journal of Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)

The Brooklyn Quarterly – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Translation, Humour – open (submit online)

The Cardiff Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Flash (preference given to students and unpublished graduates of Creative Writing, English Literature & Journalism) – open (submit online)

The Collapsar – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

The Curlew – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, theme: the natural world – open (submit online)

The Curly Mind – Poetry, theme: experiemental – open (submit online)

The Ellis Review – Poetry, published weekly – open (submit online)

The Galway Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Reviews, Plays – open (submit online)

The Great American Literary Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Reviews, Plays – open (submit online)

The Lake – Poetry – open (submit online)

The Lascaux Review – Poetry, Fiction, Essays – open (submit online)

The MacGuffin – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

The Missouri Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

The Next Review – Poetry, Fiction, Reviews – open (submit online)

The Nottingham Review – Poetry & Fiction – open (submit online)

The Ofi Press Magazine – Poetry & Short Fiction – open (submit online)

The Quill Magazine – Poetry, Prose, All Genres (new writers only) – open (submit online)

The Sea Letter – Poetry, Fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)

The Southeast Review – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Reviews, Artwork – open (submit online)

The Sun Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Interviews – open (submit online)

Three Drops From a Cauldron – Poetry, Flash, theme: Myth, Folklore, Fables, Fairytales – open (submit online)

Tinderbox Poetry Journal – Poetry – open (submit online)

Vending Machine Press – Poetry, Flash, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Essay – open (submit online)

Wildness – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)

Best of luck!

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If you have a competition or journal with a deadline in December 2018, and it is not included above, feel free to add the details with a link in the comments section below!

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(Illustration by Nicole Ray via Etsy)

Poetry Mentoring: Black Friday Special Offer

Over the past few weeks, there’s been a lot of interest in the one-to-one poetry mentoring sessions I mentioned in the November poetry list. To save time (and prevent repetitive strain injury from writing emails), I’ve added a dedicated poetry mentoring page on my website with all the details.

And, in the spirit of Black Friday, I’m offering mentoring sessions at a special reduced rate of €50.00 (usually €75.00). There are only 10 available and when they’re gone, they’re gone. The offer begins at 12.01 am GMT on Friday 23 November and runs until 11.59 pm GMT on Monday 26 November.

The sessions can also be purchased with a smart presentation voucher (digital), if you’d like to buy one as a holiday gift.

If you have any questions about poetry mentoring, don’t hesitate to contact me!

Featured Image: George Kourounis

Getting Lost: A Poetry Essay for The Lonely Crowd

‘To enter a wood is to pass into a different world in which we are transformed. It is no accident that in Shakespeare’s comedies, people go into the greenwood to grow, learn and change. It is where you travel to find yourself, paradoxically, by getting lost.’

Roger Deakin, Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees (Hugo Hamilton, 2007)

 

At poetry workshops, when a writer has finished reading their work and the rest of the group are still re-reading and processing, four words are often blurted into this space:

‘And that really happened.’

Perhaps it has to do with the discomfort of a silence, the unease of waiting for a response and a need, conscious or unconscious, to reinforce the credibility of the work. To me, factual basis is irrelevant in a poem. The rendering of events as they occurred may be good journalism or memoir, but a poem requires something more. To become a poem, the facts must pass through a crucible, they must be transformed.

 

This month, I have four new poems published in The Lonely Crowd, a wonderful literary journal based in Wales. To mark the occasion, editor John Lavin invited me to write a short essay about these poems – you can read the full essay at The Lonely Crowd website, along with lots of other writers discussing their work, and also listen to me reading the poem, ‘Root’.

The journal is beautifully produced, a surprisingly hefty tome packed with great poetry, fiction and interviews including new work by Irish writers Caitriona Lally, John McAuliffe, Kevin Cahill, Meadhbh Ni Eadhra, Arnold Fanning, Kevin Graham, Kathleen MacMahon, K.S. Moore, Grahame Williams and Paul Whyte, plus gorgeous cover photography by Jo Mazelis. Lavin is zealously active in his sharing of the work on social media and I’m hugely grateful for all his hard work in selecting and promoting exciting new writing from the UK and Ireland.

From a writer’s perspective, The Lonely Crowd is such a generous and rewarding place to be published – I’d highly recommend getting a hold of a copy and considering them for your work when they open for submissions again in 2019.

You can buy this and other individual issues of The Lonely Crowd or a yearly subscription at their online shop.

And if you’re looking for places to send your work right now, check out the current list of poetry competitions, submissions and opportunities open or with deadlines in November.

Featured Images © Jo Mazelis, 2018.