Hi poets — a number of you reached out to say you liked the seasonal format this summer (three months in one bulletin, instead of one month at a time), because it made it easier to plan ahead for deadlines. So I’m trying the seasonal approach again and might just keep this format going forward. I hope it’s helpful, and I think it will work better as I release more care packages, to avoid overwhelming your inbox.
And there is a new care package coming out soon, on making an audiobook for your poetry collection. If you’re not familiar, care packages are special posts on targeted topics or practical skills for poets, like this one on zines and this one on query letters. They’re a free resource for everyone, made possible by paid supporters of the Poetry Bulletin.
Are you submitting a full-length poetry book or poetry chapbook now? If submission fees are a barrier for you, check out the fee fund we’ve got going. Some funds are available at the moment, and I’m redistributing them as quickly as I can. We’ve gotten over $14,000 out to poets since 2021, with about 600 submissions supported in that time (going by the average submission fee). As always, try to reach out at least two weeks before your deadline—it’s just me responding to folks, and sometimes it takes a little while to get back to everyone.
Finally, it’s Refaat’s birthday. He should still be here, along with so many, many others. You could pick up his book through the Workshops4Gaza bookstore or sign up for a workshop like this one with Maya Salameh on October 4 to benefit the Sameer Project. You can join the boycott efforts. What I really wish is that we could all be picking strawberries together instead.
emily
Creative Resources & Tools for Practice
Nov 14 — Firecracker Awards at CLMP, for books and magazines published by independent publishers in 2025
I appreciated the mix of examples in this post on sustainable book design and typesetting (i.e., how to save pages/ink through design choices). It’s also a bit of a primer on the design process, which might be helpful if you’re new to this and curious what your publisher has to consider when preparing your book for print.
“Revision always makes use of edits. But not all edits are revisions.” —
on revision strategies (for prose, but still insight here for poetry too)Authors Guild recently shared an update on the Anthropic settlement: “On September 5, 2025, Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle claims that it downloaded pirated books to train its AI systems—the largest U.S. copyright settlement in history.” (fwiw, if you’re trying to keep up with AI developments and what they mean for writers, you may want to join Authors Guild. Their legal services for members also include contract reviews, which I’ve found helpful.)
Poetic Wednesdays, an initiative supporting Nigerian poets, hosted KAPFEST (Kano International Poetry Festival) this month. Event videos are starting to pop up on Instagram and elsewhere. I’d like to highlight more festivals/reading opportunities/etc. like this, especially outside the United States, in the bulletin, so please say hello and share links if you’re part of one.
ArtsMidwest (here in the U.S.) is offering a webinar series on emergency preparedness for artists and arts organizations. Tomorrow, they’re offering one for artists on rebounding from disaster—registration is free and open here. All the sessions are also recorded and available freely here.
Upcoming Deadlines for Poetry Manuscripts
Between now and the end of November, there are over 15 reading periods with presses that do not exclude poets based on their ability to pay. They either charge no submission fee, or if they charge a fee, they offer fee waivers or support of some kind.1
Last I checked, two of these have committed to PACBI: Nightboat Books and Free Lines Press
SEPTEMBER
Sept 30 — Philip Levine Prize for Poetry — waivers available by emailing bsaito@mail.fresnostate.edu
OCTOBER
Oct 1— Changes Press Book Prize (the most accessible + generous prize on the full list of 175+ reading periods for poetry books)
Oct 11 — The Journal / Charles B. Wheeler Poetry Prize — waivers available (email prize@thejournalmag.org) + reduced for BIPOC
Oct 15 — Poetic Justice Institute Book Prizes — fee-free for BIPOC
Oct 31 — University of Chicago Phoenix Poets — no fee
Oct 31 — Persea Books First Book Prize — waivers available by emailing poetry@perseabooks.com
NOVEMBER
Nov 15 — Perugia Press Prize — tiered fees, with a reduced fee available + fee-free for BIPOC
Nov 15 — Nightboat Books Poetry Prize — committed to PACBI, 25 fee waivers available (waiver guidelines here, with kudos to Nightboat for the clarity on the number of waivers and clear process for how they work)
Nov 30 — Lamar University Open Reading Period — no fee
ONGOING (no stated deadline) + NO FEE
Free Lines Press — committed to PACBI
Why PACBI?
If you’re submitting and writing in solidarity with those facing genocide, PACBI is one clear way to find publishers who are in the work too. Publishers for Palestine and Writers Against the War on Gaza have lists of presses committed to PACBI. We know boycotting and protesting works—check out the recent example of the Giller Prize. Don’t be afraid to ask a potential publisher where they stand before you trust them with your work.
The bulletin is made by Emily Stoddard, and the big list of poetry publishers came together as she found a publisher (Game Over Books) for her poetry debut, Divination with a Human Heart Attached. If you have updates to a publisher’s listing or want to share a resource, leave a comment. Comments are preferred to email replies when possible, as they get the information out to everyone more freely and quickly.
Publisher eligibility for inclusion/waive-to-play: Starting in 2025, there’s no more free advertising in these posts for publishers excluding poets who can’t pay to play. If a press wants to be read by this audience, they can offer zero-fee reading periods, fee waivers for poets who need them, early bird fee-free windows, or other creative options, as shared in this newsletter many times over the years.