Poetry Bulletin: May 2023
Three new opportunities, 12+ deadlines, a poet's skills for "late" moments + more
Hello poets! I’m here with new possibilities for May, including a handful that are new to the big list of poetry publishers.
Thanks for taking part in the collective check-in last month. The majority (40%) of folks who responded said they’re in a tinkering mood with their writing. About a quarter of you said you’re in a generative space of writing completely new poems, and 27% said you’re ready for a break.
Hopefully you’ll find something in this issue to meet you where you’re at—and if you’re part of the group that could use a rest now, FYI: most deadlines in this issue are for May 31 or later. Two of them (YesYes and Mason Jar Press) have submission caps, but you could safely snooze this letter for a week to 10 days if you’d like some breathing room and a break from submissions FOMO.
And an update on the submission fee support circle. Thanks to early supporters of the circle and new paid subscribers here on Substack, more than $5,700 has been given to fellow poets since March 2021. We’ve supported almost 100 poets as they submit a poetry chapbook or full-length book. Thank you to everyone who’s chipped in and to the poets who have let us support their journey to a book.
With good thoughts for your writing,
Emily Stoddard
Making the Manuscript
“Make sure you hone a wide range of skills—skills you might think no longer necessary, skills you might not need till later on, when up against unimaginable forces. You never know when your ‘late’ moment will be. Be ready. Be equipped. The same tools that availed at the start do not avail in the middle or facing the limit point of existence.” — Jorie Graham in The New Yorker
At the Poetry Foundation, Jennifer Bartlett and Sheila Black of Zoeglossia have started a new Disability Poetics collection. I’m just starting to dig in, but there are so many important poems and essays and expressions gathered: “Disability poetics speaks powerfully because it articulates the resistance of bodies and minds to the erasure, commodification, convenience, and disposability articulated all around us and that we struggle against. In this collection, we mean to resist.”
I appreciated this post from Erica Goss on visualizing the reader (or not) in your writing process. Curious how this resonates with others—do you imagine a reader? Does it change depending on the material you’re working with or the form you’re writing in?
FYI: In the latest from Lit Mag News, two writers share their experience publishing with PANK and warn others to avoid the press.
I’ve started a letter writing from/about/with love for the intersection of neurodivergence and creative practice and thought this recent experiment with messy completion and right-sizing your writing might be of interest to fellow poets.
Creative Support: Fellowships, Residencies & More
Rutgers invites participants to its free, virtual Poets and Scholars Summer Writing Retreat happening this July.
Opened May 1 — Granum Foundation Prizes
May 31 — Oak Spring Garden Foundation interdisciplinary residencies, five-week or two-week options available
June 1 — Best New Poets 2023 is now open for submissions from of two poems from writers who have not yet published a book-length poetry collection.
July 15 — The 2024 poetry.onl Chapbook Fellowship is open for submissions. This is a unique opportunity with a project that’s doing a lot to make poetry more accessible. I love that it includes print, audio, and eBook publication.
More residency options for 2023, courtesy of Monica Macansantos at Electric Lit.
Upcoming Manuscript Deadlines
Jack Leg Press is open to queries as of May 1, through the rest of the year.
YesYes Books is currently holding an open reading period and accepting submissions for the Pamet River Prize. The deadline is July 1, but they’re capping submissions at 400, so probably best to act soon.
New: Codhill Press Guest Editor Series, with a theme of “Dreams and the Subconscious” this year. No reading fee!
New: Mason Jar Press introduces the 1729 Book Prize in Poetry, with a special interest in hybrid writing and “semi-experimental works with a strong literary bent.” Deadline in July, but submissions are capped at 500. No reading fee!
New: The Song Cave will hold an open reading period in June. Details TBA.
May 31 — Broken Sleep Books Open Reading Period — no fee to submit
May 31 — Game Over Books Open Reading Period — no fee to submit (FYI: This is the press for my debut poetry book, and I’ve found them to be generous and collaborative.)
May 31 — Galileo Press Open Reading Period
May 31 — Milkweed Editions Max Ritvo Prize
May 31 — Anhinga Prize for Poetry
May 31 — Redacted, a new book series from ELJ Editions
May 31 — Word Works Open Reading Period
May 31 — Homebound Publications Poetry Prize
May 31 — Autumn House Poetry Prize
Heads up: The Sowell Emerging Writers Prize will be awarded in poetry this year. They’re interested in books “on themes about and related to the natural world by writers who have published no more than one book in any genre.”
Heads up: Rose Metal Press has announced an upcoming reading period for hybrid and cross-genre manuscripts, including prose poetry and novels-in-verse.
Heads up, with thanks to Millicent Borges Accardi for sharing: the deadline has passed, but the new highest submission fee (of the 175+ tracked so far) is the Catamaran Poetry Prize. The fee is $45. Their guidelines state that they don’t offer fee waivers because “the fee is equal to the cost of a one year subscription to the magazine you receive.”
There are more ongoing opportunities on the big list of publishers (as in, presses reading throughout the year).
The bulletin is made by Emily Stoddard. If you have ideas, updates to a publisher’s listing, or want to share a resource, say hello by replying to this note.
Great post!
Hi, Emily. Moon City Press Poetry Award closed on May 1st. You have it listed as June 15th.