Where do you send those poems that just refuse to color within the line breaks? For this next installment in our Submissions Series, we’ve gathered together some of our favorite places for submitting your prose-iest poems. Whether your poem is a little too prose or your prose is a little too poem, these lit mags think your hybrid poem-babies are perfect just the way they are.
AGNI is a print journal that publishes two issues a year out of their home at Boston University. They are an old and prestigious literary journal that is not afraid to embrace new forms, publishing everything from prose poems to free and formal verse, as well as various forms of fiction and nonfiction. They’re also a paying publication! AGNI is open for submissions from September 1 to May 31.
Baltimore Review is an online lit mag that publishes four issues a year, as well as a yearly print anthology of their online work. After nearly 25 years, BR is still going strong and publishing a variety of both poetic and prose forms, including prose poems. They’re also a paying publication! Baltimore Review is open for submissions from September 1 to November 30 and then from February 1 to May 31.
BOAAT is an online lit mag that publishes anywhere from one to five issues a year. Though only six years old, this mag has already been making waves (see what I did there) in the literary publishing scene. They are a poetry-only publication that likes most poetics forms, but prose poems for sure (shore?). BOAAT is open for submissions year-round.
The Cincinnati Review is a beautiful print journal that publishes two issues a year out of their offices at the University of Cincinnati. For 17 years, they’ve been publishing a variety of both poetic and prose forms, including prose poems. They’re also a paying publication! The Cincinnati Review is open for submissions from September 1 to January 1.
Copper Nickel is a gorgeous print journal that publishes two issues a year from their home at the University of Colorado Denver. For nearly two decades this fabulous journal has been publishing some of the best fiction, nonfiction, and poetry out there, prose poems among them. They’re also a paying publication! Copper Nickel is open for submissions from September 1 to December 15 and then from January 15 to March 1.
CutBank is a lit mag that publishes both print issues and weekly online literary content out of the University of Montana. CutBank Online has a weekly feature especially for the sister genres of flash prose and prose poetry. They’re also a paying publication—for the print edition, at least. CutBank is open for submissions for its print issues from September 15 to February 1. It is open for submissions for its online features year-round.
Eastern Iowa Review (The Christine Prose Poetry Award)
Eastern Iowa Review is a lit mag that publishes both print and online issues out of the offices of Port Yonder Press. Although they publish all three major genres—poetry, fiction, and nonfiction—their favorite forms are the lyric essay and the prose poem. They even have their Christine Prose Poetry Award, which is a monetary prize given annually to the best prose poem accepted through their general submissions. Eastern Iowa Review will open for submissions in January.
Elsewhere is an online lit mag that publishes four issues a year. This lit mag is looking exclusively for your unlineated work—prose poems, flash fiction and nonfiction, and cross-genre hybrid work. If you’ve got any paragraph-shaped writing that’s 1,000 words or less—regardless of genre—they want to read it. Elsewhere is open for submissions year-round.
Foundry is an online lit mag that publishes three issues a year. They are a poetry-only publication that loves a variety of poetic forms, including the prose poem. They’re also a paying publication! Foundry is open for submissions year-round.
HOOT is both an online lit mag and a nontraditional, monthly print journal that embraces the word as tangible object. Each of their print issues is in the form of a single postcard, so the prose or poem selection has to be brief in order to fit within that physical space. Although they are not limited to prose poetry alone, the prose poem is particularly well-suited to the space constraints. HOOT is open for submissions year-round.
jubilat is both an online and print lit mag. Although they’re all about poetry, they do publish more than poems. They publish poetry, essays about poetry and poetics, as well as visual art. And of course, they have a soft spot for the prose poem. jubilat is open for submissions from September through January.
Mid-American Review (The Fineline Competition)
Mid-American Review is a print journal that publishes two issues a year from their home at Bowling Green State University. They publish the three main genres in their issues—poetry, fiction, and nonfiction—as well as translations and reviews. But they also host their annual Fineline Competition for Prose Poems, Short Shorts, and Anything in Between to which you can submit your flash prose or prose poems that are 500 words or less. And the winner of the competition gets $1,000 in addition to publication of their work! Although the deadline for the 2020 competition has passed, make sure to check back on their site for information about the 2021 competition. Mid-American Review is open for submissions year-round.
MoonPark Review is an online lit mag that publishes four issues a year. They want to read any of your work that is brief, unlineated, and paragraph-shaped—prose poems, flash fiction, and any hybrid forms that follow those three basic rules. MoonPark Review is open for submissions year-round.
Pithead Chapel is an online lit mag that publishes a new issue each month. They are devoted solely to the prose and prose-adjacent—short fiction and nonfiction, and prose poetry. Pithead Chapel is open for submissions year-round.
Sundog Lit is an online lit mag that publishes one to two issues a year. In addition to fiction and nonfiction, they publish a variety of poetic forms; although they have an affinity for prose poems or “straight poetry with prose elements.” Two cups poetry, two cups prose—mix until smooth. Sundog Lit is open for submissions from October 1 to December 1 and then from March 1 to May 1.
Unbroken is an online lit mag that publishes four issues a year. Not only is this mag poetry-only, they only publish prose poems! For all your poems poured into prose containers, this lit mag is waiting and ready to read. Unbroken is open for submissions from October 30 to December 11 (for their January issue) and then from January 31 to March 12 (for their April issue).
As always, we wish you all the luck with your poetry submissions, but especially those prose-y ones. Check back with Tell Tell Poetry soon for more fabulous places to send your poem-babies!
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