Poetry Bulletin: December 2023

15 deadlines and reading periods + don't get clever

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

Hello, poets — how are your hearts? Mine is a strange mix of grief and assuredness right now. The feeling that the work to be done is very clear and urgent (I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so steady in my small efforts to make change?), but running through that clarity are the names and faces of the children, families, animals, trees, waters that are being harmed and lost every day that the bombing continues.

Following the November bulletin, some folks wrote to ask for more resources on how literary magazines and presses are responding to the genocide happening in Gaza. I’ve gathered some this month, but more than anything, I want to offer:

When you wonder where to take your cues now or how to process a publisher’s response to this moment, I find one of the most centering/grounding things to do is return to the voices of those who are being harmed and respond in a way that honors their lived experience.

Weeks ago Rasha Abdulhadi wrote: “WE DON’T HAVE TO BE CLEVER RIGHT NOW!” And that knocked me back in the best way. Now when I feel myself swirling in my grief and my over-thinking and my over-researching, I ask if I’m just trying to get clever, if I’m distracting myself on the way to direct action. And then I stop and pick up the phone, make the call, write a letter like this one, or have the hard conversation.

My wish is to stay open to the possibility of being knocked back by Palestinian writers, poets, artists, journalists. That, to echo Rasha, we don’t let cleverness distract us from the real, good work of getting free.

Grateful for the poets, always,

Emily

Meeting this Moment: Resources & Threads

I am searching for the sea she cries
Has anyone seen it? It used to live in my window.

—from “The State of—” by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

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As with all things crowdsourced, information on the list below may have changed since it was first shared and since I first bookmarked it. It’s a good practice to double-check information as you decide where to submit, where to add your support, etc.

• A thread of publications that have been open in their support of Palestine—and (update!) thanks to

  cav/ar
  for sharing this updated list that you can now follow on X/Twitter.

• AGNI offered a clear statement that would be a good reference for publishers still working to find their own words. They also share links to a number of other organizations’ statements, if you’re seeking more language and models.

• Publishers for Palestine initiated Read Palestine Week and has some upcoming events listed on their site.

• The Los Angeles Review of Books just published “Who Shall Remember How? Palestinian Poets Respond”

• Verso Books has launched a call for stories of censorship and retribution for demanding justice for Palestinians.

• Electric Lit
  shared a reading list on the Palestinian experience in the face of oppression.

• Over 2,000 poets are now boycotting the Poetry Foundation, following the censorship I mentioned last month. Summer Farah also shared that if you’ve been contacted by the Poetry Foundation regarding their teaching artist program and want to be looped into the boycott strategies, drop a message here.

• Editorial staff resigned at Frontier Poetry and Palette Poetry following censorship and other actions by the parent company, Discover New Art.

  sarah ghazal ali
  shares more on Twitter/X, and subsequent posts by Rana Tahir and Saba Keramati shed light on how many lit mags are connected to this one company: Frontier, Palette, Master’s Review, CRAFT Literary, Fractured Lit, The Voyage Journal, Uncharted Magazine, Literistic, and Pocket MFA.

Creative Support: Funding, Readings & More

• Dec 18 — Sundress Publications is seeking readers for the 2024 Poets in Pajamas reading series. This is a virtual opportunity.

• Jan 7 — The de Groot Foundation is accepting submissions to its grant programs for writers.

• Casie Dodd
  put together a great post—15 Ways Smaller Publishers Can Save Time & Money—that also feels like a primer for any poet who is considering self-publishing and/or for writers who want to understand the mechanics of publishing. (If you like to geek out about that stuff like I do, then I also recommend
  Anne Trubek
  ’s letters here,
  Notes from a Small Press
  .)

• The Poetry Society of America Awards are open through the end of the year.

Upcoming Manuscript Deadlines

• Searching for chapbook reading periods rather than full-length possibilities? Check out this spreadsheet created by Anna Lena Phillips Bell and Ryan Bloom.

• Dec 15 — Cleveland State Lighthouse Poetry Series (sliding scale fees)

• Dec 30 — Jackleg Press (open to queries)

• Dec 31 — Burnside Review Press Book Contest

• Dec 31 — Hollis Summers Poetry Prize

• Dec 31 — Tupelo Press Dorset Prize

• Dec 31 — Fonograf Editions Open Genre Book Prize (fee waives available)

• Dec 31 — Gunpowder Press’ John Ridland Poetry Prize (writers 55+)

• Jan 1— June Road Press Open Reading Period (no fee)

• Jan 14 — Colorado Prize for Poetry (fee waivers available)

• Jan 15 — Henry Morgenthau III First Book Poetry Prize (writers 70+)

• Jan 15 — Longleaf Press Book Contest

• There are more ongoing opportunities on the big list of publishers (as in, presses reading throughout the year).

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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.