an online literary journal for early and emerging poets

Rebecca Collins, Editor

SUBMISSIONS

Poets

Anyone anywhere who is 18 years and older and unpublished, self-published, or published through independent editors or literary journals may submit (those published through large, traditional publishing houses may not submit). OtB seeks diversity in every aspect: place, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith, etc.

🔶 

Poems

Poems should be original (no AI), except for the use of adaptive software by those with physical impairments. Poems must be unpublished or published only on social media. They must be mostly in English, but if you write in another language, translations of your own work with translator credits are accepted. Hate toward others, sexual content, and profanity (except abbreviations and substitutions) are prohibited. 

🔶 

Categories

1. Book two, up to 10 haiku:

• observations of nature (few to no literary devices, include a seasonal word)

• no title, all lowercase

• 3 lines, 5-7-5 syllabic pattern

• no punctuation except a pause (punctuation or pause-word) after the first or second line

2. Regular books, up to 6 poems in other forms including prose poetry

🔶 

Formatting

• maximum 1.5 pages per poem single-spaced

• left-justified

• page break (ctrl+ enter) between poems, enter between lines, tab to indent lines if applicable

🔶 

Fee

None.

🔶

Submitting

1. One Word document per category:

• poems

• author's note and/or bio (optional and for regular-book submissions only; exception: an author's note translating a poem's non-English words is mandatory)

2. Email body:

• name and if applicable pen name

• country you are from or identify with (for diversity-tracking purposes)

• X handle (if on X, which is recommended) and any other social-media handles

Send submissions to outsidetheboxpoetry@gmail.com.

🔶

Timelines

Submissions are ongoing, and the response and posting time is 24 hours to 1 week. Due to the quick turnaround, simultaneous submissions and withdrawals are not allowed.

PUBLISHING

Per accepted poet, up to 4 haiku or 1 poem in another form will be published on this site. The maximum per book is 30 sets of haiku and 25 poems in other forms.

Please skip 2 regular books before submitting again (e.g., if your poem is in "one", skip "three" and "four"). Poets in regular books may submit to Book two and vice versa.

RIGHTS

Outside the Box Poetry gets first rights, meaning it has the right to first publish a work as well as maintain it on this site and share it for the purpose of literary exposure (e.g., on X). Rights will revert to authors upon publication; if a poem in OtB is then published elsewhere, include a note acknowledging Outside the Box Poetry as the first publisher.

PAYMENT (not money, but exposure)

X

OtB has over 500 followers, most from the literary world, including organizations and other journals. A link to each published poem with commentary on it will be posted, and the post will be highlighted until the book is complete and the next is started (exceptions: the last poems in a book will be highlighted at least 1 week, and poets in Book two will be highlighted alongside poets in other books and vice versa).

Pushcart Prize nominations

Poems published in OtB before 15 November will be considered (to ensure nominations arrive before Pushcart's 1 December deadline).

© JULY 2024 Outside the Box Poetry

No part of this site may be stored, copied, printed, posted, or transmitted without written permission from the editor.