I came across this article recently, in Anon magazine, setting out the opinions of three writers as to whether anonymous submissions to magazines were a good idea. I rather like Kathleen Jamie‘s conclusion, that actually by creating a so-called ‘level playing field’ for all poets, regardless of reputation, a magazine like Anon (championing the causeRead more ⟶
Category: Submissions
It’s my birthday! Hurrah! I think
Children love having birthdays. I quite enjoyed them myself until I got to about 30, then I went through a period of getting a bit grumpy about the whole birthday thing. But these days I don’t mind them at all. So far today: Woke up with migraine that had been brewing up all night –Read more ⟶
Would you pay to submit your poetry to a magazine? (Poll)
Here’s a thing. Poetry presses and magazines exist on a shoestring. Sometimes half a shoestring. I’m sure we’d all love to support them by subscribing to them all, but it does get a tad expensive. So what’s the answer? Charging for submissions seems relatively unusual in this country but it’s not in the US. TheRead more ⟶
How’s your filing? And what’s in a (folder) name?
Here’s a pressing question – what sort of filing system do you favour? I love my lever arch files, with their colour-coded dividers and lovingly decided section names. But if you leave the filing for a while the ‘unclassified’ section at the front becomes unwieldy, and it’s impossible to find anything. But (for me) atRead more ⟶
Brighton Stanza on top
First the good news: I got a note through a week or so ago from Paul McGrane at the Poetry Society saying my poem had been commended in the 2012 Stanza competition (judged by John Siddique), but the full results weren’t out until today. So what should I find, but that there are 2 otherRead more ⟶
Writing musings/ submissions etc
I’ve been grabbing the odd hour here and there to write while my other half watches the cricket highlights each day. I need to submit some new stuff, so I need to write some new stuff. I’ve tentatively been trying to come up with something ‘humorous’ for the Moss Rich Prize. Yes I know I’veRead more ⟶
Out now – The Rialto 75
The Rialto: bedside reading for this week at least. Very proud that I have a poem in it on page 50. The Last They’ve been coming since posters were invented: sometimes in dreams, to the tipping of cowboy hats or dressed in Liverpool shirts. Each one appeared in my diary, in code. My mother wouldn’tRead more ⟶
Writing again after a setback
A few weeks ago I was feeling a bit ‘stuck’ and decided to pay for another ‘Poetry Prescription’ from the Poetry Society. I got the feedback last week and it was less than motivating. Basically my work got sent to the same poet who looked at it last time (I did a ‘PP’ back inRead more ⟶
Hurrah! The Rialto takes another
So excited to have had a poem accepted for The Rialto. The first poem I had published was in this magazine (Rialto 70, Autumn 2010) and to say that I was ‘gobsmacked’ would be an understatement… only I’m not allowed to use that word in my husband’s presence as he believes it is an affront theRead more ⟶
The ups and downs of poetry submissions
Last week: issue 48 of The North failed to arrive, and when I asked for my ‘contributor’s copy’ I was told…erm… you’re not a contributor. The poem they’d asked for back in July 2011 had gone astray, and never made it into the issue. Boo! And now the next issue isn’t until October. Boo! ButRead more ⟶