Submission Guidelines

Dates & Categories

Submissions

We want work that grabs us and won’t let go—writing that digs deep, carries weight, and feels lived. We’re interested in poetry and prose that challenge convention, push emotional truth, and leave a lasting mark. Craft matters. Voice matters. Clarity matters.

We are not a home for visual poetry, concrete form, or work that prioritises concept over connection. We’re not looking for traditional rhyme or metrical form unless it’s earned. We favour narrative work with emotional impact, originality, and control.

Important Notes

 

  • Do not submit work that contains graphic depictions of sexual violence, assault, suicide, or self-harm.

  • We do not publish work that expresses or enables hate, misinformation, or discrimination of any kind.

  • We are not a paying market—yet. We hope to be. For now, we rely on donations, book sales, and the tireless work of Alan Parry, whose workshops help fund our operations.

 

 

Print and Social Publishing Opportunities

Editor: Alan Parry

This strand of The Broken Spine includes both our Thematic Slimline Poetry Anthologies and #PoemsAbout, our weekly social-led poetry initiative hosted on Bluesky.

We’re looking for narrative poetry — free verse or blank verse — that’s inventive, emotionally resonant, and grounded in craft. Poems should engage directly with the announced theme, using language that challenges, unsettles, or lingers. We favour work with a strong sense of voice, image, and purpose. Avoid cliché. Internal rhyme is acceptable only if it serves the poem. We do not publish visual or concrete form poetry.

#PoemsAbout is open every week. A theme is posted each Sunday (or Saturday via our newsletter). You then have until the following Thursday at midnight to share your poem on Bluesky using the hashtags. On Saturdays, we also release seven optional, more focused prompts. We and the wider poetry community engage with your work throughout the week — reading, sharing, and offering feedback in a safe and generous space. Select poems from this initiative may be shared more widely and are eligible for our Annual Reader’s Choice Prize.

For print opportunities, submission links will appear here when open. Each call includes a clear theme and deadline. A fee of £3 applies to print submissions, which helps sustain the press. Contributors receive 50% off any print publication they appear in, plus delivery.

Detailed Submission Guidelines

Soot & Boots: Festive Short Fiction
Submit March 1 – April 30

 
Rites & Trials: Coming-of-Age Poetry
 
Haze: Counterculture Poetry

Selected Poetry (Digital)

Editors: David Hanlon and Katie Jenkins

We publish selected poetry in a free, downloadable digital edition — released twice annually. This is a space for narrative poetry with emotional clarity, voice, and purpose. We’re not interested in rhyme for rhyme’s sake, or traditional metrical forms. We’re drawn to work that says something real and says it with craft.

Submissions open twice a year — in June and December. During these windows, poets may submit up to two poems in a single document using the form shared here and across our social media channels.

These poems will not appear on our website. They will only be published in the downloadable edition, which is carefully curated and shared with our readership twice a year.

Annual Chapbook Competition

We will run a poetry chapbook competition during the month of August with specific details to be given at the time, the winner will receive a book deal from us. There will be an entry fee that will serve to cover costs incurred.

Annual Reader’s Choice Poetry Award

Each spring, we celebrate one standout poet with our Reader’s Choice Award — an annual prize recognising a single poem that’s resonated most with our community over the past year. All poems published through our various platforms and from our #PoemsAbout initiative are eligible.

The winner is chosen by our readers and peers from a shortlist provided by Alan Parry — not a judging panel — and announced each spring. The award includes a physical trophy and permanent recognition on our site.

Previous Winners:

Rachel Deering (2024)
Peter Devonald (2025)

 

Meet the team.

Learn more about the creative staff behind the broken spine

About & Our Ethos

LEARN MORE ABOUT FOUNDING AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE BROKEN SPINE