

Please let us know if a poem submitted is no longer available by using the message tab in Submittable. :: We cannot accommodate revisions to work that has been submitted for consideration. Contest winners are published in our December Solstice issue. For regular submissions, please wait 6 months after your submission has been received to query in regards to its status via Submittable or email. Our average response time is 1 week to 3 months, but may take longer. :: We accept general submissions through Submittable. :: We ask for first rights, and we also ask that any future publications (congratulations!) of your accepted poems are acknowledged back to Tinderbox Poetry Journal. This includes work that has been revised from a previously published poem. :: We do not accept previously published work. Poems can be longer than one page as long as the submissions packet is no longer than eight pages total. One poem per page, up to four poems total. :: While we are a poetry-specific journal, we seek to expand the definition of poetry. We don't have restrictions on form or content, and we are interested in featuring poets at all stages of their career. When we read submissions, we seek poems that give us a little shiver, poems that catch the light and compel us to look closer. :: To get a better sense of our aesthetic, we encourage submitters to read past issues via our archives. We appreciate your support in showcasing the talented poets of our era and are honored to be trusted with your creative work.

The BEJ prize winner receives $500 and Majda Gama editor's prize winner receives $500. Two winners are selected, one by the contest judge and another by our poetry editors. This year's judge is Paul Hlava Ceballos. The contest opens August 1st, 2023 and closes August 31st at midnight PST. For $20 we offer feedback on contest submissions. Our yearly contest charges a submission fee of $15. Tip Jar and Feedback Submissions allow us to pay our contributors, sponsor web hosting, offset the cost of submittable and sustain our mission of supporting vital literary community. We also offer a feedback submission for $7. To offset the costs of running our journal we welcome Tip Jar submissions ($3) on a rolling basis. Our 2023 reading period opens March 15th and closes March 31st at midnight, PST. :: We offer fee-free submissions during each reading period with the exception of our contest. The heart of our mission is uplifting new writers, regardless of publication history- we endeavor to be your first paid publication. Past Contributors include Emily Yoon, Carmen Giménez, Cortney Lamar Charleston, Erika Meitner, Diannely Antigua, Maggie Smith, Aria Aber, Rosebud Ben-Oni, Emilia Phillips, Kelli Russell Agodon, Brandon Amico, Angela Voras-Hills, and Rachel Mennies among many wonderful others. We publish two issues per year on or around Summer and Winter Solstice and nominate for Pushcart Prizes, Best New Poets, and Best of the Net. We are a paying market and pay each contributor $15 regardless of number of poems selected. :: Tinderbox Poetry Journal welcomes new and emerging voices. If you would like to learn more or submit to Tinderbox, please visit their website at. They do not accept previously published work, and they do not accept multiple submissions. They accept simultaneous submissions, but ask that authors immediately withdraw work published elsewhere.

Tinderbox accepts submissions online, not via post or email. They view the cover letter not as a formality, but an important introduction to the poet, a context within which to read the work. The editors at Tinderbox encourage poets to include a cover letter with their submission. Submissions should be six pages or fewer. Poets may submit three to four pieces of any kind of poetry. Submitting poets can expect a response within about three months. They accept a wide range of submissions-free verse and formal poetry, lyric essays, flash forms, sequences of fragments, lyric dramas, and more. While they only publish poetry, Tinderbox seeks to expand our idea of what a poem can be. Tinderbox is published monthly, and each issue features work by around fifteen poets. To get a sense of their style, you can read past issues online. They prefer profundity that arises out of nitty-gritty life itself, poetry that is lived and living. Tinderbox publishes poetry in all forms and styles, and they showcase a broad range of voices and experiences. To promote the writers they publish, they nominate poets for the Pushcart Prize, Best New Poets, and Best of the Net Anthology. Tinderbox Poetry Journal, an online journal that’s fee-free in the months the seasons change-March, June, September, and December-is seeking poetry from both emerging and established writers.
