Please follow these Submission Guidelines.
Poets’ Quarterly publishes in-depth reviews of poetry books and chapbooks, recognizing new works from both emerging and established poets. The interview series aims to showcase the overall scope of work poets contribute to their society. Through these avenues, Poets’ Quarterly aims to emphasize the importance of poetic contributions to the literary community – and the community-at-large – and to recognize both the diversities and commonalities expressed through this art form.
All contributors and editors volunteer their time. Poets’ Quarterly is a non-paying market. Occasionally, reviewers receive complimentary review copies from publishers or authors, but this is not always the case.
Publication Schedule
Poets’ Quarterly is published online: Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer.
Rights & Reprints
Poets’ Quarterly only accepts previously unpublished reviews and interviews. We request first time rights. You may reprint (online or in print) your review or interview after it has first appeared on Poets’ Quarterly with the request that Poets’ Quarterly is acknowledged with a credit and link to www.PoetsQuarterly.com. You are encouraged to post a brief excerpt of your review, once published, to online booksellers like amazon. Let's help poets sell their books!
Word Count
Reviews and interviews should be between 500—2,000 words.
Style & Tone
Please offer an in-depth portrait of the book you are reviewing rather than a ‘back cover blurb’ summary. Give the reader a reason to seek out the book by offering your response to the work as a whole and the themes it explores. Use excerpts and examples to speak to the work as a whole while also freely narrowing in on specifics the reader may find interesting. Poets’ Quarterly aims to fully explore the poetry reviewed rather than simply provide a brief summary that could easily be read from a press release. This is poetry we are writing about. The poet has something to say. What do you have to say about the work?
Also, please note, Poets’ Quarterly has no interest in overtly negative reviews. If you don’t care for a book, there’s no obligation to submit a review for it. There are far too many quality books deserving of our readers’ attention; while we offer critical analyses and ask questions, Poets’ Quarterly prefers to only cover books we want our readers to seek out. There simply isn’t enough time or space to cover anything less than a recommended book/poet.
IMPORTANT STYLE NOTES
Titles of books and chapbooks must be in italics. Use quotation marks for individual titles of poems.
Poets’ Quarterly publishes in Trebuchet MS 12 font. Please use only one space after a period, between sentences.
Please do not use unnecessary indentations or spaces to signify a block quote from a poem. Only indent where the poet has elected to do so.
Use single line spacing with no paragraph indents. Rather, insert an extra line to break up the paragraph blocks.
Please do not include page references. You should make clear the poem you are referencing and that should be enough to provide clarity for the reader.
Follow rules of grammar, check your spelling, and provide accurate information about the publication. This includes the following required information for all reviews, in this order:
- Book Title
- Author
- Publisher
- Binding, # of pages
- ISBN
- Link to purchase
For interviews, please include a link to the poet’s website and/or publisher. If possible, obtain an author-approved photo to include with the interview. Q&A style interviews are preferred.
Editorial Consistency
When you make a submission to Poets’ Quarterly, it is assumed you have edited your work and are giving permission for the review/interview to be published as submitted. Revisions of submissions are by request and you will not be able to preview your contribution on the website prior to publication. Please note, your submission may be edited for grammar, punctuation, or clarity. However, significant editorial changes will be redirected to the reviewer. This includes matters of word count, clarification of quotes, etc.
Contributor Bio
Please supply a brief, third-person bio to include with your review/interview. You may include a link to your website or blog.
Response Time
Please be aware the response time may take up to three months, although generally you will hear a response much quicker. Please understand we receive several inquiries and submissions and aim to respond in a timely manner. General inquiries may also take up to four weeks to receive a response. Poets’ Quarterly is a volunteer operation and we will respond as quickly as we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
How to Submit
Please paste your submission into the body of an email. If this is problematic for your submission, please send an email to request permission to include an attachment.
Send reviews to reviews@poetsquarterly.com
Send interviews to interviews@poetsquarterly.com
All other inquiries should be emailed to info@poetsquarterly.com
Potential Reviewers
If you wish to write reviews but have nothing on hand to review, please send your letter of interest detailing previous review experience along with a brief, third-person bio, to reviews@poetsquarterly.com. As new books become available for review, interested contributors will be notified of what is available for potential assignment.
Publishers & Author Inquiries
Poets’ Quarterly welcomes contact from authors and publishers seeking reviews and interviews. Please send an email detailing the title available for review, date of availability, and a direct link to the book. This information is required upfront to determine reviewer interest. You will be contacted when a reviewer has requested your title. Questions and queries should be addressed to info@poetsquarterly.com.
Advertising Policy
Poets’ Quarterly will not include advertisements for books or authors. We will consider select ads for writing programs, conferences, workshops, and special events. Please email ads@poetsquarterly.com to discuss your needs and to request additional information about advertising policies and rates.
