Category: Self-taught MFA

Lessons From a Second Poetry Collection – guest post by Erica Goss

Landscape with Womb and Paradox, Erica Goss’s second full-length poetry collection, was published by Broadstone Press in January 2026. My debut, full-length collection of poems, Night Court, took three years and thirty submissions before it found a home at Glass Lyre Press, winning the 2016 Lyrebird prize, with […]

Inside Chill Subs: A Conversation with Benjamin Davis, free stuff + 50% off memberships until 1pm ET today!

In just a few years, Chill Subs has gone from a beer?sparked idea to one of the most unexpectedly essential tools in the lit?mag world. What began as a scrappy project built in a tiny village in Georgia has grown into a platform tens of thousands of writers […]

Where will I be at #AWP26? A Godless Ascends book signing, Fri. 3 – 4pm + my picks!

As #AWP26 approaches, the energy is already building. Whether you’re joining the conference in Baltimore or tuning in virtually from home, this year’s lineup is overflowing with opportunities to connect, learn, and celebrate the literary community. From powerhouse off?site readings to bookfair signings and panels designed to spark […]

What It Takes to Publish a Book of Poetry – guest post by Megan Alpert

When my book, The Animal at Your Side, won the Airlie Prize in 2019, it was the culmination of a seven-year submissions process in which I often wondered whether to keep going. I finished the book in 2012 and started sending it out in earnest in 2013. I didn’t […]

Your 2026 poetry submission horoscope – guest post by Kallie Falandays

Y’all, 2026 is supposedly not a normal year from an astrological perspective. Neptune enters Aries on January 26th for the first time since the 1860s. Saturn follows in February. These two planets then meet on February 20th—a conjunction that hasn’t happened in Aries for centuries. (Chani Nicholas calls […]

42 University lit mags/journals + why to submit – Tell Tell Poetry guest post

Special thanks to Tell Tell Poetry for publishing my guest blog post 42 University lit mags/journals + why to submit. If you’re a poet/writer looking to share your work, university literary magazines and journals are some of the most welcoming and rewarding places to submit. I’ve gathered this […]

2026 Literary Magazine Rankings by Clifford Garstang + submission strategy tips

If you’re not already familiar with Clifford Garstang‘s annual literary magazine rankings or you’ve forgotten to check them out for a while, here’s a reminder to how handy they are! Every year Garstang ranks lit mags based on Pushcart Prize anthology. He creates rankings for the three main […]

Oversight: Erasure Poetry – guest post by Carina Bissett & Lee Murray

“Literature is impoverished beyond our counting by the doors that have been shut upon women.” —Virginia Woolf In the famous, book-length essay “A Room of One’s Own” (1929), Virginia Woolf comments on the disempowerment faced by women throughout history. The lack of opportunity and resources, she claims, have kept […]

Register for my workshop on Dec. 13, 2025 – “The Body Writes: Poetry from Sensation and Perspective”

I’m pleased to announce I’ll be teaching a poetry workshop for the International Women’s Writing Guild on Saturday, December 13 from 1 – 3:30pm ET. This virtual poetry workshop invites participants to explore the intersection of sensory awareness and personal identity as creative catalysts. Through guided readings, reflective […]

The Power of Image in Poetry – guest post by Meg Eden Kuyatt

A former pastor of mine argued that the Biblical first act of human speech was poetry: Adam calling Eve “bone of my bone/flesh of my flesh.” This experience of woman’s creation was so spectacular to Adam that couldn’t respond with a simple narrative. There was something supernatural, seemingly […]

Trish Hopkinson