Call for Poetry Jan 15-Mar 15
Blue Rivers welcomes poetry submissions in English for publication to our website. We are looking for poems that are clear, resonant, and accessible to a wide audience. If you’re submitting experimental work, we’ll read it, though experimental pieces are less likely to be published.
Submissions are open January 15 through March 15, 2026.
During the current submission window, selected poems will be published daily throughout April in celebration of National Poetry Month. Guest authors published during April will also be eligible for future print publications.
How to Submit
Please submit your poetry through our Duosuma page.
https://duotrope.com/duosuma/submit/blue-rivers-0J7Z2
While we appreciate the many different ways of writing poetry, not every poem will be a good fit for this year’s National Poetry Month. Thank you for sharing your work with us. Please understand that a “no” is more about whether the work is a good fit for this particular season, than a judgment about the work itself.
What We’re Looking For
We tend to favor poems that:
invite readers in quickly
use vivid language without requiring specialized knowledge
demonstrate a commitment to the craft
We are open to both contemporary free verse and more traditional forms. We appreciate experimental poetry, but we are seeking work that is accessible to general audiences. For technical reasons, we cannot accept visual poetry.
What We Don’t Accept
Please do not submit:
erotic poetry
political rants
hate speech
graphic violence
AI generated content (see use of AI below)
Submission Guidelines
Submit up to 3 poems per submission.
File formats: .docx or PDF.
750 words or less
Anonymous poem files: please do not include your name anywhere on the poems themselves.
Author identification: include your name and a brief author bio only where the submission form requests it (not in the manuscript).
Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Previously published poems are also welcome.
Withdrawals
If a poem you submitted to Blue Rivers is published elsewhere, we allow simultaneous publication. If you need to withdraw it, please contact us so that we can accomodate your request.
Rights
You retain the copyright to your work. By submitting, you grant Blue Rivers the right to publish the accepted poem on our website.
Author Confirmation Statement
You must be the original author of the poem. You cannot submit work on behalf of other people. You must agree to this statement:
“I confirm that I am the author of the work submitted and that I have the right to grant Blue Rivers permission to publish it.”
Use of AI
If you generated a poem from a prompt, do not submit the poem. If the AI revised the poem for you, do not submit the poem. If you use an AI as a collaborator or proofreader to improve your work, that’s acceptable.
Response Time
We respond as quickly as we can. Thanks in advance for your patience and for trusting us with your work.
