submissions

thank you for considering boats against the current as a home for your work!

we are now accepting poetry submissions which will be published online on our website in 2025. additionally, we are open for chapbooks submissions which will be published in print during 2025.

(if you would like to submit poetry for our next print issue, that will be a separate submission process. details to come).

online poetry submission guidelines

for online publications, we welcome poetry about any topic. work that portrays the experiences and voices of historically underrepresented individuals is encouraged. content that includes anything racist, homophobic, or sexist will not be accepted for publication. what we’re most excited about is poetry that approaches old topics in new ways. excite us with your words and images! 

here are some specific guidelines:

• email your submission to us @ editor@boatsagainstthecurrent.org  

• please use the following subject line: “First Name Last Name Online Submission”

• include your name and a short third-person bio in the body of the email 

• in a Word Document or Google Doc Link (please no PDFs – formatting gets messed up) include:

• 1-5 poems

• your name and contact information

• a brief third-person bio

• please only submit previously unpublished poetry (this includes social media and personal blogs)

• simultaneous submissions are allowed but you must email us immediately (within the same email thread as your original submission) and withdraw your submission if it gets accepted elsewhere

• while it is not a requirement, we typically prefer shorter poems (one page single spaced)

• at this time, we are not able to offer payment for the poetry we publish

• we respond to every submission within 3 months. if you have not heard from us after 3 full months, feel free to follow up by sending another email (in your original submission email thread – we can’t keep track otherwise).

• poems accepted during our open reading period will be published online on our website (not in a print issue). we will open for submissions later in the year for our third print edition. poets will need to submit in a separate process to be considered for the print issue.

thank you and we look forward to reading your poetry!

chapbook submission guidelines

thank you for considering boats against the current as a home for your chapbook! we are now accepting poetry submissions for our second year of chapbooks, which will be published in 2025 - on a rolling basis.

here are some specific guidelines:

• email your submission to us @ editor@boatsagainstthecurrent.org  

• the subject line must read “first name last name chapbook submission” 

• in a Word Document, PDF, or Google Doc include:

• 10-20 poems – which should be tied together by some sort of overarching theme 

• your name and email address

• a brief third-person bio

• acknowledgments of previously published poems (previously published poems are fine as long as you have permission from the original publisher/platform)

• simultaneous submissions are allowed, but you must email us immediately (within the same email thread as your original submission) and withdraw your submission if it gets accepted elsewhere

• once a chapbook is accepted, we require a signed publication agreement

payment/publishing information 

• since we are committed to accessibility and not charging reading fees, boats currently doesn’t make a profit. for this reason, we are also not able to pay our authors at this time, unfortunately

• chapbooks will be priced at-cost at $8, so they can be accessible to everyone – authors and readers alike

• for logistical reasons, we’ve been publishing on Amazon, which is not ideal for consumerism/political reasons BUT we are able to ship books worldwide which is great – and for people who have prime accounts, they can get free shipping

cover art

• cover art is entirely up to the author, but our team is able to help with ideas/designs

• for our first chapbook series, several people commissioned artists or friends, one author used an original painting, and one used a piece of art in the public domain

timing

you should receive a response within two months. please reach out to us @ editor@boatsagainstthecurrent.org with any questions. we know how much work goes into creating a chapbook and do not take this process lightly

we look forward to working with you!