submissions

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

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! 

please note: we are currently open for submissions for online publication only. poems accepted during our open submission period will be published online on our website (submisisons for our third print issue will open sometime this fall or winter. poets will need to submit in a separate process to be considered for our next print issue. we are also not open for chapbook submissions at this time).

here are some specific guidelines:

• we have a new submission process! please use the submission form below and do not send your submission via email.

• please send us your submission as a Google Doc link. make sure permissions are set for “anyone with the link can view.” you may also set to “anyone with the link can comment” or “anyone with the link can edit” depending on your preferences. we just need to at least have permission to “view” it so we can access the doc. within the Google Doc, please include:

  • your full name/pen name, email, and contact information

  • 3-5 poems

  • a 2-3 sentence third-person bio that we can use on our site

  ***please do NOT submit a PDF or Word Doc or any other form except a Google Doc link***

• please only submit previously unpublished poetry (this includes social media and personal blogs).

• simultaneous submissions are allowed, but you must email us immediately 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 because we do not charge reading/submission fees.

• we respond to every submission within 3 months.

  • if you have not heard from us after 3 full months, feel free to follow up. please make sure to include the name and email address associated with the original submission.

thank you and we look forward to reading your poetry!