Submission Guidelines

Disclaimer:

While we exclusively publish work of traditionally marginalized voices, your work does not need to be written about your marginalization, nor do you have to prove your identity or out yourself in any way. We only ask that your work adheres to the theme of the current issue. Therefore, if you are not a person of color, LGBTQ+, disabled, or marginalized at all, we are trusting you to save space for those who are often shunted to the side.

Maw is currently closed to submissions for our fifth issue.

The theme for this issue is the word “listen” — what has piqued your interest lately? What do you want the world to notice, what story do you want to share? It’s our turn to listen, so be as loud or as quiet as you want. But please, be sure to read the guidelines below so that we are able to read your work and give it the time and attention that it deserves.

Please send your work to mawpoetrymagazine@gmail.com (or press the handy button below, if you prefer). If your work is selected, we will respond to your email letting you know which of your poems we are interested in.

We accept submissions of 1-5 poems, compiled in a single PDF document. The submission should be no longer than 10 pages total. Please attach your PDF to the email.

In the subject of the email, please include the word SUBMISSION, in all-caps, just so. In the body of the email, please include:

— The name that you wish to be published under

— Your pronouns (i.e. xe/xem/xemself)

— Any content warnings for your pieces, with the title of the poem that they correspond to

— A third-person bio that is under 70 words; we will include this with your work in the issue

We will respond to all submissions within 1-3 weeks of receiving them. Please don’t be disheartened if your work is not selected — we welcome you to submit again!

Your work belongs solely to you as the poet; if we publish your work, we make no claims to it. However, we reserve the right to edit or reformat your work when we are compiling the issue for the sake of consistency.

While we do not accept previously published poems, you may absolutely (and are encouraged to) send us simultaneous submissions. Just let us know if your work is picked up elsewhere, and we will withdraw your submission and send you our warmest congratulations.

As for our bottom line for content, you should know that we absolutely will not publish:

— Racist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, and/or misogynistic rhetoric

— Work that glorifies or explicitly portrays distasteful violence and sexual assault, especially towards marginalized groups

Congratulations for reaching the bottom of the guidelines! You are amazing and now you are rewarded with the convenience of the Magic Red Submission Button: