Thanks to Randal A. Burd, who has cleaned up and updated this list of form-friendly journals I had re-posted on my website (originally created by Trish Hopkinson). Here is the updated version as of 2021.
PS The Best Ways to Find Places That Like Formal Poetry
Of course, the best ways to find new journals where you can offer your poems don’t need a list like this…The best ways are to read and subscribe to great journals that publish formal poems, and to read books by formal poets you love, checking out the Acknowledgments to see where they have been publishing:) But, that said, here is the list, and good luck!
And P.S. For the hottest recs of all on places to publish formal poetry–only for women and gender-nonconforming people, do check out Poets Cafe and Meter Magic Spiral, both in Poetry Witch Community!
Love,
Annie
60 Places to Publish Formal Poetry
32 Poems – $3 fee – no reprints – (32 Poems welcomes unsolicited poetry year round and accepts simultaneous submissions. We respond quickly though (often within a few weeks) and request that submitters keep that time frame in mind as they submit elsewhere. Poets who have not received a response within 90 days are encouraged to query regarding their manuscript’s status.)
Able Muse (General submission reading period open May 1, 2020, to July 15, 2020 (You may only submit unsolicited manuscripts within that time frame. Any manuscript received outside that time frame will be declined unread.))
Amethyst Review * (Submit up to five poems (of any length). Simultaneous submissions are ok as long as you notify us if a submitted piece is accepted elsewhere. No previously published work at this time please (including on personal or other websites). We ask that your work engages in some way with spirituality or the sacred.)
Ancient Paths Online * (“a predominantly Christian publication”)
Asses of Parnassus, The (short, witty, formal poems.)
Better than Starbucks (We accept previously published work in every genre we publish (all types of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.))
Blue Unicorn (Blue Unicorn wants well-crafted poetry of all kinds, in form or free verse, as well as translations. We shun the trite or inane, the soft-centered, the lazy poem. We are known to like pieces other mags reject (and vice versa). Shorter pieces have a slight edge with us because of layout considerations.)
Chained Muse, The * (Send us your poetry for review or submission. The world is longing for beautiful poetry that stirs the soul and rouses us to seek a better world. Every great new poem breathes new life into this effort.)
Christian Century, The (We publish shorter poems (fewer than 20 lines) that are grounded in images and that reveal an awareness of the sounds of language and the forms of poetry even when the poems are written in free verse.)
Coastal Shelf (Submit 1-2 poems to the free submission portal, or up to 4 poems for the tip jar submission portal. We like prose poems, narrative poems, lyrics poems, erasure poems, hybrids, you name it. There’s definitely a soft spot in our hearts for well worded narrative poems that teach us something new, whether it’s a cool new word or a fun historical or animal fact or a quote or intriguing idea.)
Creativity Webzine, The * (We accept submissions all year round and charge no reading fee. We only accept submissions by email. Send all your submissions, double-spaced with your name, address, contacts and the word count of your piece.)
Ekphrasis (Submit 3 to 5 typed or computer generated poems at a time. Make sure your name and address are on each sheet of paper. Submit on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Enclose a cover letter, poetry bio, and SASE. We do not accept email submissions. If you are submitting from outside the U.S., you may query by email. Previously published poems are used occasionally if fully credited. No simultaneous submissions. Each poem must address a single work of art. Payment is one copy per issue in which your poem appears.)
Ekphrastic Review, The * (“We want nothing less than to grow and expand the art form of literary writing inspired or prompted by visual art.“)
Epiphany: a Literary Journal $$ (This journal charges a reading fee.)
Fib Review, The (Since 2006 The Fib Review has been an online poetry journal that specializes in only one particular poetry form – the Fibonacci poem. Submissions are carefully selected for publication based on their poetic value and their adherence to the Fibonacci number sequence whether in syllable count, word count or any other experimental genre yet to be created.)
Grand Little Things * (GLT is looking for formal poetry, be it a tried and true form or an invented/nonce form. Blank and free verse will also be considered, assuming there are other aspects of standard versification.)
Hopkins Review, The (Submit up to five poems of any length. Must be typewritten and include the author’s name and contact information on each poem. List the poems in the cover letter. “The Hopkins Review is open for submissions from October through November of each year.”)
Horror Zine, The (We like rhymed poetry; however, if you rhyme it, don’t do it rigidly. In other words, do not focus on the rhyme instead of the content or else the poetry will sound forced. Free-form is also good and we like that as well. All poetry must be deliciously dark. Show some emotion.)
Hypertexts, The * (We do not accept unsolicited submissions, but poets are welcome to query Mike Burch through Facebook (he is the only Mike Burch wearing glasses with round lenses, so he’s easy to spot). Or if you know poets published by THT, you can ask them to introduce you to Mike Burch, via email or snail mail.)
Lavender Review: Lesbian Poetry & Art (Lavender Review is an international, biannual (June & December) e-zine dedicated to poetry and art by, about, and for lesbians, including whatever LGBTQ might appeal to a lesbian readership. This e-zine is free, and open to everyone. Submissions are open year-round, and there is no fee to submit.)
Light ((“We’re looking for funny, well-crafted poems. Most of the time, this means work that rhymes and/or scans—but we are also open to comic free verse… Please submit only poems that have never been published online.”) They also take poem of the week submissions.))
Lighten Up Online (Acceptance will normally be within two weeks. If you haven’t heard from us within two weeks of submission, assume the worst; Please do not resubmit poems unless you have been specifically asked to do so; Previous publication elsewhere will be no bar to acceptance by Lighten Up Online, provided that copyright has been retained by you.)
Literary Hatchet (We accept short fiction (500-7,500 words), speculative fiction, flash fiction, poetry, prose, photography, art, and illustrations. The above is not exhaustive. If you have an idea for a work that doesn’t seem to fit into one of these categories, feel free to send us a query using our contact form. Multiple submissions are accepted, but only one submission per entry, please. No simultaneous submissions accepted.)
Louisville Review, The (SUBMISSIONS are now closed for our forthcoming Fall 2020 issue. Our editors are now reviewing the submissions. Thanks to all who submitted their works of poetry and fiction. Our next submissions window will open in January.)
Lunch Ticket (Poetry submission periods are March 1 – April 30 and September 1 – October 31.)
Lyric Magazine, The (We use rhymed verse in traditional forms, for the most part, with an occasional piece of blank or free verse. Forty or so lines is our usual limit. We print only poetry, no opinions, no reviews, no advertising. Our themes are varied, ranging from spiritual ecstasy to humor to raw grief, but we feel no compulsion to shock, embitter, or confound the readers.)
Measure Review (Please send no more than five previously unpublished poems at a time in a single document through our Submittable portal, which is now open. You should clearly convey the formal framework of each poem in your cover letter to preclude all questions of authorial intent. Include a brief biographical note in your cover letter.)
Mezzo Cammin (Mezzo Cammin [is] a web journal devoted to formal poetry by women. Mezzo Cammin features poems in form by contemporary women writers; reviews of new books by and about women poets who work in form; and essays that explore a variety of topics, ranging from the accomplishments of a particular poet, to the possibilities of a particular form and the history and politics of canonization.)
Miller’s Pond Poetry Magazine * (Please Include an introductory note addressed to me (the editor), Julie Damerell, and a short bio with the poetry. If you don’t send a bio, and I choose your work, I will publish it without a bio. I will not consider submissions that are simply a collection of your poems and don’t indicate that you know to which magazine and editor you are submitting your work.)
Orchards Poetry Journal, The (While we encourage rhymed verse in traditional forms, we also accept finely wrought free verse. Send up to three poems, preferably unpublished. Please send your poems in a word document (not a pdf) and attach it to your email. Include your name and a fifty-word biography, inside the word document. Previously published poems are acceptable.) CLOSED for submissions until March 20, 2021.
Oxford Poetry (We encourage the submission of original poetry in English on any theme. Only poems sent in during our dedicated biannual submission windows will be read by the Editors.)
Peeking Cat Literary (We accept poetry, flash fiction, nonfiction, lyric essays, hybrid works, tiny truths, dreams, fragments, blackout poetry, visual poetry, macro poetry and so on, with one caveat: all submissions must be 500 words or less.)
PNReview (PN Review considers submissions in hard copy form only (unless you are an individual subscriber to the magazine, in which case electronic submissions, word files rather than PDFs, will be considered).
Poetry Porch (The next reading period will be December 15, 2020, to February 15, 2021.)
Post Road Magazine – $3 fee – (Post Road accepts unsolicited poetry, fiction, nonfiction, short plays and monologues, and visual art submissions. Our submissions periods run from October 1 to November 30 and March 1 to April 30.)
Raintown Review (We have a strong bias toward formal/metrical poetry. However, our interpretation of form ranges from the traditional to the experimental. We prefer poems that have NOT been previously published.)
Rat’s Ass Review (Rat’s Ass Review accepts simultaneous submissions; however, we do ask that you notify us promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere. Submit no more than 5 poems. Include a brief (no more than 75-word) bio.)
Rattle (Submissions are open year-round, always welcomed, and always free. Despite their growing prevalence in the literary community, we do not believe in submission fees and never will.)
Road Not Taken, The (The Road Not Taken: The Journal of Formal Poetry is accepting submissions on the following schedule: Fall Submission Period: August 15th – October 15th; Spring Submission Period: January 15th – March 15th; Summer Submission Period: April 1st- June 15th.)
Rue Scribe * (We accept submissions and subsequently read and publish on a rolling basis.)
Scarlet Leaf Review, The * (For poems – you should submit between 3 and 5 poems (we accept one poem only exceptionally). Submissions should be sent by email as a word attachment (no one drive, notes or anything else). You can also paste poems or stories in the body of the email. We don’t need a bio when you submit. We don’t read the bios. Regardless of who you are, if your submission is good, you will be published.)
Shenandoah (Shenandoah is open for POETRY submissions from January 15 through February 15 and August 15 through September 15.)
Sincerely Magazine (All copyrights will remain with the author or artist. By submitting you grant us permission to use your work in our publication. We reserve the right to make changes and editing to pieces before printing. Submissions including gore, profanity, erotica, or religious messages will be declined. Your first submission per magazine is free, but after that there is a $2.50 fee.)
Snakeskin * (Just cut & paste your original, unpublished poems into an ordinary e-mail and whiz them this way.)
Society of Classical Poets Journal * (Some type of meter, such as iambic pentameter, is preferred but not absolutely required.)
Sparked (Sparked is a journal for pieces ‘sparked’ or inspired by writing prompts & exercises. For our current purposes we’re mainly focusing on prompts posted at NotebookingDaily.com with intermittent windows where we will also accept submissions from notable promptsters such as 3Elements Magazine, Rattle, Furious Fiction, r/WritingPrompts, Poets & Writers & others.)
Sparks of Calliope ** (Sparks of Calliope is now accepting poetry submissions for publication. Poetry can be traditional or free verse, unpublished or previously published.)
Tahoma Literary Review – $4 fee – (Submissions are open, and we are reading through March 31. Our response time is between one and three months. Previous contributors to the Tahoma Literary Review should wait one full reading period after publication of their work before submitting to us again. Please submit only once per reading period.)
Think Journal (Please submit up to five poems (or one long poem) in a single Word document. Each poem should be on its own page and each should include your name and contact information. Poetry should be in line format (including indentations) in which the poet wishes it to appear in publication. Use 12-point Times New Roman font.)
Thrush (Submit previously unpublished work only. If you are sending us work that appears on your website, blog, or a self-publishing site, please remove it prior to submitting to us. Send us no more than three poems, pasted in the body of an email, preceded by a cover letter.)
Visions International (Send 3-5 unpublished poems not sent elsewhere.)
Valparaiso Poetry Review (Submit an essay, book review, interview, or no more than five poems at a time, and include biographical information via email.)
Verse_Virtual * (An online community journal of poetry.)
Vita Brevis * (“Vita Brevis publishes poetry, especially from unpublished or emerging poets”…no reading fees, accepts unagented poems, and keeps poetry submissions open year-round. Vita Brevis does not accept previously-published poems.)
Westward Quarterly * (WestWard Quarterly is published in January, April, July, and October. The deadlines for submissions for each issue are as follows: Winter—September 30; Spring—February 28; Summer—May 31; Fall—August 31.)
Whistling Shade (We are open for submissions year round, and only post deadlines for special features. Our publishing dates are roughly mid-April, mid-July, mid-September and mid-January, and we usually finalize the content 30 days before press.)
Wine Cellar Press (We are looking for original, unpublished poems and original artwork. Simultaneous submissions are accepted; Up to four poems as a word or PDF file. Please let us know immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.)
Writers’ Cafe Magazine, The * (Submit poetry (up to 5 previously unpublished) that adhere to the theme “Fairy Tale” by November 18th, for online publication on December 21st. Please include a third person short bio. Email address is on main site page.)
Yellow Mama (One story [or up to three poems] at a time and no simultaneous submissions! The absolute best way to make the Yellow Mama sh*tl*st is to send a story [or poem] and then pull it because you sent it somewhere else. Once you do that, you’re screwed at our house!)
Your Daily Poem * (Please send at least three but no more than six poems in the body of an e-mail. Submission of poems constitutes permission to feature said poems on Your Daily Poem. While all copyrights remain with the poet, please be aware that if your poem is featured, it will remain in the archives indefinitely.)