THE Poets’ Republic

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Submissions callout for Issue 12
- featuring ‘Young Republic’ section

The next issue of The Poets’ Republic magazine will be published in February 2025 in a bumper new format. Submissions are invited from mid-November 2024 until the new year (see guidelines, right).

As a special feature - and in addition to general submissions - Issue 12 will feature 10 pages showcasing the talents of poets under the age of 30. This ‘Young Republic’ section will be guest-edited by Dumfries and Galloway poet Lydia MacMillan.

The Poets' Republic was founded in 2014 as a forum for poetry with a bite. Since then, we've produced eleven issues packed with poetry from across the world and in a range of languages, with an emphasis on promoting Scottish Gaelic.

We're pleased to say we've published more quines than loons as part of our commitment to equality - a founding ethos of the magazine. We've hosted and staged numerous events across Scotland, including at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and continue to act as a forum for the best contemporary radical poetry.

GUIDELINES

Please observe the guidelines - otherwise your submission may be rejected.

  • The submissions window for Issue 12 is open from November 15th to January 1st. Please don’t send any poems outside of these dates, as they will not be considered for publication. We’re keen to encourage submissions for our new ‘Young Republic’ section showcasing the talents of poets aged 30 and under. If that means you, please send us your best work . . . and spread the word.

  • Send up to three original, unpublished poems in a single word document, using 12pt Times New Roman, or similar (no fancy fonts). Please don’t send any other attachments - illustrations etc. What we like? We try not to be prescriptive, but . . . well-crafted poems (without being formulaic) that have something compelling to say about this big, bad beautiful world we all inhabit and do so in a way that surprises us. What we don’t like? . . . rants, sermons, speeches, obscurantism; unpunctuated poems (please don’t eschew commas).

  • Our panel of editors will oversee submissions and produce a shortlist which will then be whittled down. For Issue 12, we aim to publish around 40 poems in English and Scots, 20 poems for our Young Republic section, and 10-plus Gaelic poems. You will be contacted about selection in late January to early February. We aim to publish without fear or favour, so please do not contact our editors by any other means - social media or email, for instance - about deliberations over your submission, or it will be invalidated. In some instances, we may contact a poet to request edits or amendments as a condition of publication. The editors’ decision is final.

  • We cannot, at present, pay for any published work. We wish we could, but it is not feasible. All poets who feature in the magazine will be sent a free copy of the magazine. Some of the poems will also feature on our social media forums and website, and we may invite a selection of poets to record their poems for use on our website.

  • The body of your email should include your contact details, address and a short biographical note (no more than 30 words), written in the third person. Please don’t overlook this (you’d be surprised!). We may edit these for publication.

  • General submissions in English and Scots should be sent to poetsrepublic@gmail.com and marked as ‘Issue12’ then your surname. For example, ‘Issue12-MacKenzie’.

  • Submissions for the ‘Young Republic’ section (all poets aged 30 and under) should be sent to poetsrepublic@gmail.com and include the words ‘Young Republic’ in the email header.

  • Gaelic submissions should be sent to the same email address but prefixed ‘Issue12G’, so, for example ‘Issue12G-Mackenzie’.