Call for Submissions: Impossible Archetype
Author: Edit Team
January 23, 2020
Impossible Archetype is an international online journal of LGBTQ+ poetry. We welcome work from LGBTQ+ poets of all genders.
In 2017, we put out two issues full of poetry that made our hearts sing. Across 2018 and 2019, we put out four more. Anyone who submitted work for consideration for issues 1 – 6, whether you were accepted or not, are more than welcome to submit for issue 7 (and any future issues).
***SUBMISSIONS FOR ISSUE SEVEN OPEN ON 1st JANUARY 2020 AND CLOSE ON 1st MARCH 2020. Submissions outside of this window will not be read.***
What We’re Looking For
Excellent poetry by LGBTQ+ folk. All styles and forms welcome, from page poetry, to experimental poetry, to slam poetry (although particular care here should be taken that it will work solely in a text format). We welcome submissions in English from all over the world.
Primarily, we’re looking for poetry that is striking, beautiful and musical. We are a journal that is not afraid of form–send us your villanelles, sonnets, and sestinas–either are we afraid of unusual formatting or experimental work. We also like free verse. Basically we like all poetry BUT what is crucial to all submitted work is that it grabs us, that it has a depth of craft, musicality and passion. Send us impassioned pleas, captured moments, and distilled emotions.
All contributors must identify on the LGBTQ spectrum. Work submitted does not need to directly identify this (although it absolutely can!).
A good barometer of the breadth and variety of work we publish, and the kind of poetry that steals our hearts, is in our first issue, so give that a read if you haven’t do, but it your poem doesn’t fit that, fear not, send it anyway. We like what we like, and that might include your poem.
Submissions
Submit 1 – 4 poems to impossiblearchetype@gmail.com (there is no upper line length and we welcome longer work. Generally, a good rule of thumb is to keep the submission to under ten pages total).
Please format the subject line as follows:
Submission: x Poem/s by [INSERT NAME]
Submit all poems as an ONE attachment. Word files .doc or .docx only. No weird file types.
Please pay careful attention to the formatting of your poem, and use a standard font like Times New Roman. Work submitted will be considered the final draft.
Within the submission, please make sure to include
– your name (and, if different, your pen name)
– a biographical note (please keep this to 100 words or less).
We will respond to all submissions within two weeks of the submission window closing date (although work submitted earlier will most likely hear much, much quicker on a rolling basis). We are a journal that believes in responding as quickly as possible – we know whether we like work or not, and don’t intend to keep you hanging. Given this, please no simultaneous submissions.
Again, anyone who submitted work for consideration for previous issues, whether you were accepted or not, are more than welcome to submit for current and future issues.
If accepted
Congratulations! We are delighted to feature you in Impossible Archetype. We will be shouting out your work online and trying to get as many people as possible to read it. We will be shouting about your fantastic poem as, unfortunately, there is no payment. We would love to be able to pay you–we cannot. If that’s an issue, we understand, and lament the loss of your poem.
Impossible Archetype is primarily published as a free PDF. We also periodically post single poems on our website, too, and will email you a link if/when we post yours.
If rejected
We’re sorry. It’s not you, it’s us–we’re picky. We’ve always been like that. Please feel free to submit again during our next submission window–perhaps the planets will align then?
Copyright
When you submit a piece, you are giving Impossible Archetype ‘first publication rights’–we get to publish it first. Once published, the rights revert to you immediately upon publication. You can republish it anywhere you choose, although we would ask if you could give Impossible Archetype a mention as its place of first publication.
We also intend to keep the piece on our website. The idea is that as the journal grows, it will build up a beautiful archive of LGBTQ poets. Share in this dream!
The short version–the copyright to your work is yours and will always be yours. We want to publish it, but it’s always, always yours.
