Submissions open JUL. 1 TO AUG. 1

 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND INTEREST in MockingHeart Review. 

                                          ~The Editor

PLEASE READ OUR GUIDELINES BEFORE SUBMITTING

We accept poetry only. Prose poems are welcome.
Works that require extensive special formatting are discouraged.  Our apologies in advance.

Here is a .pdf of Frequently Asked Questions for submitting poetry that generally apply:  How to Submit Poetry

We seek works of the highest literary quality. We expect your best work in its final form.

We favor poems that express the complexities of the human heart in clear, precise, and lyrical language. We want poems that call out to us, that won’t let us sleep or turn away. Bring us poems that gleam and palpitate with intimacy. We hope for visionary works that are visceral and that will leave us emotionally undone. We encourage poems that speak to the personal and political inasmuch as the political relates to the person/a.

We believe metaphors. Entrance us with imagery that transforms. We are especially intrigued by imaginative language which melds the real to the surreal and are pleased when this is done well through artful craft. We question reality. So should your poems.

We do not like poems that utilize clichés or are not finely wrought. We shy away from experimental verse, unless it appeals to our aesthetic and succeeds in moving us. We want works that convey meaning and possess emotional impact, or convince us there is no meaning to be understood.

We favor poems of shorter length, generally of a line length of 30. There is room for flexibility regarding this.

If you are unsure if your work falls within these guidelines, send it to us anyway. We will respond during the selection process and may be able to help to further clarify through conversation. Please read an issue to see what we like. 

Your publishing history does not matter, but the quality of the work does.

It is customary to send only finished pieces when submitting poetry, for the reason that editors don’t have time to go back and forth between versions. Please keep this in mind. We read hundreds of submissions and try to connect deeply with each one. Be professional and send your finest work.

Our issues will showcase only the best-selected works. We will publish issues (3) three times a year.

Unpublished poems only. Simultaneous submissions okay, if the Editor is notified immediately of publication elsewhere.

Submissions outside of reading periods, unless solicited, will be ignored. If your work has been accepted for an issue, please wait six months from publication before submitting again, within an open submission period. Also, please wait to hear from us regarding a submission before sending more work.

MockingHeart Review cannot pay our contributors at this time.  Rights revert to author upon publication, although MockingHeart Review reserves the right to anthologize, in printed or electronic format, material originally published here. If work that has appeared in this journal subsequently appears elsewhere, the editor requests MockingHeart Review be acknowledged as the place of first publication.

SUBMISSION PERIODS

NOV. 1 – DEC. 1
MAR. 1 – APR. 1
JUL. 1 TO AUG. 1

ISSUES

WINTER, JAN. 1
SPRING/SUMMER, MAY 1
FALL, SEPT. 1

Attach (3) three to (5) five poems in a single Microsoft Word Document (.doc or .docx) to an email that contains a brief cover letter and 50-word, third-person bio in the body. Your document filename should be your full name. The subject line should read “SUBMISSION: YOUR NAME” only.

E-mail the Editor at: mockingheartreview@gmail.com