SUBMISSIONS FOR THE FALL 2023 ISSUE (MHR 8.23) WILL OPEN ON AUGUST 1, 2023.

Theme TBD!

Please read our guidelines before submitting. Submissions outside of reading periods (listed below) will not be considered.

MockingHeart Review publishes high-quality poetry and artwork. See below for genre-specific guidelines.

As with any journal to which you would send your work, before submitting please read an issue to see what we like. Your publishing history does not matter, but the quality of the work does. We expect your best work in its final form. We read hundreds of submissions, and we try to connect deeply with each one.

MockingHeart Review considers unpublished work. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable if the Editor is notified immediately upon acceptance of your piece(s) elsewhere.

Submitters whose work is accepted grant MockingHeart Review first North American serial rights (FNASR), but rights revert to the creator upon publication. MHR reserves the right to anthologize, in printed or electronic format, material originally published in MHR. If work that has appeared in MHR subsequently appears elsewhere, the editor requests only that MockingHeart Review be acknowledged as the place of first publication. We regret that MockingHeart Review cannot pay contributors at this time.

POETRY

MockingHeart Review publishes twenty (20) poems, as well as a featured poet, in each issue. Please send: poems that express the complexities of the human heart in clear, precise, lyrical language. We want poems that call out to us, that won’t let us sleep or turn away; poems that gleam and palpitate with intimacy. We hope for visionary works that are visceral and that will leave us emotionally undone. We believe metaphors. We are especially intrigued by imaginative, imagistic language that melds the real to the surreal. We question reality. So can your poems.

Please DON’T send: poems that utilize clichés or are not finely polished. We want works that convey meaning and possess emotional impact, or convince us there is no meaning to be understood.

Email three to five poems, single-spaced; a brief cover letter; and 100-word, third-person bio, all in a single Microsoft Word Document (.docx). Please also include your preferred author photo. Your document filename should be your full name followed by the submission date (for example, “Jane Smith, 01/01/2020”). The email subject line should read “Submission: Your Name” only.

Send poetry to the Editor at: mockingheartreview@gmail.com

ART

MockingHeart Review publishes up to ten pieces per issue, as well as an occasional featured artist. We are open to all kinds of artwork–illustrations, photography, paintings, sketches, prints, engravings, sculpture, ceramics, and so on. Our taste is diverse and ever-expanding. Send us your masterpieces.

Please title all images with the format “LastName_Title”. Please include dimensions and media with your submission. Pieces should be sent as individual  JPEG or PNG files with resolution of 300 dpi. Images should be submitted in a high-resolution format.

Email one to three images as JPEG or PNG files, along with a preferred headshot photo, artist statement, and 100-word, third-person bio. Your document filename should be your full name. The email subject line should read “SUBMISSION: YOUR NAME” only.

Send artwork to the Art Editor at: mockingheartart@gmail.com

SUBMISSION PERIODS
Winter: December 1-31
Spring/Summer: April 1-30
Fall: August 1-31

PUBLICATION DATES
Winter: February 1
Spring/Summer: June 1
Fall: October 1

MockingHeart Review publishes three (3) issues a year. Submissions outside of reading periods, unless solicited, will be ignored. If your work has been accepted for an issue, please wait one full issue from publication before submitting again during the next open submission period. Always wait to hear from us regarding your submission before sending additional work.

ISSUES: WINTER, SPRING/SUMMER, and FALL. The Winter and Fall issues are themed; themes are announced just before the opening of the respective submission periods, as well as on this page. The Spring/Summer issue is open to general (unthemed) submissions.

Thank you for your interest in MockingHeart Review! We look forward to your work.

Please note: submissions that are defamatory, discriminatory, or plagiarized will not be considered, and senders of such work will be banned from submitting to MockingHeart Review again.

For more submission tips that generally work well for MockingHeart Review, take a look at Jane Friedman’s Writer’s Digest article:  How to Submit Poetry