We know, we know, waiting to hear whether your poems have been accepted by a literary journal can be so excruciating! Most journals take three to six months to respond, some even take up to a year. Luckily, if you’re looking for a quick reply on your work, we’ve got the perfect list of fast-response journals for you.
First, check out our interview with Cyril Wong of SOFTBLOW, one of our all-time-favorite online publications. He and his editorial team run a beautiful journal and most often respond to submissions in less than twenty-four hours!
And below, you can peruse our round-up of fast-response journals and magazines.
How or why was SOFTBLOW founded?
The journal was originally founded to fill a void in Singapore where there weren’t any webjournals that exclusively featured contemporary verse. Although still a resolutely minimalist site, it has since grown to welcome poets from everywhere.
What do you enjoy about your work as an editor?
Reading poems that startle and surprise and even move me in unexpected ways.
What qualities do the poems you accept for publication possess? What kind of poems are most likely to catch your attention?
Recently, we have become more inclined to feature shorter, shard-like, imagistic poems that are simultaneously honest and ripe with surprising metaphors.
What type of work would you like to see more of, whether thematically, formally, etc.?
More poems which are both confessional and imagistic at the same time. Less political correctness and more art. Mystical poems would intrigue us too.
What are some of your favorite poems or poets?
‘What the Doctor Said’ by Raymond Carver and ‘An Early Afterlife’ by Linda Pastan.
What other literary journals do you enjoy reading?
Cordite, The Cortland Review, Prairie Schooner and Mekong Review.
Where should poets send their submissions?
They can send their submissions (at least 4-6 poems in the body of an email) to editor@softblow.org.
If someone has a question, how can they contact you?
They can contact the journal at editor@softblow.org, but emails will not be answered if the information requested may already be gleaned from our editorial page.
Do you want or need a quick response on your poems? Check out the fast-response journals below:
The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts
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