Submissions for Issue One OPEN February 1, 2020. Submissions CLOSE 11:59pm EST March 15, 2020.
General Submission Guidelines: FERAL: A Journal of Poetry & Art
What we are looking for: We want your brave, your pain, your love, your teeth, your howling beast. All styles, forms and schools of poetry are welcome. Check our specific guidelines below for details of issue themes etc.
Please note that at the core of both FERAL and Animal Heart press is love. Although we wish it didn’t need to be said, we will not accept any work that is racist, homophobic, sexist or discriminatory. We are committed to publishing a variety of new, emerging and established voices. Further, we are committed to inclusion and equity in publishing. We highly encourage submissions from underrepresented voices including, but not limited to, women poets, poets of color, LGBTQ poets, and neurodivergent poets. International submissions are welcome, but we are only considering work in English at this time; no translations. FERAL nominates for the Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize.
We publish quarterly with submission windows as follows for 2020-2021:
February 1 – March 15: Published April 1, 2020
May 1 – June 15: Published July 1, 2020
August 1 – September 15: Published October 1, 2020
November 1 – December 15: Published January 1, 2021
Submissions should be sent to: feralpoetryandart[AT]gmail[DOT]com
In the subject line of your email please type: LAST NAME – TYPE OF SUBMISSION (for example: GORDON – POETRY).
For poetry, please submit no more than 3 poems and attach your submission in a single document (doc. docx. pdf.) For art, please submit up to 3 pieces (jpg. png.) We are not currently accepting submissions of fiction, CNF, reviews, videos, etc.
Please submit only once in each category per submission period. Additional submissions will not be considered.
We read blind, so please do not put any identifying information on your documents or images.
We do not accept previously published poetry or art. Work that has been published on your personal social media pages or website is not considered previously published.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome but PLEASE notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
A cover letter is welcome, but not required. If your work is accepted, we will request a bio at that time. We strive to respond to all submissions within 60 days (often sooner). Please do not query about your submission until 60 days have passed.
The entire staff of FERAL and Animal Heart Press work on a volunteer basis and receive no compensation, therefore we are unable to pay you for your work at this time. If your work is accepted, we request First North American serial rights as well as the right to archive your work on our website and to use your work, with credit given to you as the author, for promotional purposes. Otherwise, upon publication, all rights revert back to the author under the condition that you will credit FERAL: A Journal of Poetry & Art as the original publisher should your work be reprinted.
Call for Submissions: Issue One
For our inaugural issue, we have no theme and we cannot ask you to read previous issues to see what we like. So…
Show us what you want us to be. Let us build this fledgling journal on your dreams.
Share your pain, your joy, your trauma, your anger, your love, your life, your death, your ordinary day transformed into something extraordinary.
Make us want to be more human.
For poetry:
We don’t care if you’ve never been published or have 20 best selling books of poetry. We are not about degrees or status quo.
We do want well-crafted poetry. We want brilliant language. Teach us something new. Show us that you know about poetry craft, you know the rules…then break all the rules.
We are all writers. Make us say, “I wish I had written that.”
For art:
See all of the above. We don’t care if you’ve got work hanging in 20 galleries or you are a high school student taking your first art class.
We can’t wait to see the ways you surprise us.
