How to Submit Poetry to UK Magazines: A Step-by-Step Guide
Your poems are finished. Now comes the part workshops rarely cover: getting them in front of an editor who might say yes. UK poetry magazines publish a great deal of work by writers you have never heard of, and many are actively looking for it. What separates the poems that get read from the ones that get skimmed is rarely talent alone. It is knowing where to send, how to present the work, and what to do while you wait.
Start With Magazines You Actually Read
Not every market in the country. The strongest submissions go to magazines whose taste matches the poems being sent. If you have read three issues of Magma and enjoyed them, you already know something about that editor's ear. If you have never opened Poetry London, that is a harder sell.
UK poetry publishing is wider than most new writers expect. Alongside established titles such as Poetry Review, PN Review, The Rialto, The North and The Manchester Review, there is a healthy spread of online magazines, university journals, regional anthologies and pamphlet presses that publish new voices in every issue.
Where to look
- The National Poetry Library and The Poetry Society both keep resources for writers, including submission information.
- Magazine websites. The submissions page is the only source that matters, because guidelines change.
- Submission platforms such as Submittable, where many journals post their calls.
- Listing sites and writers' newsletters, useful for spotting reading windows before they close.
- Competitions and themed anthologies, which are often a gentler first credit than a competitive magazine.
Many UK magazines read in windows rather than all year, so note the dates and set a reminder a fortnight before each one opens. Then look at what the magazine actually publishes. Two or three issues of a print magazine, or a handful of recent online pieces, will tell you more than any listing.
Read the Guidelines Twice
Guidelines are not admin. They tell you the maximum number of poems, the reading window, whether work must be previously unpublished, and whether simultaneous submissions are welcome. Getting these wrong is the most common reason a submission is declined unread.
Pay attention to the small print on rights. Most magazines ask for first publication rights, sometimes with a short period of exclusivity, after which rights return to you. Some also ask for archive rights or a non-exclusive licence to keep the poem online. None of this is sinister, but you should know what you are agreeing to. If a magazine wants all rights in perpetuity, or asks for money to submit without offering a clear service in return, pause and read again. Legitimate UK magazines may charge a small reading fee for competitions or for subsidised print issues, but the terms should be transparent. If in doubt, ask the editor a polite question before submitting. A quick email is better than a withdrawn acceptance later.
Prepare a Clean Submission
Editors read quickly. Make their job easy. Use a standard font, one poem per page, your name and contact details on each page, and a title at the top of each poem. If the guidelines ask for a single document, combine the poems in the order you want them read. If they ask for separate files, name them clearly: YourName-PoemTitle.docx. Avoid PDFs unless requested, because some editors annotate in Word. Do not send work in the body of an email unless the guidelines say so.
Check that every poem is the version you actually want to publish. Read it aloud. Look for accidental repeats, inconsistent punctuation, and titles that do not match the file names. Small errors are not fatal, but a poem that has clearly not been proofread gives an editor a reason to move on.
Write a Cover Letter That Does Its Job
A cover letter is not a pitch for your genius. It is a short, friendly note that tells the editor what you are sending, whether it has been published before, and how to contact you. Three or four sentences are plenty.
For example:
Dear Editors, Please consider the three poems attached for issue 42. They are previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere. I live in Leeds and have had poems in Strix and The Interpreter's House. Thank you for your time. Yours, [Name]
If you have no credits, leave them out. Do not apologise for being new. Do not explain what the poems mean. If you have a genuine connection to the magazine—you subscribe, you attended a workshop with one of the editors, your work speaks directly to a themed call—you can mention it in one line. Otherwise, let the poems speak.
Submit in Batches and Keep Records
Most magazines allow simultaneous submissions, but not all. If they do, you can send the same poems to several journals at once, provided you withdraw them immediately if one accepts. If they do not, respect that. UK poetry is a small world, and editors talk.
Keep a simple spreadsheet or notebook. Record the magazine, the date sent, the poems included, the reading window, and the expected response time. When a rejection arrives, note it and move on. When an acceptance arrives, withdraw the poems from anywhere else that still has them. This sounds obvious, but it is the step most writers forget.
What to Do While You Wait
Waiting is part of the process. Response times in the UK vary wildly: some online magazines reply within a month, while print journals may take three to six months or longer. Do not query before the stated time. Use the waiting period to write new poems, read more issues of the magazines you admire, and prepare the next batch.
Rejections are not verdicts. A poem rejected by one editor may be exactly right for another. Many well-known poets have drawers full of rejection slips. The useful question is not "Am I good enough?" but "Is this poem right for this magazine, and did I follow the guidelines?" If the answer is yes, send it out again.
After an Acceptance
When a magazine says yes, read the acceptance email carefully. Confirm which poems were accepted, check the rights being requested, and ask about payment if it is not stated. Some UK magazines pay contributors, many do not, but you should know either way. Reply promptly and professionally. Thank the editor, provide any biography or author photo they need, and meet the deadline.
Once the issue is out, share it. Buy a copy, post about the magazine, and thank the editor publicly if you wish. This is not just good manners; it helps the magazine survive and makes it more likely to remember you for future submissions.
The Short Version
Read the magazines you want to publish you. Follow the guidelines exactly. Send clean, proofread poems. Write a brief cover letter. Track your submissions. Keep writing. UK poetry magazines are full of work by writers who simply kept going long enough to find the right editor at the right time. Your poems are finished. Now give them the best possible chance.
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