SUBMISSIONS FAQ
Our submissions window is currently closed. Please read the guidelines carefully before submitting your work.
How many poems will you consider? What are your formatting guidelines? And where do I send?
We warmly welcome submissions of up to six previously unpublished poems only – and of no more than eight A4 pages in total. Please send only a single submission per window. We’re strict about this: pressure due to time and volume means that we’re unfortunately unable to consider more. Poems may be standalone or form part of a sequence.
Poems should be single-spaced (unless you intend the poem to be presented differently), in a minimum of size-12, simple font (Times New Roman is perfectly fine).
You should attach your work to an email entitled: ‘Submission – [insert your name]’ and send to email address made available during submission windows. You may send your poems in one document or attach each poem as a separate document – whichever you prefer. Please include a brief biographical note in the body of your email.
Do you publish translations?
Yes. Where applicable, please ensure you have secured rights before sending to us.
Do I have to have an established track record in magazine or book/pamphlet publication?
No. Although our issues include a number of very familiar names, the principal aim of Bad Lilies is to include terrific poets at all stages in their career. It’s wonderful to publish poets we’ve admired for years and those poets now beginning to make a real mark, but it’s also a genuine thrill to platform exciting, entirely new voices. And here, we don’t confuse ‘new’ with ‘young’. Poetry shouldn’t feel like Logan’s Run…
Do you accept simultaneous submission?
Yes. The wheels of poetry turn especially slowly these days (one of the reasons Bad Lilies exists and seeks to publish quite regularly), and simultaneous submission can improve your chance of getting quality work out there. If you have good news from another journal while your work is still under our consideration, then we’re really happy for you (although we may be kicking ourselves, having missed a trick!), but please do let us know as soon as possible. We recommend you withdraw poems from submission by using the form on our Contact page.
Will I receive payment?
Sadly, at this point, the answer is no. Currently, no poets appearing in Bad Lilies receive payment; indeed, we florists are receiving no payment, either. We hope this will change if we secure funding and, in that case, going forward, all poets will be paid.
How long can I expect to wait for a response?
We’ll be making every effort to provide a fairly swift turnaround on your submission. If you haven’t received a response after ten weeks, then please do nudge us.
What’s the turnaround from acceptance to publication?
Although Bad Lilies does not produce themed issues as such, we of course look to identify pleasing connections between poems as well as balancing out voices and approaches to create a rich experience for the reader. This means that in some instances it may take up to six months from acceptance to publication as we put the pieces together: poems selected from any given submissions window will not necessarily appear in the very next issue of Bad Lilies. Please do let us know if publication of your work is time-sensitive due to forthcoming book or pamphlet publication.
Do you publish prose?
No. We do not publish critical prose at this point in time.
Do you provide feedback?
If we offer to accept a poem, then on occasion we may suggest line edits. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide feedback on work that we decline.
For more guidance and insight, read this interview with the Bad Lilies editors.