We are closed for submissions for our Fall 2025 issue.
Welcome!
Tar River Poetry invites previously unpublished poems and essays about poetry written in English by emerging and established writers.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
To submit poetry, please send up to five unpublished original poems as a single file. PLEASE DO NOT upload poems individually. Simultaneous submissions are allowed, and we ask that you notify us immediately if a poem is accepted elsewhere.
With your submission, you may conveniently purchase a one- or two-year subscription to TRP. Subscribers can submit for free, and you will get an expedited response in 2 weeks.
If you prefer, you may purchase a simple "expedited decision" without subscribing.
To submit prose about poetry, you can send us a 1000–1500-word review or essay about writing poetry. You are welcome to contact us with a query first should you want to pitch something that falls outside of our usual topic and length.
If we have published your work recently, please wait a year after publication before submitting again. And we ask that you submit no more than once per reading period.
RESPONSE TIME
For expedited submissions, you will receive an editorial decision within two weeks. For regular submissions, we'll respond in two to three months.
You should receive an autoreply from us immediately after sending your work. If you don't, please check to be sure your email spam-blocker does not have submissions@tarriverpoetry.com blocked.
We look forward to reading your work.
Please submit by selecting the appropriate category below.
We greatly appreciate the support of our readers, writers, and supporters. Thank you for making a donation in support of TRP.
For your two-year subscription, you'll receive 4 issues of TRP.
Subscription options:
- Two Years / Four Issues (discounted at $32) OR Two Years at the full rate of $36 to help support the journal
- One Year / Two Issues ($18) OR Round-up to $20 to help support the journal
- Single Sample Issue ($9)
For subscribers outside the US, please use the INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION category.
You may also make a donation of $50 or $100 to support Tar River Poetry.
For addresses outside the United States, a one-year subscription (two issues) is $25.00.
Please submit a book review or essay about the craft of poetry of 1000 to 1500 words. If you have an idea for an essay about poetry that doesn't meet these requirements, but you are passionate about, please send a query to us at tarriverpoetry@gmail.com.