The Mackinaw is a new journal of prose poetry. We are open to receive submissions anytime. We are reading for issue four and onwards. Send submissions to themackinawjournal@gmail.com. With your submission to The Mackinaw, we assume you are interested in the journal and to subscribing. Our email announcements will be infrequent, meant to share very occasional news.
Prose Poetry
Prose poems of any length. We do not consider any other forms of poetry!
We prefer 5 to 10 prose poems at a time. We publish only twelve poets per issue and like to publish a handful of poems for each of them. Give us a selection to choose from.
We enjoy the lively discussions about what prose poetry is and what it isn't. We are amused by the discussions over whether prose poetry exists or not. Our one non-negotiable in our definition of the prose poem is that it does not use line breaks. Paragraph, stanza, or section breaks are fine of course.
If a poem is unusually long, use your judgement. You can query about it if you aren't sure.
Interviews
Query if you would like to interview a writer or publisher on the subject of prose poetry.
Reviews
We consider book reviews of prose poetry. We don't care for critical or academic style reviews, but prefer writing that engages personally, candidly, and honestly with the material.
Craft Essays
We eagerly consider craft essays on prose poetry, or other essays on the subject of writing prose poetry or reading prose poetry. We want personal, philosophical, literary, and creative essays rather than academic ones.
Translations
We eagerly consider translations of prose poetry and will publish them in English and their original language. Please include permission from the original poet or let us know if the work is in the public domain.
The Nitty Gritty
-Submission fees are $5 CAD, around $3.75 USD. Please use the button below to pay before sending your submission. The submission fee is for your whole submission, not per poem!
-The submission fees help us manage the journal time and fees and the volume of submissions. Thank you. If you are in hardship and cannot pay, submit anyways and let us know.
-Tell us what you are sending in the subject line of your email (translation, prose poetry, craft essay etc.)
-Send us 5 to 10 poems or one review, essay, or interview query at a time.
-Send all of your poems together in one email. You can paste them in the body of the email or attach one Word document. Please do not send a PDF. The exception is if you are sending a PDF in addition to pasting the poems in the body of the email, for reference.
-Simultaneous submissions are expected and encouraged. Please withdraw as soon as possible if work is accepted elsewhere.
-We hope to respond within two months.
-Previously published work is accepted. Please let us know the publisher's name so we can credit appropriately.
-Include a brief bio up to 100 words.
-Do not send revisions to your work or your bio after submitting. Don't submit until you are ready and your work is finished. Use an evergreen bio that highlights a bit about your writing and something interesting about you.
-We will edit glaring typos: mistakes happen, and "autocorrect" happens. We seldom make substantial changes, preferring to maintain the voice and intention of the author at all times. In the rare event that we do want to make major changes, we will first ask you and work with you.
-We cannot pay you. Sorry.
-By submitting, you automatically consent to be on our email list. You can of course cancel at anytime, but we will not send very many notices. You will very occasionally receive an email about the journal, events, workshops, and information related to prose poetry and The Mackinaw.
-Use this email: themackinawjournal@gmail.com
Rights
We do not own your work!. You are free to use your own work for any purposes you wish before, during, and after we publish it. We want to share and showcase your work, not hold it hostage. If we decide to publish your work and you agree to it, you are giving us permission to show your work on our site for as long as we exist.
If your work is published elsewhere in the future, we would very much appreciate a nod, along the lines of, "This first appeared in The Mackinaw: a journal of prose poetry."