Poetry Contest: Break Poetry Open

Open All April – Fee Free

Send us your poems that challenge what poems are, what poems do, how poems mean. We’re especially interested in new forms, new takes on existing forms, and experimental work, as well as poems that ask us to broaden our definitions of “poetry” in general. We want innovative and inclusive voices, poems no one has written yet, the poems inside you that have been begging to be written.

Submission Guidelines

Please submit 1-3 poems in a single document.

Submissions will be reviewed for suitability by Brain Mill Press staff. You will receive editorial development and feedback on your submitted piece and a contract granting Brain Mill Press the limited right to reproduce your piece on Voices. You will retain all other rights to your work.

Your poetry and profile will be published on bmpvoices.com and promoted on our social media outlets. Your post will contain your headshot and bio, as well as information you may wish to include about recent work and your website and social media links.

Brain Mill Press strongly encourages submissions from people of color, women, LGBTQIA+ writers, First Nations writers, and disabled writers. Please direct inquiries not answered in this call to inquiries@brainmillpress.com.

Prizes

Each week, the Brain Mill Press editors will select one or more submitted poems as the editors’ choice pick(s) for the week. Editors’ choice selections may choose any poetry title from the Brain Mill Press catalog for their prize. In early May, the editors will select a winning poem, and the poet will receive the full collection of Brain Mill Press poetry titles for themselves, as well as a second collection to gift to an organization of their choice.