From 1 July to 31 August, we feature our fourth open submissions window.
SUBMISSION IS FREE. Selected poems are published as text and audio
which can be submitted, or recorded in our free Zoom sessions.
Marilyn & Howard Timms, publishers of Wildfire Words.
Our Open Submission Window 3 was our most successful so far –- we published 54 poets’ best poetry out of 71 poets who submitted. More than 70 per cent of the submissions have audio of the poem published alongside the text. More on Open Submission 3
Click here for how to submit
Read submissions published so far
For Window 4, we hope to see at least the same high standard as window 3 — and have just as many, or more, agonising decisions on which poems to publish.
As usual, we’re looking for poems on your own choice of theme that grab our attention, pull our heart strings, leave us open-mouthed or holding our breath, make us think, make us laugh or cry, and/or are strikingly original. In short, poems that excite us enough to share them with wildfire words readers.
For our open submission windows, we are only excited to share them if they have never been shared before — never published in print, online, or on your own website.
Deciding which poems to publish
Our decisions on whether to publish a poem are not anonymous. We see the poet’s bio with the poetry. Published poets have generally set a quality benchmark which we can use to gauge new poems. The work of poets with few or no published poems is assessed on quality and potential. In such cases, we may contact the poet to suggest some tweaks that would make us keen to share the poem on Wildfire Words.
We do not charge for submissions — or for feedback we offer on poems not accepted on first review. Our publishing service is non-profit-making and we provide the service out of a love of sharing poetry and the social and personal growth it provides for poets. Donations to support our service’s sustainability are welcome, but voluntary. A donation does not affect decisions on whether we publish a submission.
Submitting to this window
During this submission window, each poet may make one submission as a single file containing 1, 2, or 3 poems. Each poem can be in any form, but no longer than 80 lines including stanza breaks and dedication or footnotes, but not title.
You are also invited to supply a biography of yourself in no more than 50 words which may include the inspiration or explanation behind your poem/s. If your poem is published, your “bio” will be, too. Please include any publicity such as your webpage, website and/or Facebook/Twitter name in your bio, so that readers can discover more about you and your work
We also encourage you to make an audio recording of your poem(s) on your phone, laptop, or tablet or join one of our regular recording sessions. If you wish to record yourself, either send audio with your text submission, or make it after you learn that your poem has been published.
Click here to go to the submission form
Submitted poems must be your own original work, in English, and unpublished in print or online, including your own website. Where an original poet teams up with a translator into English, we will consider publishing the work, provided biographies of both original poet and translator are provided.
If we publish your poem, we will also publish your bio and consider your recording for publication. When we publish any poem that does not yet have an audio version, we will offer the poet an opportunity to record it alone or in a Zoom open mic session shared by wildfire words published poets.
If your work is published in wildfire words ezine, it will be on a non-exclusive basis for at least one year. The copyright remains yours for all poems, bios, and audio recordings you submit for publication.
Your submission is welcome
We aim to be inclusive of poets worldwide. We respect all people and their well-being, beliefs, individuality, and free speech, and expect the same from other poets. We’ll publish any poem that adds fresh creative spice to the poetry in this open submissions feature. We’ll evaluate your poetic jewel, whether it’s a cut and polished dazzler or a rough stone with some interesting lustre. So please don’t hesitate to submit.
If you would like to support the sustainability of wildfire words, a non-profit organization providing publication opportunities for poets worldwide, you can do so on this form.
The size of any donation will have no impact on your chance of publication.
When you submit using the form below, your entry will automatically be acknowledged within minutes both on screen and by email to the address you give in the form.
We aim to choose and publish successful text of all submissions by 7 September. We will hold Zoom sessions to record published poems for this submission window on Saturday 12 August and Saturday 23 September. On both days there will be a choice of sessions, starting at 11 am or 7 pm, London time, (BST). If we publish your poem, we will invite you to choose a forthcoming session to record your work.
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