Submitting your poetry to magazines

What is the course about?

This course is an opportunity for students to learn the most effective way to submit their work to poetry magazines. Students will learn how to write an engaging cover letter, select the best pieces to send and how to avoid common pitfalls.

What will we cover?

- Preparing a cover letter
- Selecting pieces of writing to send
- Opportunities and pitfalls during the submissions process.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

- Develop your understanding of what poetry editors are looking for.
- Put together a submission package for a poetry magazine, journal or website.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This course will be of most benefit to students who have a range of poems to choose from for submission.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

The class will be taught through a mix of tutor instruction, pair work, text analysis and short writing activities.

All writing courses at City Lit will involve an element of workshop. This means that students will produce work which will be discussed in an open and constructive environment with the tutor and other students. The college operates a policy of constructive criticism, and all feedback on another student’s work by the tutor and other students should be delivered in that spirit.

For classes longer than one day regular reading and writing exercises will be set for completion at home to set deadlines.

City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

Please bring between 8 and 10 poems that you have written and would like to submit to poetry magazines.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

City Lit offer a range of professional development courses for poets including Create your first poetry collection.

All students are invited to join us at Late Lines, our regular performance night for City Lit writers. Students are also encouraged to submit their work to Between the Lines, our annual anthology of creative writing. For the latest news, courses and events, stay in touch with the Department on Facebook and Bluesky.