boundby is now on whatsapp! follow us there for submissions updates and glimpses behind the scenes: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbD4dZADeOMzcqODuw2V

submit to boundby

Thank you for your interest in submitting to boundby. Please read our guidelines in full before sending us your work via the form at the end of this page. edition #007, due to be published in January 2027, is accepting submissions for three categories:

open category

Any poems, any subject, any form. All we ask is that they adhere to our guidelines.

spotlight category: procedural poetry

As we become increasingly disenchanted by ‘generative’ AI’s promise of spontaneous creation, edition #007 instead looks to human rituals and processes to help repair and engage our lost senses.

We hope to move beyond the limited ecosystem of the keyboard and word document; we want your poems that could only have been written lying in a field at sunset; those methodically activated, however accidentally; those that begin as proof of concept and end as diary entries for a body in motion.

extratext

In line with our poetic spotlight on procedural poetry, this edition will also publish essays on process and procedure.

Essays may explore the work of other poets or/and your own, but crucially they will attempt to address, document and critique experimental, embodied ways of writing and making poetry.

As always, we publish poetry-adjacent nonfiction of many different stripes, including but not limited to lyric essays, literary criticism, reviews, historical studies and unearthings.

our guidelines

boundby is keen to read work written by a wide array of voices, particularly those who are POC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, neurodivergent, and writers of all historically and presently oppressed communities. Our editors read and select submissions anonymously, and we are committed to upholding fairness in every stage of the publication process.

We do not consider work which promotes or incites discrimination of any kind.

We prioritise poems of 40 lines or less of text but reserve the possibility to publish longer poems in exceptional circumstances (never in excess of 3 pages of typed A4).

For nonfiction prose, we most often publish works between 1000-3000 words.

layout

Poets may submit up to 3 poems for consideration on a single Word or PDF document, with each poem on a new page. Poems and essays alike should conform to the following specifications:

  • Our house font is Palatino

  • Titles should be in size 16 font

  • Body text should be in size 12 font

  • Line spacing should be set to 1.15

Formal invention and visual (non-textual) experimentation are wonderful, in which cases, differing fonts, sizes, and spacing may contribute to the poem. We ask in these cases that the work be uploaded as a PDF so we can try our best to preserve the intended layout. 

personal information

In the interest of fairness, we ask that you do not put your name on the document with your poems or essays; please use the allocated space on the submissions form. 

We also ask for a very short 50-word or less third-person bio. This is a space to tell readers very briefly who you are and what you do, and to point them in the direction of your other work if you wish. We encourage you to use this section as sparingly and creatively as you desire. No pressure - we are just looking for a little snapshot of you.

further guidelines 

Poetry in translation and non-English poetry are warmly welcomed. If the whole poem is written entirely in a language other than English, our editors ask you to provide an English version (or approximation) along with the original. Translations do not need to be provided for individual words or phrases in a poem.

Submissions must be original works written by the named poet(s). Poems and reviews usually should not have previously appeared in any other online/print zines, been published as part of a collection or pamphlet, or anthologised. While as a general rule we platform new writing, we are open to conversation with writers surrounding reprints where they form part of a growing or evolving project — please reach out to us by the form on our ‘contact us’ page

We do not publish AI-generated work.

To ensure we platform a range of poetic voices, we do not publish work from the same contributor in consecutive editions.

Published contributors are reminded that, while boundby remains the first publisher of any selected works, all rights to the poem(s) belong to the poet. That said, we will always appreciate being acknowledged as the first publisher when a work is later republished elsewhere.

We understand simultaneous submissions are necessary, though we ask that you promptly inform us if your work is accepted elsewhere.

We reply to all contributors and aim to notify you three to four weeks after submissions close on the status of their submissions. If you have not heard back after this timeline then please contact us via email at boundby.team@gmail.com.