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 prose 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 prose; 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 works belong to the writer. 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.