15 Lit Mags Looking for Prose Poems (and how to find more)

My favorite genre plus my favorite way to find new places to publish

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OK, I'm going to try something a little different today. Instead of a data-driven list, I'll talk a bit about one of the ways I find places to submit beyond using Chill Subs, asking writer-friends, or—god forbid—slumming it on Twitter. It’s easy. I stalk people.

Right, hear me out. I write prose poetry. I write a lot of things (mostly bullshit) but prose poetry is a love I can't escape. I started after taking Billy Collins' Master Class. They asked him his process and he said something along the lines of, "I write it all out as a paragraph then go in and break it into lines." And I thought, well, fuck that. Why bother with line breaks, then? I have since warmed up to line breaks (though erasure poems will always elude me).

Point: I like prose poetry. I read magazines that publish prose poetry (yes, yes, I read lit mags, I'll accept my medal later). And when I find poems I like, I look for who wrote them. That lead me to Leigh Chadwick. She wrote prose poems for one of my favorite prose poem publishers (Pithead Chapel), and has a couple books published with one of my favorite indie presses (Malarkey Books)¹

You know what that means? Yup, stalkin' time.

But how to stalk a writer? Well, most writers have their lit bio published beneath their work. For example, here is Leigh Chadwick's bio for her poem, "Greg Abbott Can Go Fuck Himself" in Schuylkill Valley Journal.

Leigh Chadwick is the author of the poetry collection Your Favorite Poet (Malarkey Books, 2022) and the collaborative poetry collection Too Much Tongue (Autofocus, 2022), co-written with Adrienne Marie Barrios. Her poetry has appeared in Salamander, Passages Identity Theory, The Indianapolis Review, Pithead Chapel, and Hobart, among others. She is the executive editor of Redacted Books and is also a regular contributor at Olney Magazine, where she conducts the "Mediocre Conversations" interview series. Find her on Twitter at @LeighChadwick5.

Go through and pull the magazines they've published in:

• Salamander - Salamander is a US-based magazine founded in 1992 that is fee-free. — A nationally recognized magazine that publishes literary works of transformative power. We love discovering new writers as well as presenting outstanding new work by the best contemporary writers. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via their form. *Genres [Fiction. Flash. (3) Nonfiction. Poetry. (5)] Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 10% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs.

• Passages North - Passages North is a US-based magazine founded in 1979 that charges fees.. — Passages North, the annual literary journal sponsored by Northern Michigan University, has published short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and hybrid writing since 1979. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via Submittable. *Genres [Fiction. (Fee: 4) Nonfiction. (Fee: 4 Poetry. (5) (Fee: 3)] Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 2% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs. They are well-established on social media (20K+ following) (Listed in Erika Krouse's Top 500 Fiction Magazines)

• Identity Theory - Identity Theory is a US-based magazine founded in 2000 that is fee-free, responds within 60 days. — An online literary magazine and cultural hub that has been publishing original writing, interviews, and other forms of creative expression since July 2000. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via Submittable. *Genres [Fiction. Nonfiction. Poetry. (5)] Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 10% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs. They have a solid social media presence with 10K+ followers.

• Indianapolis Review - The Indianapolis Review, established in 2017, is an online quarterly publication featuring poetry, art, and visual poetry. We work to promote artists and writers from our region, but we also showcase work from around the country and the world. We don’t limit ourselves to one particular school or style of poetry or art; we simply want art and poetry that surprises, sings, and makes us think. - Submit up to 5 poems via email, no fee, no payment. Open until Dec. 1st (Not yet in our database)

• Pithead Chapel - Pithead Chapel is a US-based magazine founded in 2012 that is fee-free, responds within 60 days. — We’re looking for engaging art, fiction, nonfiction, and prose poetry. Most of all, we want your work to make us feel something. We want to reach the last word and immediately crave more. We want your work to leave a brilliant bruise. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via Submittable. *Genres [Fiction. Nonfiction. Poetry. (3)] Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 5% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs. They have a solid social media presence with 10K+ followers. (Listed in Erika Krouse's Top 500 Fiction Magazines)

• Olney - Olney Magazine is a US-based magazine founded in 2021 that is fee-free, pays writers and responds within 14 days. — We aim to showcase poetry and prose with sincere intentions, works that forgo aesthetic goals and academic conventions to offer an honest perspective to others. We seek writing that lives in the labor, takes long breaths, words that still have the dirt in them. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via their form. *Genres [Fiction. Flash. Nonfiction. Poetry. (3)] Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 10% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs.

Cool cool, but are they all prose poems? Easy to figure out. Most writers have a website. Just google, "[Name] writer" and usually their website pops up. For example: https://leighchadwick.com/

Boom. OK, now check out what those magazines published by them. Then, see where else they've published. To keep using Leigh Chadwick as an example:

• “If I Don’t Die First, I Will Know She’s Dead and Then What Is There Left to Do but Also Be Dead” - CLOVES Literary

  • CLOVES is a magazine founded in 2022 that is fee-free. — Nostalgia, trauma, & painful memories in 500 words or less. Single weekly pubs. Sporadic sub windows. Make us bleed—emotionally [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via email. *Genres [Flash. (1)] They nominate work for Pushcart, Best Microfiction. Our records show that they are active on social media.

• “I Am the Lead Singer of the Band” - Rejection Letters

  • Rejection Letters is a US-based magazine founded in 2020 that is fee-free, responds within 60 days. — We like the absurd, the heartbreaking, the hysterical. We like rejection letters, fiction, poetry, CNF, hybrid, whatever. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions.oleada *Genres [Fiction. Flash. Nonfiction. Poetry. (4)] Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 10% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs.

• “Dinosaur Poem Written in June,” $-Poetry Is Currency

  • $ - Poetry Is Currency is a US-based magazine founded in 2021 that is fee-free, responds within 30 days. — $ rejects cultural preoccupation with financial worth. $ loves poetry’s inherent non-monetary, anti-capitalist value. $ seeks poets who write what they believe most important, regardless of economics and the market. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via email. *Genres [Poetry. (7)] Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 5% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs.

• “It Takes a Calculator to Count the Dead” ONE ART

  • ONE ART: a journal of poetry is a US-based magazine founded in 2020 that is fee-free, responds within 7 days. — ONE ART is a home for good poems. We aim to publish poetry that adds value to the life of our readers. We hope to offer, sustain, and nourish a kind, inviting, and thoughtful community. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via email. *Genres [Poetry. (5)] They nominate work for Pushcart, BOtN. Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 10% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs.

• “That One Week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,” Scrawl Place

  • Scrawl Place is a US-based magazine founded in 2021 that is fee-free, pays writers and responds within 30 days. — Scrawl Place is part visitor’s guide, part literary journal. The audience for this online publication is the guest, the visitor, the traveler, the day-tripper, the out-of-towner, and the in-towners eager to wander. I’m looking for submissions about “places in the places” where you live or where you’ve visited. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. They are open to some previously published works. Submit via Submittable. *Genres [Fiction. (Pay: 35) Nonfiction. (Pay: 35) Poetry. (3) (Pay: 35)] Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 5% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs.

• “Every Year Is a Year,” No Contact

  • No Contact is a US-based magazine founded in 2020 that is fee-free, responds within 35 days. — We handle work as we’d want our own work to be handled — with great care in editing, presentation, and promotion. We create custom artwork for each piece, and assemble each issue with an eye for cohesion. We publish seasoned veterans and debut writers side-by-side [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via Submittable. *Genres [Fiction. Nonfiction. Poetry. (2)] Our records show that they are active on social media.

• “From Pretend I Am Real,” HAD

  • HAD is a US-based magazine founded in 2020 that is fee-free, responds within 1 day. — We had an idea for a journal that, like most things Hobart-related, started as something of a joke... until it became a real thing. If submissions are open, we've probably had a couple drinks. We're Hobart After Dark. Best source of parenting content on the internet. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via Submittable. *Genres [Fiction. Nonfiction. Poetry.] Our records show that they are active on social media. They have a solid social media presence with 10K+ followers.

• “Pudding Poem,” Twin Pies Literary

  • Twin Pies Literary is a US-based magazine founded in 2020 that is fee-free, responds within 60 days. — Give us pieces of the puzzle. Skip the haunting - give us what’s beyond it. We want: no-context stories, experimental poetry, form-altering CNF, writing we can hear. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via email. *Genres [Flash. (2) Poetry. (2)] Our records show that they are active on social media.

• “Maybe This Is Something After All,” Five South

  • Five South is a US-based magazine founded in 2020 that charges fees, pays writers, and responds within 180 days. — An online literary journal where storytelling counts. Whether it’s in prose or poem form, we want to get to meat of it. We like stories about people, places, memories, things that make us feel connected. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via their form. *Genres [Fiction. Flash. Nonfiction. Poetry. (3)] They nominate work for Pushcart, BOtN. Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 10% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs.

• “Sometimes, I Think I Can See Right Through Myself” & “What If We Have a Poem Called ‘Love Song’ and It Just Goes,” trampset

  • trampset is a US-based magazine founded in 2017 that is fee-free, pays writers and responds within 90 days. — A literary journal, trampset publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry on a rolling basis. We welcome diverse voices, including writers working outside academia. [CS Listing] — They accept simultaneous submissions. Submit via Submittable. *Genres [Fiction. (Pay: 25) Flash. (3) (Pay: 25) Nonfiction. (Pay: 25) Poetry. (3) (Pay: 25)] They nominate work for Pushcart, BOtN, Best Small Fictions, Best Microfiction. Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 1% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs. They have a solid social media presence with 10K+ followers.

• “Daughter,” Bending Genres

  • Bending Genres is a US-based magazine founded in 2018 that is fee-free, responds within 5 days. — We seek thrilling, fanciful, oddball, unusual, stunning fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction pieces. Think Olympics on a case of Red Bull. Think October in April. Think Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey. [CS Listing] — No simultaneous submissions. Submit via Submittable. *Genres [Fiction. Flash. Nonfiction. Poetry. (3)] Our records show that they are active on social media. They are in the Top 5% of most popular magazines on Chill Subs.

And what do you know, that's 17 new magazines for me to explore. You might nix ONE ART, and Twin Pies, since those poems had line breaks. This method not only leaves you with a bundle of new outlets, but also insights into what a magazine is comfortable publishing. Chadwick's poems are often witty, cynical, self-reflective (sometimes self-referential), and she doesn't shy away from vulgarity or dark themes (like gun violence). As a bonus, you're supporting another indie writer.

To give you an idea of how well this method works, I’ve published in six of the same magazines as Chadwick and will keep banging on Pithead Chapel’s door until they let me in, and I can snag #7.

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So, yeah. Today’s list was a bit of an experiment. I have no idea if people will like this format but, eh, got to keep it fresh, right? If it ain’t broke, keep trying to fix it. That’s the saying. Yeah.

BTW, Chadwick also wrote several poems in collaboration with Adrienne Barrios. So guess what I'm doing this weekend.

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1. BTW, their internal magazine ‘King Ludd’s Rag’ is open for subs right now.