Since Patricia Oxley launched Acumen in 1985, we have sought to publish the best in new poetry and poetry translations, alongside articles, debate, comment and reviews of recent poetry publications.
We publish new and established writers, and are proud to have discovered many new voices.
All poems are considered on merit. We welcome unpublished poems, translations of poems, articles and debate on poetry covering a wide variety of topics and with different writing styles.
Please read this guide to get the best out of submitting your work to Acumen.
PREPARING YOUR SUBMISSION
Please do take a look at Acumen. You can see examples of our content on these web-pages, or you can order a copy of Acumen, take out a subscription, or ask for a subscription or copy as a birthday or other present. Knowing the sorts of work we take will help you choose which of your poems or prose are most likely to appeal to Acumen readers.
You can subscribe here:
Or you can buy single copies from our shop here:
SUBMISSION PROCESS
You can submit either by post to the address below, or by email.
Please:
• Submit no more than 6 poems (fewer if they are long) or one essay/article or letter.
• Include your name, address and contact details (email, phone no) in the footnote of every page.
• Provide a brief covering note with the details of your submission, and indicating whether you are submitting poetry, essay, or letters/comment.
• Indicate if you are submitting for the young poets pages on the website.
• Note, we do not consider simultaneous submissions (i.e. work that is submitted elsewhere), the submitted work should be unpublished and not submitted elsewhere.
• Ensure your submission is typed.
• Submit no more frequently than once every three to four months.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOUR SUBMISSION
• The editor aims to read all submissions, usually several times, within one month of receipt.
• If your work is not shortlisted we will reply / return the poems/article.
• Unfortunately due to the volume of poems and essays we receive we are unable to provide individual appraisal.
• If poems or your work is shortlisted, it enters the shortlist for the next issue of Acumen. The final poems / articles to be included in the issue will be chosen from the shortlist about two months before the issue is released. So, for example, the September issue will be finalised towards the end of July, the January issue towards the end of October, and the May issue towards the end of March.
• This means that if your work is accepted it will be published in the next issue of Acumen.
• Page proofs of accepted poems / articles will be sent with notice of the acceptance while the issue is being prepared for authors to check.
• We cannot pay for published poems or articles, but we can give you a free copy of the magazine when your poem or article is published.
• Sadly we receive thousands of poems, and many more good poems and articles than we can publish, and so don’t be discouraged if we have not chosen your work on this occasion. You can find lists of poetry magazines for example at the Poetry Library or the Poetry Kit.
SUBMITTING BY EMAIL
• Please send up to 6 poems, or one essay, in ONE file, as a word or text file, attached to your covering email.
• Please ensure your name and details are included in the file as above.
• Send your submission, with a brief covering email, to: acumeneditor@gmail.com
• We will endeavour to let you know if any of your poems are included in the shortlist.
• If you have not heard from us after 6 weeks please do get in touch, as we have found that unfortunately sometimes emails end up in the junk mail and we will endeavour to let you know if any poems are in the shortlist or not.
SUBMITTING BY POST
• Please send up to 6 poems, or one essay, to
Danielle Hope, Editor, Acumen,
4 Thornhill Bridge Wharf,
Caledonian Rd,
London, N1 0RU.
• Please ensure that you have sufficient postage for your letter, and include an SAE with sufficient postage for a reply, and for return of your poems if required.
• Submissions with insufficient postage on receipt or no details for reply will not be considered further.
• If you would like early notice if any of your poems are included in the shortlist, and want to know which ones are/are not in the shortlist, please include an additional SAE. This SAE will be returned to you if not needed.
• Please do get in touch if you have not heard after four months, as that should be the longest time that your poems could be held in the shortlist before you are notified of the outcome. Unfortunately, mail sometimes goes astray.
POETRY BOOKS FOR REVIEW
Acumen published reviews of new poetry collections and books. Sadly we receive many more books that we can review.
Please send books for review to:
Andrew Geary
Acumen Reviews Editor
25 Southbrook Drive
Cheshunt
Hertfordshire
EN8 0QJ
Email: acumenreviews@gmail.com