the Poetry kit
HOME POETRY KIT COURSES SUBMISSIONS CITN NEWSLETTER BOOKSHOP BLOG
Independent Poetry Magazines & Journals
Print, online and hybrid magazines for poets - substantially checked October 2026
Poetry Kit has always been interested in the full range of poetry publishing, particularly the independent magazines, little magazines and editor-run journals that provide important opportunities for poets.
This is not a ranking and it is not intended to favour the largest or most prestigious publications. A small magazine run independently by committed editors can be every bit as important to poetry as a large institutional journal. The list therefore includes print magazines, webzines, experimental publications, specialist magazines and publications serving particular communities or kinds of poetry.
Please Note
Submission arrangements change frequently. A magazine marked closed may reopen, and an open magazine may temporarily suspend submissions. Always visit the magazine's own website and read its latest guidelines before sending work.
Read the magazine before submitting whenever possible. The best guide to what an editor wants is the poetry the magazine actually publishes.
INDEPENDENT MAGAZINES UK & IRELAND
Reach Poetry
UK Print Monthly
One of the longest-running independent poetry magazines in the current UK market, published by Indigo Dreams. Now in its 26th year, it publishes experienced and new poets and considers formal verse, free verse, haiku and other approaches.
Submissions: Currently considers work from subscribers, who may submit two poems per month digitally.
The Dawntreader
UK Print Quarterly
An independent Indigo Dreams magazine with an international readership. It has a distinctive interest in myth, legend, landscape, nature, spirituality, love, the mystical and the environment, and publishes poetry alongside prose and articles.
Submissions: Open for general submissions. Up to three poems of 40 lines or fewer, or prose up to 1,000 words. Check the current guidelines.
Obsessed with Pipework
UK Print Quarterly
A genuinely independent little magazine of new poetry, describing its territory as poetry with 'strangeness & charm'. Founded in 1997, it particularly welcomes work willing to explore less predictable creative directions.
Submissions: Open year-round. Up to six original unpublished poems. No simultaneous submissions.
Orbis
UK Print ” Quarterly
A long-established independent poetry journal with a strong community element, including reader voting and awards. It publishes a broad range of contemporary poetry and remains a useful market for poets outside institutional circles.
Submissions: Normally open on a rolling basis. Check the magazine's current submission instructions before sending work.
The Lake
UK Online Monthly
An independent contemporary poetry webzine edited by John Murphy. It considers all forms of poetry and is unusual in being willing to consider previously published work under its stated conditions.
Submissions: Up to five poems by email. Simultaneous submissions are accepted if declared.
Allegro Poetry Magazine
UK Online Twice yearly
A free independent online poetry magazine publishing a general issue and a themed issue each year. It is open to a broad range of contemporary poetry.
Submissions: Submission windows are normally 1 June–31 July and 1 December–31 January. Up to four poems.
Ink Sweat & Tears
UK
A major independent webzine publishing poetry, prose, word-and-image work and filmpoems. Its breadth makes it particularly valuable to poets working beyond conventional page poetry.
Submissions: Uses periodic submission windows. Check the live submissions page before sending work.
Spelt Magazine
UK — Independent
An independent magazine with a particular interest in rural experience, landscape, place and the many ways people relate to the non-urban world. It publishes poetry and creative non-fiction.
Submissions: General poetry submissions are by email; up to six poems. Check the website for current calls and themed opportunities.
Tears in the Fence
UK Print / Independent
An independent international literary magazine with a long commitment to adventurous writing. It explicitly seeks unusual, perceptive, risk-taking, imagistic, lived and visionary work and publishes a diversity of poetic approaches.
Submissions: Up to six poems. No simultaneous or previously published work. Non-subscribers currently pay a small submission fee.
Dream Catcher
UK Print
A long-standing independent magazine publishing poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction. It welcomes writers at every stage, from unknown to well known, and describes its editorial character as friendly and eclectic.
Submissions: Informal reading periods are December–February and June–August. Poetry submissions are currently postal; up to six poems.
The Alchemy Spoon
UK Print
An independent poetry magazine particularly interested in giving space to both established writers and new voices, including poets who have come to poetry later in life. Issues are themed.
Submissions: Periodic themed windows. Up to three poems, normally no more than 40 lines. Check the current theme and dates.
Long Poem Magazine
UK Print
A specialist independent magazine devoted to the long poem and sequence. It offers a rare home for ambitious work that cannot easily fit the conventional magazine-page model.
Submissions: Regular submission months include June and November. Up to two poems; each poem must be at least 75 lines.
The Frogmore Papers
UK Print Twice yearly
A long-established independent little magazine from Frogmore Press, publishing poetry and prose. It remains deliberately traditional in its submission process and rewards writers who know the magazine.
Submissions: Submission windows: April for the September issue and October for the March issue. UK submissions are currently by post.
morphrog
UK / International Online Twice yearly
An independent online journal edited by Jeremy Page and Peter Stewart. Originally poetry-focused, it now also includes prose, translations, photography, audio, visual material and other creative media.
Submissions: Welcomes submissions by email in a single Word document; visual and audio work is also considered.
Pennine Platform
UK Print Twice yearly
One of the UK's long-running independent poetry magazines, promoting poetry since 1973. Although rooted in the Pennine region, it publishes poets from elsewhere and does not require a regional subject.
Submissions: Submissions are normally accepted in February and September. UK poets submit by post; overseas poets may submit by email.
Crannóg
Ireland Print Twice yearly
An independent Galway magazine publishing poetry and short fiction. It combines an established print presence with an emphasis on new writing and pays contributors.
Submissions: Poetry windows are normally November and May. Up to three poems under 50 lines. No submission fee.
The Stinging Fly
Ireland Print & Online
An independent Dublin literary magazine and small press with a strong record of finding and developing new writers. Each issue combines poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and it actively welcomes writers who have not previously been published.
Submissions: Periodic submission rounds through Submittable. General poetry submissions allow up to three poems. Currently between general reading rounds.
The Honest Ulsterman
Northern Ireland Online
A long-running independent literary magazine now published online, carrying poetry, prose, interviews, reviews and criticism. It remains an important part of Northern Ireland's literary magazine culture while publishing beyond the region.
Submissions: Periodic submission windows. Check the current guidelines before submitting.
Atrium Poetry
UK Online
An independent online poetry magazine presenting individual poems with generous space and a clean reading environment. It publishes both established and emerging poets.
Submissions: Opens and closes periodically. Check the current status before sending work.
The Interpreter's House
UK Online Twice yearly
A long-established independent poetry magazine, now entirely online and free to read. It publishes a wide range of contemporary work and continues the little-magazine tradition in digital form.
Submissions: Normally open 1 April“14 May and 1 October–14 November. Up to five poems.
London Grip New Poetry
UK Online Quarterly
An independent quarterly selection of new poetry within the wider London Grip review site. It publishes poets from Britain and internationally across a broad range of styles.
Submissions: Normally reads submissions in January, April, July and October.
The High Window
UK Online
An established independent online poetry magazine and substantial archive of contemporary poetry. It remains a useful reading resource even when unsolicited submissions are not being accepted.
Submissions: Not currently accepting unsolicited poetry submissions; retain on the directory as an active reading resource.
Butcher's Dog
UK Print
An independent poetry magazine associated with the North of England but open more broadly to poets based in the UK and Ireland. It publishes established poets alongside previously unpublished and emerging voices.
Submissions: Currently taking a one-year publishing break and closed to submissions. Listed because it remains an important independent magazine to watch.
LARGER AND INSTITUTIONAL MAGAZINES
Poetry Kit also recommends that poets are aware of the larger and more institutional poetry magazines, including The Poetry Review, Poetry London, Magma, The Rialto, Poetry Wales, Stand and Poetry Ireland Review. They remain important markets, but this directory deliberately gives greater space to the independent sector because those magazines can be harder for poets to discover.
BEFORE YOU SUBMIT
Read before sending. Try to understand the individual character of the magazine rather than sending the same group of poems everywhere.
Follow the guidelines. Observe limits on poem numbers and length, file formats, submission windows and rules concerning simultaneous or previously published work.
Keep records. Note where and when each poem was submitted, and withdraw it promptly where necessary if it is accepted elsewhere.
Support independent magazines. Many are produced with very small budgets and considerable voluntary labour. Reading, buying or subscribing where you can helps keep independent poetry publishing alive.
KEEPING THIS DIRECTORY CURRENT
Poetry Kit welcomes information from editors about new independent poetry magazines, changed submission arrangements, new web addresses and publications which have closed.
We want this directory to represent the breadth of independent poetry publishing rather than simply reproduce a list of the most prominent magazines.