The Shore

Submitting your work

The Shore accepts submissions via its website during reading periods, typically announced on its submissions page and social media. Send 3–5 poems in a single document, with a brief cover letter that includes your name, contact information, and any previous publications. The editors appreciate poems that demonstrate a strong command of line, image, and sound, and they are open to both free verse and formal approaches. Avoid simultaneous submissions to other magazines unless you indicate it and withdraw promptly if accepted elsewhere. Response times are generally within 1–3 months; if you have not heard back after that, a polite query is acceptable. The Shore does not charge submission fees for general submissions, though occasional contests may have a fee. Read several recent issues before submitting to understand the magazine's aesthetic range.

We publish four times a year, once each season. To submit, email three to five poems in a single document in DOC or DOCX format to [email protected] with the subject line “Last Name_First Name THE SHORE submission” with a cover letter and third-person bio included in the body of the email. Any submissions that do not follow these guidelines will be discarded. We accept simultaneous submissions as long as you notify us if the piece is accepted elsewhere, but we do not accept reprints. Upon acceptance, please withdraw your poems from other consideration. We ask that you please only submit once per reading period. We also ask that former contributors please wait a year from their date of publication to submit again.