Castle Poetry

New poems every fortnight, plus occasional reviews, articles, podcast etc

On a grand, weathered wooden writing desk reminiscent of an old castle study, a single sheet of thick, ivory writing paper bears a few lines of delicately handwritten verse in faded ink. An uncapped fountain pen with a dark lacquered barrel and gold nib lies diagonally across the page, a tiny ink droplet still glistening at the tip. To one side, a small, intricate brass castle figurine doubles as a paperweight. Warm, golden hour sunlight filters in from the left, brushing the desk’s grain and creating soft, elongated shadows. Captured from a close, slightly elevated angle with shallow depth of field, the image emphasizes texture and detail, evoking a refined, timeless, and sophisticated creative moment.

Submit

Jane Holland
3–5 minutes

Please submit a total of 4 poems to castlepoetrymagazine @ gmail.com, preferably as a Word document, or in the body of the email, with an optional covering bio in the third person of 50 words. (We are particularly – though not only – interested in writers with links to Cornwall.) If including social media/website links in the bio, only 1 or 2 please. If you don’t send a bio with your submission and your work is accepted, you will have a chance to send one at that point.

Castle Poetry

Submission Guidelines

*Poems may be on any subject, but the following magazine-related themes or topics are encouraged: Launceston (UK), Cornwall, castles, towers, the Middle Ages, history, high places, moorlands, coastal themes; also fortress, sanctuary, refuge, seige, war and conflict (though polemics and overtly political poems are discouraged), community, and visibility.

* Local poets (or those with a strong connection to Launceston and/or Cornwall) are particularly encouraged to submit work.

* Poems should be unpublished, including online/digitally (though poems that appeared briefly on a blog or in a forum, for instance, and are no longer available online, or largely not in their current form, will be permitted). If a poem is a translation, please state this upfront, with full provenance: only translations of poems that are clearly out of copyright (i.e. the author died over 75 years ago, preferably over 100 years ago) can be considered. If in doubt, please ask.

* Poems can be any length (within reason). But please be aware that unusual formatting may be difficult to replicate exactly here (for visual/concrete poetry, for instance, please submit as PDF or JPEG file).

* You should hear back within 6-8 weeks. If not, feel free to submit elsewhere.

* You may simultaneously submit your work elsewhere, but if you receive an acceptance from another outlet, please let us know promptly, thank you. Please do not submit work to us that is also being submitted to a competition in the same time frame.

* Filmpoems need to be in MP4 video format, following YouTube guidelines. The poems may have been published in print or online before. Accepted works may be uploaded to Facebook, Substack and/or YouTube, so we’d prefer them not to have been uploaded anywhere else beforehand, as this can cause copyright issues with YouTube in particular. (The poems themselves can be published or unpublished, but should be your own work.) Please credit any others involved.

* The magazine is generally aimed at an adult readership but may be read by younger persons, so this should be taken into consideration when submitting work, in particular any visual or audio-based work which may also be hosted on sites that exclude 18+ content, eg podcast material or filmpoems.

* We accept poetry articles, features, essays and unsolicited reviews for poetry pamphlets, collections and anthologies. (Unless you’re related to or close friends with the poet, that is!) 500-750 words per book under review, max 3 books per review submission. Reviews submitted by the poets themselves will not be accepted!

* Work accepted for publication will be featured typically within 6 months of acceptance, and often much sooner. (Poems in particular will be published at rolling intervals, preferably at least one or two poems fortnightly, rather than all at once on a scheduled date.) It is hoped that poets and their mates will help promote the magazine by sharing links widely online and encouraging others to submit work too and also subscribe – which is currently free.

* There is no payment for publication in Castle Poetry, either online or in any potential future hard copy publication. Sorry!

* Copyright of accepted poems always remains with the authors, one-time non-exclusive online publication in Castle Poetry notwithstanding. However, the magazine would also like the right to republish in physical format – also on a one-time basis (i.e. to publish a paper copy of the magazine featuring select poems taken from 6 months to a year of online publication) – if funding for that is ever forthcoming. Please indicate on acceptance if being included in any future paper copy is not acceptable to you.

* Publication is digital first. If a physical copy of the magazine is ever produced, please note it may not be possible to offer a free copy to featured writers, though this is dependent on whether funding is made available. Either way, copies will always be sold at as close to cost price as possible to encourage a wider readership. Again, please indicate on acceptance if you do not wish your work to be included in any future paper copy of the magazine under these terms.

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