The Palette Craft Notebook

This category is always open for free submissions!

We are looking for both pitches and completed drafts of poetry craft essays. We love work that engages with specific elements of poetic craft, and welcome any writing that dives deeply into the nuts and bolts of how poetry works. We’re also interested in hybrid craft essay forms, and welcome work which is not easily classifiable, including work with a personal essay element, experimental forms or formatting, or anything that explores the boundaries of genre—as long as it has a clear craft focus and aims to educate, inform, and inspire working poets.

We are especially interested in craft concepts inspired by books from independent publishers, writing advice that puts more than one text into conversation with another, or essays that highlight underrepresented or marginalized voices. We would prefer that at least one of the texts that you are engaging with was published within the last year, although this is not a hard-and-fast rule.

Our ideal length for these pieces is between 1,000 and 3,000 words. If you need additional space, please leave us a short explanation in your cover letter.

For pitches, please submit:

• a brief (500 words or fewer) summary of what element of craft you would like to explore, and what writers or books you are planning to highlight;
• a biographical statement (100 words or fewer) with any relevant credentials; and
• 1-3 samples of similar work, if possible.

If you would like to send a finished draft, please indicate your word count at the top of your submission. We would especially love to work with emerging writers on drafts, so if you’re not sure if something is publication-ready, send it along and see if it’s a good fit—we’d be happy to work on it with you! Drafts should be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, with regular margins, unless specific formatting requires otherwise.

Accepted essays pay $50.

We can’t wait to read your work!