The Starbeck Orion is an online poetry and artworks publication, edited by Paul Brookes , that is open for submissions by email. We publish about seven times a year, with a featured poet/artworker in each issue in addition to 24 poems/artworks from those submitted according to the guidelines below.
Submit up to 3 original poems in a single Word or PDF document called TheStarbeckOrion.docx (or .doc ) attached to your email.
Please include your name inside the Word document.
Each poem/artwork should start on a new page and have its title on the first line. Ideally Times New Roman font and font size 11.
The email should be sent to thestarbeckorion<at>gmail.com with the words The Starbeck Orion Contribution as the Subject of the email.
Note: Replace <at> with the ‘@’ symbol, which we’ve altered to avoid being found by spam robots.Maximum length for each poem is recommended at 43 lines - if you have a longer one and you’re really satisfied with it, send it anyway.
Simultaneous contributions are allowed, but let us know immediately if one of the contributed poems/artworks has been accepted for publication elsewhere.
Any poems/artworks with discriminatory language will be rejected. Form is not important - rhymed or non-rhymed, strict meter or unmetered, fixed formats or free verse are all acceptable.
Ideally poems/artworks should not have been published before in a book, pamphlet, anthology or third party online publication. Poems that have only appeared on your own website, blog, or on your social media are fine.
Authors retain full copyright.
Please also include a short third person biography (52 words max.) and we’d also like you to tell us your favourite constellation and why. Put these in the body of the email along with the titles of your poems/artworks
If you have a personal web site then you can also include a link to your site.
All works are accepted, and will be kept together. No work is rejected, unless it uses discriminatory language.. I have a policy of "holding over" works to the next available edition, skipping themed editions.
I do work chronologically, so work contributed nearer the closing date is more likely to be held over.
I am aware that some authors don't like their work tied up like this, so I accept simultaneous contributions. So if another journal accepts your work, and it will be in the public eye quicker, please tell me so I can withdraw it.
Whether you’ve been accepted or not, leave it a few months before trying again to give everyone a chance. If we haven’t chosen one of your poems, it’s definitely not personal and we would encourage everyone to keep trying.
Also, please subscribe to the site using the button below to get notifications of new issues.