Arc accepts unsolicited submissions of previously unpublished poetry in English, or translations of poetry into English, on any subject and in any form. For spoken word pieces, poetry uploaded to a submitter's personal channel or social media account is eligible for submission.
Arc is currently accepting general poetry submissions! General submissions received between April 1, 2025 and July 31, 2025, will be considered for the Spring 2026 issue.
Arc publishes reviews, interviews, and articles on poetry and poetry-related subjects. Please query first as Arc seldom considers unsolicited prose manuscripts; submit pitches or ideas, including a brief description and an estimate of anticipated length, along with samples of previously published work.
Arc does not publish fiction or drama.
Arc publishes a limited amount of artwork in black and white and in colour by a single artist or photographer in each issue, including on the front and back covers, and on up to eight inside pages. Please see www.arcpoetry.ca for instructions on querying about contributing visual art to the magazine.
Arc tries respond to unsolicited submissions of poetry and essay/article queries within four to six months. Arc can’t promise to respond to inquiries regarding the status of submissions before the completion of this editorial cycle.
Arc’s Writers’ Fees are as follows:
$50 per page for poetry or prose (including feature-length reviews) published in the magazine.
$50 per print-page-equivalent for poetry or prose on the website.
$80 per column for brief (approx. 500-word) reviews.
Arc accepts previously unpublished poetry in English or previously unpublished translations of poetry into English, on any subject and in any form.
Poets may submit poems that are simultaneously submitted elsewhere. If a poem that has been submitted to Arc is accepted by another publication, it should be withdrawn from Arc immediately via Submittable or by notifying Arc using Submittable’s messaging feature.
As a Canadian literary magazine, and due to the increasing number of submissions from US-based poets, we are requesting that US submitters pay a $2 submission fee per poem. If this fee is a barrier for anyone wishing to submit, please email us about having the fee waived.
General Poetry Submission Guidelines
- Submissions must not exceed three poems or 360 lines of poetry. Only three poems per poet will be considered each calendar year.
- Submissions of more than one poem must be broken up into two or three documents and submitted separately along with your biography. In order to submit the files separately you must go through the submission process for each piece you wish to submit. This allows you to provide each submission with the title of your poem and it allows us to group the submissions more easily and update you about the status of each individual poem.
- Submissions must be typed and single spaced (double spaces will be interpreted as blank lines).
- Submissions must include your name and email address on each page.
- Cover Letters must include your biography, which should be two to three sentences or approximately 30 words long.
- Submissions of visual poetry or concrete poetry should be submitted as PDFs. Spoken Word poems can be submitted as text or audio or video recordings.
What does it mean to be a poet engaged with the physical material of the world around us? How does poetic form change in the encounter with other beings? How do we write collaboratively with—rather than about—nonhuman beings and ecologies?
For the Fall 2025 issue, Arc is seeking experimental eco-poetry that engages with the possibilities of organic form. We welcome experiments with lyric, visual poetics, material poetries, and sound poetries. Submissions should be previously unpublished poetry in English or translations of poetry into English (please confirm you have the appropriate rights and permissions to publish your translation). Submissions on this theme will be accepted until May 15, 2025.
Poetry Submission Guidelines
- Submissions must not exceed three poems or 360 lines of poetry. (Note: poets may submit to this themed call as well as our general poetry submissions; submissions to this call do not count towards our limit of considering three poems per poet per calendar year.)
- Submissions of more than one poem must be broken up into two or three documents and submitted separately along with your biography. In order to submit the files separately you must go through the submission process for each piece you wish to submit. This allows you to provide each submission with the title of your poem, and it allows us to group the submissions more easily and update you about the status of each individual poem.
- Submissions must be typed and single spaced (double spaces will be interpreted as blank lines). Submissions of visual poetry or concrete poetry should be in PDF format. Spoken Word poems can be submitted as text or audio or video recordings.
- Submissions must include your name and email address on each page.
- Cover Letters must include the poet’s name (as it would appear in the publication if accepted), email address, and mailing address, as well as a brief biography, which should be two to three sentences or approximately 30 words long.
- Submissions of visual poetry or concrete poetry should be submitted as PDFs. Spoken Word poems can be submitted as text or audio or video recordings.
- Poets may submit poems that are simultaneously submitted elsewhere. However, poems that have been accepted by another publication should be withdrawn from Arc immediately, using Submittable.
Arc‘s rate for poetry of $50 per page. Payment is issued upon publication along with one free copy of the issue in which the work appears. With acceptance, Arc secures First Canadian Serial Rights, meaning the poems should not appear in any print or digital publication before the release of the issue in which the work appears. All rights will revert to the author upon publication.
Arc cannot promise to respond to inquiries regarding the status of submissions before the completion of a reading period.