Kids’ Poetry Submissions
Anyone who has been a kid knows that kids learn by doing.
Writing poetry is no different. It takes practice, and practice, and practice. That practice involves not just writing words on a page, but sharing that work with the world.
The sources below are a variety of website, magazines, and anthologies that focus specifically on publishing children’s poetry! If you know any young poets, submitting to a few might be the perfect next step for them.
YPN is run by The Poetry Society, designed specifically for young poets up to age 25. Their website offers tools for writing and editing poetry, but also publishes a prolific amount of young poets’ work. They host themed contests approximately once a month, and also update a list of other open poetry contests. This is a great community for younger poets to get involved with!
Write the World is an online community, similar to YPN, that aims to support teenagers’ writing. They have a huge community of teachers, parents, and other volunteers involved, and resources designed specifically for all these groups. Along with writing prompts and editing tools, they also host poetry workshops for young poets. This may be one of the biggest communities for teen writers out there, and it’s easy to get involved!
Pen&Quill Magazine is a small online publication “by young writers, for young writers.” Their website is relatively new, but sponsored by reliable groups such as Princeton University and Poets&Writers. Along with (free!) poetry submissions, Pen&Quill publishes weekly writing prompts and other resources for poets. This can be a great launching spot for young poets looking to publish somewhere small.
Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things was the first poetry magazine that I ever submitted to. With publications both online and in print, it is one of the more prestigious journals on this list. They only publish around 3% of the work they receive, but submissions are free, so it never hurts to try! Ember publishes work by both children and adults, but aims to be most accessible to children.
YoungArts, in partnership with the United States government, offers scholarships and opportunities to artists in many different disciplines, including poetry. The scholarship is extremely competitive, and there is an application fee, but it may be a powerful opportunity for very skilled, older poets. If chosen to receive the award, this could shape a whole host of opportunities for a young artist.
Yep, we publish poetry here, too! AllPoets focuses on sharing poetry from a variety of people and places, and that includes publishing work from kids and teenagers. Take a look at our submission guidelines, or read work from other young poets here.
