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POETRY submissions Are open

Shō Poetry Journal

Established in 2002, revived in 2023

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Shō Poetry Journal is a nonprofit print journal emerging from a 20-year hibernation. We publish an eclectic range of poetry twice a year and publish audio features on a rolling basis. We strive to champion voices that have been historically underrepresented or overlooked. Browse a list of our contributors and follow us on Instagram for updates.

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"Hopi Leia" relief print by Hopi artist Sikuyva Dawavendewa

FORTHCOMING ISSUE

Shō No. 8

winter 2025/2026

This issue features 72 poems by 48 poets: Sean Cho A. • Hiwot Adilow • Elisa Luna Ady • courtney alyce • Seth Amos • Jack B. Bedell • Shlagha Borah • Apollo Chastain • Lyn Li Che • Chen Chen • Stephanie Choi • Lindsay D’Andrea • Loisa Fenichell • Cheyenne C. Fletcher • Reuben Gelley Newman • Carlos Andrés Gómez • Iain Grinbergs • Shira Leah Haus • Sarah Jordan • Joan Naviyuk Kane • Aiman Tahir Khan • Sophie Klahr • Whitney Koo • Giljoon Lee • Elizabeth Loudon • Betsy Mitchell Martinez • Rebecca Morton • Lisa Mottolo • James O’Leary • Mollie O’Leary • william o’neal ii • Konstantinos Patrinos • Ngoc Pham • Jessica Nirvana Ram • Jemma Leigh Roe • Adrie Rose • Rukan Saif • SM Stubbs • Virgil Suárez • Will Summay • Tiezst “Tie” Taylor • Tianyi • Reed Turchi • Margaret Wack • Joey Wańczyk • Gwenyth Wheat • Ross White • Yan Zhang

Cover art: “Hopi Leia” by Sikuyva Dawavendewa.

Pre-order now
A girl in a long white dress and a bird head mask sits on a bough under a full moon in a night forest landscape. Her hands are folded in her lap and her feet can't be seen. Text says: Shō Poetry Journal No. 7 Summer 2025.

CURRENT ISSUE

Shō No. 7

SUMMER 2025

This issue features 67 poems by 48 poets, including:

– Christian J. Collier (Winner, Shō Poetry Prize)
– Aldo Amparán (Shō Poetry Prize Runner-Up)
– Ohia, Ernest Chigaemezu (Winner, Sita Martin Prize)
– Nina C. Peláez (Sita Martin Prize Runner-Up)

Cover art: “Interim” by Tanya Rastogi.

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Online Features

  • Dec 1, 2025

    Elizabeth Loudon: Renunciation

  • Nov 1, 2025

    Native American Heritage Month 2025

  • Oct 30, 2025

    Shō Poetry Journal Family

  • Oct 30, 2025

    Audio Feature: Saddiq Dzukogi

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Past Issues

Shō No. 6

Winter 2024/2025

Shō No. 6 features 57 poems by 40 poets.

Cover art: “In Gilded Walls” by Tanya Rastogi.

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Shō No. 5

Summer 2024

Shō No. 5 features 68 poems by 47 poets.

Cover art: “Lucy” by Harim Choi.

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Shō No. 4

Winter 2023/2024

Illustration of girl wearing a large deer head mask with antlers. She is clothed in a dark blue tshirt and pants and stands in a high desert landscape, holding plastic flowers. A ghostly girl’s head is placed beside her in the grass.

Shō No. 4 features 73 poems by 47 poets.

Cover art: “Girl with Deer Mask” by Harim Choi.

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Shō No. 3

Summer/Fall 2023

Shō No. 3 features 62 poems by 42 poets.

Cover art: “Grandfather Autumn” by Juanita Violini.

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shopoetryjournal

Submissions are open ✨ We look forward to reading Submissions are open ✨

We look forward to reading your work!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀
1. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁
* Submit up to 5 unpublished poems in a single PDF or Word doc/docx
* Include your name and page numbers on every page
* Name your file ‘FirstName_LastName’ e.g. Virgil_Suarez.pdf (shoutout to @drcranky, published in Shō No. 2, whose poems will appear in our pages 22 years later, in Shō No. 8!)

2. 2. 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 (𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲)
* Include your poem titles
* Include a short third-person author bio
* Simultaneous submission? Let us know

𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 & 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀
* We do not accept work that has been generated by or aided by AI
* Please do not submit poems that have been posted online/published in any form
* To withdraw individual poems, use the ‘Messages’ feature in Submittable (do not notify us via email or our contact form)

𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄
* We charge a $3 submission fee for a response of 30 days or less
* Submissions are always free for U.S. Indigeous poets
* We offer at least one free BIPOC pop-up window per reading period
* All contributors receive a print copy of the issue. U.S.-based authors receive a discount on extra copies
* Editors’ Prizes of $150 each are awarded to two U.S.-based poets in each issue. The winners and two runners-up each receive a one-year subscription to Shō Poetry Journal

#submissioncall #submissionsopen #literaryjournal #printmag #poetrycommunity
We are thrilled to announce the winners of our edi We are thrilled to announce the winners of our editors’ prizes for our winter issue! Betsy Mitchell Martinez has been awarded the Shō Poetry Prize for three poems: ”Self-Portrait as Frida Kahlo with Prickly Pear,” ”Girl with Death Mask,” and “Diego Weighs in on Quality.” Betsy’s poems will be published in Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/2026)—preorder your copy at tinyurl.com/shono8.

Betsy Mitchell Martinez holds an MFA from the University of Michigan. Her recent poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Beloit Poetry Journal, Rattle, New Letters, Shenandoah, Washington Square Review, Southeast Review, Redivider, EPOCH, and elsewhere. 

Congratulations, Betsy!

#shopoetryprize #litmag
We are thrilled to announce the winners of our edi We are thrilled to announce the winners of our editors’ prizes for our winter issue! Cheyenne C. Fletcher has been awarded the Sita Martin Prize for three poems: “Lady of the Holler,” “Obit 1,” and “Obit 2.” Cheyenne’s poems will be published in Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/2026). Preorder your copy at tinyurl.com/shono8 and look out for Cheyenne’s audio feature soon!

Cheyenne C. Fletcher (@_failedchildstar) is a poet, auntie, educator, and citizen of the Cherokee Nation. She’s an MFA candidate at the University of San Francisco.

Congratulations, Cheyenne!

#sitamartinprize #litmag #poetry
We are excited to announce the prize honorees for We are excited to announce the prize honorees for our winter issue! Rebecca Morton is the runner-up of the Shō Poetry Prize for three poems titled “Uncertainty Principle.” Rebecca’s poems will be published in Shō No. 8 (Winter 2025/2026). Look out for her audio feature soon!

Rebecca Morton (@r_morton13) is a queer poet based in Chicago. Her debut chapbook Afterbirth (Small Harbor Press, 2024) explores her family’s involvement in the foster care system. Her poems appear in Smartish Pace, The Offing, Sugar House Review, Cream City Review, RHINO, TriQuarterly, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere, and have been featured on Verse Daily. A recent Tin House Summer Workshop participant, she holds an MFA from Eastern Washington University.

Congratulations, Rebecca!

#shopoetryprize #litmag
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Publishing Stats

Since our revival issue was published in Summer 2023:

327

Poems Published

224

Total Poets Published

98

Audio Features Published

42

Poems Nominated for Prizes

2

Poems chosen for inclusion in Best Spiritual Literature

Shō Poetry Journal


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