Are there any bookstores that stock Shō Poetry Journal?
Yes! You can find recent issues of Shō at our favorite independent bookstore in Prescott, AZ:
Peregrine Book Company
219 N Cortez St
Prescott, AZ 86301
Are there any libraries that stock Shō Poetry Journal?
Shō Poetry Journal is available to browse at the University of Arizona’s wonderful Poetry Library in Tucson:
University of Arizona Poetry Center Library
1508 E. Helen Street
Tucson, Arizona 85721-0150
520-626-3765
If you work at a library and are interested in subscribing to Shō, please get in touch.
Why do you charge a reading fee for general submissions on Submittable?
As a print journal that is coming out of a 20-year hibernation, we face certain challenges.
Whatever we receive through Submittable fees (after credit card and transaction fees) is used to offset the following:
• The annual fees for using Submittable
• The issue’s print run (especially in the face of paper shortages, increased demand, and therefore increased costs; and taking into account our inability to benefit from economies of scale)
• Postage and materials (which currently includes shipping copies to international contributors)
• Contributor copies and contributor discounts
• Membership to CLMP (Community of Literary Magazines and Presses), who help promote our issues
• Submittable membership and transaction fees
• Website management
• Domain hosting
Shō’s staff members do not get paid. We read for, edit, produce, distribute, and promote the journal ourselves; and we respond to all submissions within 30 days.
As we grow, we hope to be able to qualify for funding that will enable us to pay contributors beyond their print copies.
In the meantime, we do what we can. During each reading period, we offer:
– Free submissions to Native American and Canadian First Nations poets;
– One pop-up window of free submissions for BIPOC poets (announced in advance on social media).
Starting with Shō No. 6, we also award prize money and free subscriptions for each issue—read about the Sita Martin Prize and Shō Poetry Prize here.
We nominate contributors for multiple prizes, including Best New Poets, Best Spiritual Literature (edited and published by Orison Books), and the Pushcart Prize. We submit a copy of each issue to venues such as VerseDaily and New Pages.
We make efforts to promote and champion our authors.