Tag Archives: Call for Submissions

OUR NEXT READING PERIOD FOR BHR ISSUE 19 / SPRING 2025 WILL BE JANUARY 1-15, 2025

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Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

(*Artist credit: Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash)


READING PERIOD FOR BHR ISSUE 19 / SPRING 2025 WILL BE:

JANUARY 1-15, 2025 

THEME: OFFERINGS

What will your offering be to the world?  What have you received as an offering that has made a difference in your life?  Reflect on this topic of what we give (and what we receive), and how this makes a difference.  It could be mentorship, volunteerism, friendship, love, support, kindness, one’s vocation. (*Note: please do not send submissions prior to January 1st.  They will not be read or considered.  Please visit the submission guidelines page for a complete list of instructions.)

I look forward to reading your poems!

—Cristina M. R. Norcross
Founding Editor, Blue Heron Review

January 15th-30th, 2024 / Next Open Call for Submissions / Blue Heron Review

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(*Artist credit: Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash)

Our next open call for submissions for our spring 2024 issue of Blue Heron Review (BHR #18) will be January 15th–30th, 2024.

THEME: THE POWER OF TRANSFORMATION & CHANGE

Feel free to interpret this theme in any way that speaks to you. This could be about personal transformation and inner change, transforming your local community, transforming your relationships with loved ones, or making a positive change in our world today. See where this theme takes you, and then send us your best poems.

*NOTE: Please see our updated guidelines page. There have been some changes. Please do not send submissions before January 15th, 2024. A recent change in the work flow of BHR will be that only 20-25 poems will be selected for each issue. We have grown tremendously over the past 10 years, and our issues have become too large to curate and edit. This change will enable Blue Heron to continue to exist without exhausting our inner resources. This means that the selection process will become more challenging, and we won’t be able to accept as many poems as we would like. Please keep this in mind when submitting. Managing a literary journal is a huge undertaking. It is a labor of love that does not come with a salary. Editors are writers, too, who have careers and families.

I truly look forward to reading your poems in January! Sharpen your pencils and limber up. It’s time to transform our lives through the written word.

All kind thoughts,
Cristina M. R. Norcross, Founding Editor
Blue Heron Review

Blue Heron Review News / Fall BHR Issue 15 due out end of October & our next submission period will be at the beginning of December

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Our next reading period for Blue Heron Review will be:
December 1st through December 15th, 2022

THEME: Sanctuaries and Places of Peace

Our theme for the BHR 16 Spring 2023 issue is “Sanctuaries and Places of Peace.”  Our whole issue is devoted to creating a safe haven of peace for our writers and readers.  You can describe a fictional place, your ideal haven, or a memory of a special place you’ve visited that has given you a feeling of serenity and peace.  The goal is to create a collection devoted to finding a peaceful place to dwell within the self, when the outer world becomes busy or challenging.  Having a place to refresh and renew the spirit allows us to move forward and give back in positive ways.  I look forward to reading about your sanctuaries!  (*A complete list of details can be found on our submission guidelines page.)

Image for BHR 16 subs Photo by Parul Gupta on Unsplash

(Photo by Parul Gupta on Unsplash)