Poetry General Submission (Fall 2025)
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We only accept submissions online via Submittable. We do not accept submissions via email or postal mail (with the exception of incarcerated writers). Any submissions received by means other than Submittable will be returned to the submitter unread or recycled if a stamped, self-addressed envelope was not provided.
We do not consider work that has been previously published in print or online. Please do not submit anything that has been published on your blog, through your Facebook page, in other magazines including those online, or in an anthology or chapbook.
We gladly accept simultaneous submissions. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please notify us immediately and withdraw your submission through the Submittable system. If a poem in a packet is accepted elsewhere, add a note identifying the piece that is no longer available.
We encourage you to read past issues of Blue Mesa Review before submitting so you have a sense of the type of work we publish. Keep in mind that our editorial staff changes year-to-year, so variance in style, point of view, and themes is to be expected.
Our editorial team often creates Staff Writes posts about the types of work we’re interested in publishing. We recommend you explore the Staff Writes for further insight into what catches our eye.
You may submit to more than one genre. However, please submit no more than one submission in a given genre (poetry, fiction, nonfiction). Multiple submissions in the same genre will be disregarded.
Due to the high volume of submissions we receive, response time can be longer than our standard two-to-six months. Please be patient. If you have not heard from us in six months, you can contact us here. “Submission Query” should be the subject line.
Individuals previously affiliated with the University of New Mexico (students, staff, and/or faculty), cannot submit to Blue Mesa Review until they have been unaffiliated for five years. If you have been published with Blue Mesa Review, please wait two years before submitting to us again.
Submissions should be saved in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx). Prose submissions should be double-spaced. Poetry can be single-spaced. Please use a standard typeface and font size (12 pt). Pages should be numbered.