Shō Poetry Journal offers free submissions to U.S. Indigenous poets and to Indigenous Canadians (including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis poets). We are reading submissions for Shō No. 9 (Summer 2026) from December 15, 2025 to March 15, 2026.
Shō Poetry Journal is an Arizona-based biannual print journal revived in 2023 after a twenty-year hibernation. We publish an eclectic array of poetry by a diverse range of poets and release online audio features on a rolling basis. We strive to champion voices that have been historically underrepresented or overlooked. Each issue of Shō Poetry Journal features 40 to 50 poets, many of whom are emerging or early-career poets. Our tastes are eclectic. We welcome poetry that engages us with energy, clarity, and vulnerability, with a focus on voice and image.
Poets published in Sho Poetry Journal include Chen Chen, Erica Dawson, Saddiq Dzukogi, Ally Ang, Carlos Andrés Gomez, Cortney Lamar Charleston, M. Cynthia Cheung, Alison Pelegrin, and many other brilliant voices. Work published in Sho Poetry Journal has been anthologized in Best New Poets, Verse Daily, and Best Spiritual Literature.
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Submit up to five previously unpublished poems at a time. Our average response time is 2 weeks. We attempt to respond to all submissions within 30 days. Read our full submission guidelines here.
Shō Poetry Journal is a print journal. Payment is one contributor’s copy. US-based authors also receive a discount on the purchase of extra copies.
All work accepted for publication from US residents will be considered for the Shō Poetry Prize (best poem or group of poems in issue) and the Sita Martin Prize (best poem or group of poems by a poet who has yet to publish a full-length poetry collection). Each winner receives $150 and a one-year subscription to Shō Poetry Journal. A runner-up in each category receives a one-year subscription.
