Submission Guidelines

Song of the San Joaquin accepts submissions of poetry having to do with life in the San Joaquin Valley of California. This area is defined geographically as the region from Bakersfield to Sacramento, and from the foothills on the west to those on the east. Seasonal poems need to be appropriate for the season of the year to which the poem is submitted. They need not mention any specific geographic place, but should somehow be characteristic of the people, activities, and area.
 
Email submissions are preferred. Attach poems as MS Word documents, one poem per document, although all three poems may be attached to one e-mail. Direct all e-mail correspondence to the editor at

        <song.poet@sbcglobal.net>.

There is no maximum line length for submissions; however, poems of less than 40 lines have a better chance of acceptance.

Include name and contact information on each poem (name, address, e-mail, title of poem; also include mention of any previous publication and/or prizes this manuscript has received).  Please include a three- to five-line bio. Notification time may range from three weeks to three months.

For typed manuscripts, send to: Editor, Song of the San Joaquin, PO Box 1161, Modesto, CA, 95353-1161. Please include e-mail address and contact information. Please do not send originals, as no copies will be returned.

Please submit no more than three poems per issue.

Submission Deadlines: March 1 for Spring, June 1 for Summer, September 1 for Fall, December 1 for Winter.

Artists and writers retain all rights. Your submission of manuscripts is considered permission for one-time publication plus possible publication on our website. If you do not wish to be considered for website publication, please let us know in a cover letter.

The editors reserve the right to correct punctuation and spelling. Every effort will be made to contact the poet in advance in regard to any other edits.

Payment is one copy of the issue in which your work appears. No other payment is made.

The Song of the San Joaquin staff does not assume responsibility for views expressed by contributors; for lost, stolen or damaged manuscripts/artwork; for failure to have given proper credit; or for any breaches of copyright.

For samples of poetry from previous issues visit our website at

    <http://www.ChaparralPoets.org/SSJarchives.html>.