In this session, we’ll explore the end-to-end experience of submitting to literary magazines. We’ll go behind the scenes of popular submission platforms like Submittable and CLMP to understand how editors receive and review your submissions. Next, we’ll cover how to properly format your own work. You’ll receive cover letter templates and learn best practices for presenting your writing professionally. We’ll also discuss how to identify which literary outlets are a good fit for your work—and which ones might not be. Finally, we’ll reflect on the philosophical aspects of submitting creative work, including questions of ethics, readiness, and the rapidly evolving impact of AI on the literary landscape. Bring your questions and curiosity.
JOHN MCCARTHY is the author of three poetry collections, including Scared Violent Like Horses (Milkweed Editions, 2019), which won the Jake Adam York Prize. He is also the author of This Brutal Vanishing (Texas Review Press / Sam Houston State University, forthcoming 2028); and Ghost County (MG Press, 2016), which was named a Best Book of 2016 by The Chicago Review of Books. His poems have appeared in 32 Poems, Best New Poets, Cincinnati Review, Gettysburg Review and North American Review among many others. He is currently the Managing Editor of RHINO. Outside of poetry, John has spent the last decade in content design, researching and writing content for some of the world's biggest brands.
