30+ Magazines That Pay For Poetry (2023)

Poetry is a unique form of literary art that uses words and language to evoke a poet’s feelings and thoughts and uses metaphor, symbols, and ambiguity to convey a message.

Not everyone can create poems and that’s why being a poet can help you pay the bills.

Below we highlight websites and magazines that give you an opportunity to get paid for writing poems. The rates vary, with the lowest being $5 and the highest being $350+ per poem.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Magazines can either be in print or digital (electronic) versions
• Some of these magazines have submission deadlines, so be sure to check that out

Below are some of the best magazines that will pay you for writing poems. We have also included their pay rates to help you identify the ones that suit you the most.

1. Blue Mountain Arts

The Blue Mountain Arts is an independent card and book publisher that holds poetry contests twice every year. They accept both rhyming and non-rhyming poems and do not have any limitations on the number of submissions.

Pay Rates: The winner gets $350, the first runner-up gets $200 and the second runner-up gets $100.

2. The Threepenny Review

The Threepenny Review is one of the best magazines that pay for poetry. They accept unpublished poem submissions and require the poems to be at most 100 lines. All poetry entries should be single or double-spaced.

Pay Rates: $200 per approved poem.

3. The Boulevard

Boulevard is a renowned literary magazine that accepts poetry submissions. The magazine accepts unpublished works and you can submit up to five poems at once. They require each poem to have a maximum of 200 lines.

Pay Rates: Minimum of $25 and a maximum of $250 per accepted poem.

4. The Sun Magazine

The Sun Magazine accepts submissions not only for poetry but also for fiction, essays, and interviews. They do not have a minimum word count for poetry submissions.

Pay Rates: Between $100 and $200 per published poem.

5. The Southern Review

The Southern Review is another website that accepts unpublished poem submissions for their national literary magazine. You should not submit more than five poems at once (maximum of fifteen pages).

Pay Rates: Minimum of $25 per page and a maximum payout of $200.

6. Chicken Soup for the Soul

The publishers of Chicken Soup for the Soul also accept poetry submissions for their upcoming books. They require submitted poems to be written in the first person and should be about a real-life incident you or someone you know went through.

Pay Rates: $200 per accepted submission.

7. CrazyHorse

CrazyHorse accepts different literary submissions, including poetry and fiction & non-fiction stories. With poetry submissions, you need to include three to five poems per submission, with each poem having not been published elsewhere.

Pay Rates: $20 per page and a maximum payout of $200.

8. VQR

VQR is another literary journal that accepts poems of different types and lengths. VQR only accepts poems that have not been previously published and is one of the best-paying magazines for poetry submissions.

Pay Rates: $200 per poem for up to 4 poems. You will get paid $1,000 if you submit 5 poems and all are chosen for their print magazine.

9. The Capilano Review

The Capilano Review is another renowned magazine that pays for poetry. You can submit unsolicited, unpublished poems, with the maximum being five poems per submission.

Pay Rates: $50 per published page and a maximum payout of $150.

10. Orion Magazine

If you’re passionate about nature, culture, and environmental issues, Orion Magazine could be an ideal platform to get paid to write poetry. You can submit 2-3 poems at a time and each should have a maximum of 40 lines.

Pay Rates: $100 per accepted submission.

11. SubTropics

SubTropics is a literary journal published by the University of Florida and accepts different submissions, including literary fiction, essays, and poetry. You should only submit a maximum of four unpublished poems.

Pay Rates: $100 per accepted poem.

12. Slice Magazine

Slice Magazine accepts poetry submissions through Submittable. They often recommend that you read a few issues of their magazine to get a feel of the type of poems they publish. They only accept unpublished poetry submissions.

Pay Rates: $75 per published poem.

13. Rattle

Rattle has a print and digital version that accepts poetry submissions. They look out for unique and insightful pieces that stand out. You should also submit works that have never been published elsewhere before.

Pay Rates: $50 for poems published on their website and $100 for print publications.

14. EPOCH Magazine

EPOCH Magazine is another well-known magazine that accepts poetry submissions and pays quite well. The magazine, which is published in the Creative Writing Program at Cornell University’s English Department, needs a maximum of five poems per submission.

Pay Rates: Minimum of $50 per accepted poem.

15. Arc Poetry Magazine

Arc Poetry Magazine publishes contemporary poetry and accepts unsolicited submissions of unpublished poems on a range of subjects. You can only submit a maximum of three poems at a time.

Pay Rates: $50 per page for poems they accept to publish.

16. Iron Horse Review

Iron Horse Review is a literary journal that publishes six times a year and accepts poetry submissions for their publications. You can submit your poems through Submittable. You should submit three to five poems at a time.

Pay Rates: $50 per approved poem submission.

17. Arts & Letters

Arts & Letters publishes SF/F, speculative, and slipstream poetry and accepts new submissions between August 1st and January 31st. You can include up to 6 poems per submission.

Pay Rates: $50 per poem regardless of length or complexity.

18. Ploughshares

Ploughshares is another magazine that pays for poetry and is available in print and digital versions. Managed by the staff of Emerson College, they accept poetry submissions of up to five pages.

Pay Rates: Minimum of $45 per accepted submission.

19. Fun for Kidz

The publishers of Fun for Kidz accept poetry submissions for their Hopscotch magazine. The magazine focuses on kids between 6 and 13. They only accept submissions of poems that focus on subjects that appeal to young girls including pets, hobbies, games, sports, science, cooking, and others.

Pay Rates: Minimum of $10 per poem.

20. The Iowa Review

The Iowa Review, managed by the literature department at the University of Iowa, accepts poetry submissions to be published in their journal. The Iowa Review releases three issues of the journal every year.

Pay Rates: $1.50 per line and a minimum payout of $40.

21. The Missouri Review

The Missouri Review accepts between 8 and 20 pages of unpublished poetry and they publish three to five poems per issue.

Pay Rates: $40 per printed poem.

22. Poetry Foundation

Poetry Foundation, renowned for its long-standing Poetry Magazine, accepts unpublished poetry submissions. They require that each submission should include at most four poems.

Pay Rates: $10 per line of published poetry and a maximum payout of $300.

23. The Colorado Review

The Colorado Review is another literary magazine that accepts unpublished poetry submissions. The magazine states that you should limit submissions to a maximum of five poems per submission.

Pay Rates: Minimum of $10 per published page and a maximum of $30.

24. NewMyths

NewMyths is an ezine that accepts poetry submissions with elements of science fiction or fantasy. You can submit up to five poems at a time. They do not have any length limitations on poems.

Pay Rates: 1.5 cents per word and a minimum payout of $30.

25. U.S. Kids Magazines

The U.S. Kids Magazines publishes two kids’ magazines: Humpty Dumpty and Jack and Jill. They accept short stories and poems for kids aged two to six. Each poetry submission should be 4-12 lines.

Pay Rates: Minimum of $25 per approved submission.

26. The Nashville Review

The Nashville Review magazine accepts poetry submissions on a range of topics. Your poems should be unique and should be not have been published elsewhere.

Pay Rates: $25 per published poem.

27. Carve Magazine

Carve Magazine accepts all types of poetry and you can submit up to three poems at a time. Although they charge $3 per submission, those subscribed to their magazine enjoy free submissions.

Pay Rates: $25 per poem.

28. Willow Springs

Willow Springs is another magazine that accepts poetry, with its submission window being between September 1st and May 31st. You can submit up to five poems per submission.

Pay Rates: $20 per published poem.

29. AGNI

AGNI is another literary magazine that accepts poetry submissions. They also have an online magazine version and their pay rates vary. They accept a maximum of five poems per submission.

Pay Rates: $20+ per page with occasional adjustments based on donations and grants.

30. The Antigonish Review

The Antigonish Review accepts poetry in multiple languages, including English. Their preferred poem length is five to six pages, although they sometimes accept poems up to 8 pages long.

Pay Rates: At least $5 per page and a maximum of $25.

31. Cricket Media

Cricket Media offers four magazines that cater to kids aged between 6 months and 14 years. They accept unpublished poetry submissions that fit with the said aged groups.

Pay Rates: $3 per line and a minimum payout of $25.

32. Leading Edge Magazine

This is a literary publication of Brigham Young University that accepts science fiction or fantasy-related poetry submissions. Your submissions to Leading Edge Magazine should not include or in some way seem to support excessive violence and questionable behaviors.

Pay Rates: Between $5 and $20 per published submission.

Advice on how to make money writing poems

If you want to get paid to write poetry, you need to follow the strict guidelines that these print and digital magazines have outlined on their websites.

Take your time to understand their guidelines and whether you’re comfortable with them.

This gives you enough time to assess each magazine and identify the most ideal choices to submit your poems. These are the most important considerations:

a). Simultaneous Submissions

Some poetry magazines allow you to submit your work to other publications. However, some require you to notify them in your cover letter that you have submitted to other publications for consideration.

There are publications that do not allow simultaneous submissions, so you need to take your time and read their submission guidelines.

b). Previously Published Work

Most companies seeking poetry submissions do not accept poems that have been published online or in print. Make sure the poems you submit have not been published before, including on your personal blog.

c). Submission Fees

Some companies charge submission fees, often between $3 and $5 per submission. You need to understand that submission fees are often non-refundable. Luckily, only a few companies charge submission fees, which gives you more options to choose from

d). Submission Channels

There are three general submission channels most publications use to receive poetry submissions. The most common one is via their official submission email, which you can find on their websites.

The second channel is via snail mail or postal system where you send your submission in hard copy. The third channel is through an online third party such as Submittable that links publication companies with poets.

You need to take your time to find out which of these submission avenues the publication company uses.

Get paid to write poems

We have highlighted the most popular platforms where you can get paid to write poems. The most important thing is to read their respective submission guidelines and understand which submission avenue each publication company uses. This will not only make things easier for you but will also help you meet all the submission requirements each individual company has.