After... is a free-to-read online journal for ‘after’ and ekphrastic poetry. Poems are published each new and full moon, together with notes on the art that inspired them. Because the journal is free, there’s no money to pay those it publishes. All rights to the poems published, however, always remain with their authors.

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST The After... submissions window lasts from October 1st to 31st each year. Poems submitted outside this period WILL NOT be considered. WERE YOU ON LAST YEAR’S RESERVES LIST? Any poet picked in 2023 for the 2024 reserves list who WAS NOT published in 2024 will appear first in After... in 2025. 17 PLACES – PLUS 6 NEW RESERVES There are 24 full and new moons in 2025. Places for the first seven of these go to the 2024 reserves list poets who weren’t published that year. The 17 remaining places are open to those submitting in October 2024. In addition, six further places will be offered to create a new reserves list for 2025. Any reserves list poet NOT called upon to replace a poet who withdraws from (or otherwise relinquishes) their place in 2025 is guaranteed publication in 2026. WHAT YOU SHOULD SEND Email ONE poem (40 lines max.) to afterpoetry [at] gmail [dot] com using the subject line ‘Submission to After... ’. Your poem must be in a PC-friendly text format such as Word or Google Docs (no PDFs), with an epigraph stating clearly and succinctly what your poem is ‘after’. Your poem MUST NOT have been published anywhere else previously Please also write a brief supporting note (100 words max.) about the art that inspired your poem. You should put this in the body of your email with: Your full (and pen) name Your poem’s title The title of the art your poem is ‘after’ Name of your inspiration’s creator Any links to your inspiration online DO NOT attach any videos, photos, bios or audio Please also include a link to your Twitter/X account, if you have one. Your text can include non-English words, phrases or passages. However, the greater part of your poem must be written for English language readers. Poems translated into English are welcomed. Submitting simultaneously? Please state this, giving at least two weeks’ notice if your poem is accepted elsewhere. ONLY SUBMISSIONS THAT MEET ALL THESE CRITERIA WILL BE CONSIDERED

If you don’t get an email by December 1st 2024 confirming your poem will be published in 2025 (or inviting you to the reserves list), thank you for submitting and best of luck next year. WHAT HAPPENS FROM JAN 13th 2025? On Jan 13th 2025, the year’s first poem will be published. By this time, the 23 other poets selected for 2025 will know the dates on which their poems will appear. As a reminder, poems by any of the six reserves list poets that don’t get published in 2025 are GUARANTEED publication by After... in 2026. Thank you for submitting. Good luck!