After... is an online journal for 'after' and ekphrastic poetry. Each new and full moon, previously unpublished poems appear, together with notes by their authors on the art that inspired them. After... is free to read. This does, however, mean there's no money to pay those it publishes. All rights to the poems published here remain with their authors (always).

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST The After... submissions window opens from Oct 1st to 31st each year. Any poems submitted before or after October WILL NOT be considered. From the poems submitted in 2023 only 13 will be chosen. These 13 poems – along with the 12 reserves list poems that were guaranteed publication in 2023 (following that year's round of submissions) – will make up the 25 poems needed for each new and full moon throughout 2024. Six additional poets will be invited onto a new reserves list, in case any author picked to appear in 2024 withdraws. If any (or all) of these six reserves list poems DO NOT appear in 2024, they're guaranteed publication in 2025. 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, with an epigraph stating what your poem is 'after'. Your poem MUST NOT have been published anywhere else Please also write a brief supporting note (100 words max.) about the art which inspired your poem. You should put this in the body of your email with: Your full (or 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 videos, photos, bios or audio Please 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, and give at least two weeks' notice of your intention to withdraw your poem if it's accepted elsewhere. ONLY SUBMISSIONS THAT MEET ALL THESE CRITERIA WILL BE CONSIDERED

If you don't get an email confirming your poem will be published in 2024 – or inviting you to the reserves list – by December 8th 2023, thank you for submitting and best of luck next year. WHAT HAPPENS FROM JAN 11th 2024? On Jan 11th 2024, the year's first poem will be published. The 24 other poets selected for the rest of the year will know by then the dates on which their poems will appear. They MUST NOT disclose this information until 48 hours before that date. As a reminder, poems by any of the six reserves list poets that don't get published in 2024 are GUARANTEED publication by After... in 2025. Good luck – and thank you for submitting to After...