Submissions
Rules for All Submissions
Make it clear and easy to read
Use Shunn Modern Manuscript Format. If that’s a problem, just make it neat and readable. A basic serif or sans-serif 12 point font will do. Submit work in .doc, .docx, or .rtf only. No .pdf or Pages. Attach your work as a document in an email to the requested address in the submission request.
We will not accept any document that uses AI.
Statement of inclusion
Our approach to diversity and inclusion is simple. Cultivate an environment where everyone puts their best self forward without fear of reprisal based on race, gender, age, religion, identity, or experience.
No Nazis. No bots.
Helping words take flight
If possible, our editors will work with you to improve your piece. It’s possible you will send us a piece we feel we cannot help you improve on. But we feel the writer/editor relationship exists to bring out the very best a poem or prose piece can be.
Projects Open for Submissions
Poetry - Reality Detonates -Submissions Extended to Nov. 30 submissions@realitydetonates.com
New due date - November 30, 2025
Reality doesn’t bend—it blows apart!
Cicada Song Press invites you to join the blast. Our upcoming poetry anthology, Reality Detonates, will gather voices that ask, what happens when the ordinary combusts?
Each entry must include the exact phrase, “reality detonates,” within the body of the poem. Make it sing. Make it roar. Make it linger like smoke.
Submissions are open from October 1st to November 30th, 2025. Send them to submissions@realitydetonates.com
Launch date is February 28, 2026. Blow our minds.
Read ALL requirements on this entire page CAREFULLY.
Poems must be titled unless in a form traditionally not titled, such as haiku, tanka, rictameter, etc. Such poems will use the first line as the title. “Untitled” is an UNacceptable title.
No form of the words “reality” or “detonates” can be in the title.
Do not format titles in all caps, italics, bold, or underlined.
If you use a specific poetry form, center the name of the form in lower case italics under the title.
Poems must be original and unpublished. Appearance on personal website or blog is okay; appearance on social media is not okay.
Length 2-50 lines; spaces between stanzas do not count.
Submit 1-2 poems in a single document in one submission. Do not include your name in the body of the document. Name document as follows (use legal name): RD LASTNAME FIRSTNAME Titles of Poems NUMBEROFPOEMS1or2
Attach document to an email. Send email with attachment to Faith Canright, Editor, at submissions@realitydetonates.com. Subject line should be (use legal name): RD LASTNAME FIRSTNAME Titles of Poems NUMBEROFPOEMS1or2
You may not submit another set of poems in the same submission period. It will be deleted unread.
In body of email, include your legal name, pen name (if applicable), the statement that your poems are original and unpublished, and the titles of your poems with number of lines each.
Simultaneous submissions are okay as long as you email us immediately to withdraw any poems accepted elsewhere. Subject line of email: Reality Detonates WITHDRAWAL LASTNAME FIRSTNAME Title of Poem
Compensation: Writers whose poems are accepted will receive a .pdf copy of the book electronically and will also be given the opportunity to buy physical copies at cost.
For more information, see our blog.
About the Editor
Faith Canright is a multi-published, award-winning writer and oft-requested editor from Oregon. Reading ahead of her peers, Faith became a lifelong storyteller, learning early that her writing voice could both intrigue and unsettle. She is plotting a murder mystery novel where the mind becomes the crime scene, and each vision carries a body count. Faith is currently editing Reality Detonates, an unusual new poetry anthology from Cicada Song Press, scheduled to be released in January 2026. Also discover Carved in Our Bones, a collection of dark tales and poetry by Faith and JD Jentri, soon to be available on Amazon. Faith follows Jesus.
Poetry with Power: Editors’ Favorites
Faith Canright, Editor
The quirky Richard Brautigan is a writer known for his remarkable imagination and inventive metaphors. A poem I enjoy is Hinged to Forgetfulness Like a Door. Typical of Brautigan is the unusual combination of images. The visual of caressing a mechanical deer is striking, and the concept of a “metal silence” as opposed to, say, a comforting one, is worthy of contemplation.
Mona Mehas, Editor-in-Chief
One of my faves is Anti-Short Story by Rae Armantrout. Most people concentrate on why the girl is running (not to catch a bus). I like "all that aside" because it opens up a world of possibilities.
Nancy Simmonds, Poetry Editor
I think Billy Collins is such an approachable poet. Those without much experience of poetry can read him and be entertained. Those with much more experience of the craft can read Collins and find sublime word choices, unexpected twists and turns, and perfect endings. One of my favorites is his Aristotle. You can listen to Billy Collins read this poem on You Tube Poets Speak.
Adrienne Stevenson, Poetry Editor
The Riley Boys by Carol Denney is an anti-war allegory with “The Riley Boys" representing those killed in action. There are a few imperfections, but the poem has heart.
I like her use of incongruity: "there were birds and there were planes flying patterns all around" and "it's so hard to read the news and so beautiful outside.” I also like the poem's hopeful conclusion. We need all the hope we can muster.
