Lips Submissions
for Teen Writers
Founded in 1981 by poet Laura Boss, the Lips poetry journal has entered its fifth decade of publication. Laura served as its editor until her passing in April 2021. The Foundation has taken on the support of the journal as part of its mission.
Lips has published poems by Robert Bly, Allen Ginsberg, Ruth Stone, David Ignatow, Marge Piercy, Michael Benedikt, Nicholas Christopher, Anne Waldman, Ishmael Reed, Gregory Corso, Lyn Lifshin, Ted Berrigan, Paul Hoover, Jana Harris, Toi Derricotte, Joseph Bruchac, Alice Notley, Warren Woessner, Robert Phillips, Hal Sirowitz, Theodore Weiss, Alicia Ostriker, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Stanley H. Barkan, Michael Weaver, Molly Peacock, and Richard Kostelanetz, as well as new poets.
Laura always worked with students, and Lips will be accepting submissions from students ages 13 - 18 for upcoming issues.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
You must be age 13-18 in the year of your submission.
The submission period is September 1 through November 31 for the annual issue to be published in the following spring. No submissions are considered at other times.
All submissions must be done through our Submittable account. If you do not have a free Submittable account, you need to create one before submitting poems or ordering back issues. Submittable is used by many literary publications.
Acceptance emails will be sent on or before January 31.
There is no fee to submit.
Send up to five poems. Poems must be original, not AI-generated, and previously unpublished online or in print.
All poems should be in one document, and each poem should begin on a new page. The document can be a single Word .doc, .docx, or .rtf file.
On the last page of your document, include a third-person biographical note of fewer than 100 words that includes your name as you wish it to appear in print if your work is accepted. Bios may be edited before publication.
Lips has first rights to the poems, and copyright reverts to the author upon publication.
For accepted poems, payment is a single contributor copy of the magazine, which will be mailed after publication. Poets may order additional copies through Submittable.
We accept simultaneous submissions. If any submitted poem is accepted elsewhere, please withdraw the poem(s) immediately. To withdraw all your poems, use the WITHDRAW link on your submissions page in Submittable. For individual poems, use the messaging feature in Submittable and indicate the title(s) to withdraw some poems from consideration.
Poets included in the magazine will have the opportunity to participate in a contributor reading held in new Jersey when the issue is published.
Lips generally publishes poems that are narrative in style. Some of our recent Pushcart nominees are posted on this website as samples. We recommend that contributors review a copy of the magazine before submitting poems. The current issue and selected back issues are available for purchase online using our Submittable website.
Poems must be original, not AI-generated, and have not been previously published online or in print.
