Beginning in 2010, Our Lives, a bimonthly Madison, Wisconsin LGBTQA publication, will showcase a local LGBTQA poet and poem. We are currently accepting submissions of original, previously unpublished poetry by Madison, Wisconsin poets from the LGBTQA community.

Submission Guidelines
Poems should be 20-30 lines each (or less), including title, epigraph or dedication and stanza breaks. You may submit up to five poems. Poems may be of any style and subject matter however, the magazine may periodically request poems which reflect a particular topic or theme. This is true for the upcoming March/April issue which will showcase a Travel and Destinations theme. Poetry featuring Madison and the surrounding region will be given preference for the next issue.

Submission Deadline
The deadline for the first Our Lives LGBTQA Call for Poetry is Sunday, January 31, 2010. You will only be notified if your poems are selected for publication. You will be contacted prior to going to press. Please include a 50 word bio to accompany your work. This initial Call for Poetry is a request for poetry submissions for consideration for 2010 publication.

Submission Process
You may submit up to five original, previously unpublished poems not to exceed 30 lines each including, title, epigraph or dedication and stanza breaks. Include an author bio not to exceed 50 words in length. Submissions will be accepted by email only. In the body of your email include the following: your name, mailing address (including zip code), email address, and phone number (including area code). Acceptable formats for documents are rich text format (.rtf) or word documents (.doc). Do not send PDFs or other files. Your name and contact information must also appear at the bottom of each page of poetry. Submissions will not be returned. Please keep originals. There is no financial compensation or prize attached to this poetry submission.

Email your submission to:

Linda Lenzke
llenzke@charter.net

You will receive an acknowledgement by email of your submission and will only be contacted again if your submission is selected for publication.

The mission of Our Lives magazines is to clearly, candidly and openly reflect the diversity and optimism in our community. We are dedicated to improving our readers’ quality of life by celebrating the people, establishments and events that encourage us to embrace our identities as individuals and as an LGBTQA community.