Light is one of the oldest and best-recognized journals of light verse: humorous poetry, witty and well-crafted. Their mission is to “restore humor, clarity, and pleasure to the reading of poems.” You can read past issues online to get a sense of what they publish.
Light is published twice a year online, and each issue features around fifty poets. In addition to their biannual journal, Light also publishes Poems of the Week: a weekly feature of poems responding to topics currently in the news. Light has been publishing humorous poetry since 1992.
Light accepts submissions year-round. They take a break from reading submissions in late January and early February, as well as in late July and early August, but they still accept submissions during this time. Authors submitting to Light’s biannual journal can expect a response within about four months. Authors submitting to Light’s Poem of the Week feature can expect a response by Tuesday of the following week. The feature runs each Monday, and the weekly deadline for submissions is Friday.
Poets may submit up to five funny poems for Light’s biannual journal, or up to two funny poems responding to current news topics for Light’s Poems of the Week feature. Light only accepts poetry, not fiction or nonfiction prose. They accept all forms and styles of poetry, from formal to free verse, traditional to experimental, though most of the poetry they publish is rhymed. The do not accept prose poems. Light reads submissions blind, so submitting authors should take care to include identifying information only in the cover letter, not on the poems themselves.
Light accepts submissions using an online submission manager, not via email or by post. They do not accept simultaneous submissions, and they do not accept previously published work (this includes work published on blogs and public social media). They do, however, accept poems previously published in print journals and anthologies, as long as the publication isn’t recent (within the past two years).
Light only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.
If you would like to learn more or submit to Light, please visit their website here.
Bio: Ella Peary is the pen name for an author, editor, creative writing mentor, and submission consultant. Over the past five years, she’s written hundreds of articles for Authors Publish, and she’s also served as a copywriter and copy editor for a wide range of organizations and individuals. She is the author of The Quick Start Guide to Flash Fiction. She occasionally teaches a course on flash fiction. You can contact her at ellapeary@gmail.com.
