Issue 15 Update

by on Feb 12, 2018

Sorry for the delays in responding to submissions. I am still working through them, but hope to be finished by the end of the week. Issue 15 should start on Feb 19 soon. Thank you for your continued patience.

3/2–Update to the update: Still processing submissions. Thank you for your continued patience. Hopefully sometime next week we’ll get things rolling.

Issue 15 Call for Submissions

by on Jan 3, 2018

Issue 15 is going to be a micropoetry issue (similar to our first issue). Please adhere to the general submission guidelines, but for this issue, we would like to see micropoetry, microfiction, videopoems based on micropoetry, and artwork that works with this micro theme. We’re defining micro along the lines of the Twitter model, and ask that all submitted writing be tweetable. That doesn’t mean you need to be on Twitter, it just means we’re setting a 140 280ish-character limit for each submitted piece. There’s more on the submissions page.

The deadline for submitting to Issue 15 will be January 26, 2018, and we will plan to start the issue the week of February 5.

As mentioned in the Issue 14 call, this will be the last issue of Gnarled Oak, at least for a while. Please consider sending your best work so we can close this out in style. Thanks, and I look forward to another great batch of submissions.

2017 Pushcart Nominations

by on Nov 30, 2017

Here are Gnarled Oak’s six Pushcart nominees for 2017 in order of appearance. I hope you’ll go back and reread them:

Natural Outlaws by Melissa Fu (from Issue 11)

The Past Is Not Where I Left It by Stephanie Hutton (from Issue 11)

In the Feet of a Refugee by Frank Eze (from Issue 11)

The Stars Are All Dead and Have Fallen by Barbara Young (from Issue 12)

Refuge by Steve Klepetar (from Issue 12)

sky poem by Tara Roeder (from Issue 13)

Congratulations to these authors and my sincerest thanks to them and everyone who allows me the honor of publishing their work at Gnarled Oak.

Issues 14, 15 & Beyond

by on Oct 11, 2017

Please remember the deadline for submissions for Issue 14 is this Friday October 13, and we plan to start Issue 14 the week of October 23 November 13.

Issue 15 is going to be a micropoetry issue (similar to our first issue). Please adhere to the general submission guidelines, but for this issue, we would like to see micropoetry, microfiction, videopoems based on micropoetry, and artwork that works with this micro theme. We’re defining micro along the lines of the Twitter model, and ask that all submitted writing be tweetable. That doesn’t mean you need to be on Twitter, it just means we’re setting a 140ish-character limit for each submitted piece. There’s more on the submissions page.

The deadline for submitting to Issue 15 will be January 5, 2018, and we will plan to start the issue the week of January 15.

And then, that will likely be it.

I love running Gnarled Oak. It has been a blast, and I have learned so much and met so many wonderful writers and artists, but life is taking over and increasingly I find I don’t have the headspace to keep this going at the moment. I also find myself chomping at the bit to focus for a while on my own writing again. And I want to read (and try to review) more chapbooks. I may change my mind and this may just be a hiatus, but I think, for now anyway, it is near time to bid Gnarled Oak farewell. I hope you’ll send us your best micros/shorts to help close this thing out in fine style.

Issue 13 Call for Submissions

by on Jun 18, 2017

This is the Official Call for Submissions for Issue 13 of Gnarled Oak, which will start in July and be an unthemed issue.

Gnarled Oak accepts poetry, prose, videos and artwork. I don’t impose rules on what is and isn’t acceptable (other than the no hate speech, no pornography one), but as a general guideline, I tend to favor shorter works, which for our purposes means poems of less than 20 lines, prose less than 1000 words, and videos less than 7 minutes long. Regarding form and style, I’m open to almost anything. Check out previous issues to get a sense of things.

I’ll be reading for Issue 13 through July 7 and will plan to start the week of July 24 August 14. Please visit the Submissions page for more in-depth guidelines. I look forward to seeing what comes this way, and I hope you’ll send something and help spread the word. Thank you.

Issue 12 Call for Submissions

by on Mar 2, 2017

This is the Official Call for Submissions for Issue 12 of Gnarled Oak, which will start in April and be an unthemed issue.

Gnarled Oak accepts poetry, prose, videos and artwork. I don’t impose rules on what is and isn’t acceptable (other than the no hate speech, no pornography one), but as a general guideline, I tend to favor shorter works, which for our purposes means poems of less than 20 lines, prose less than 1000 words, and videos less than 7 minutes long. Regarding form and style, I’m open to almost anything. Check out previous issues to get a sense of things.

I’ll be reading for Issue 12 through March 31 and plan on starting the issue the week of April 10 and will start on April 24. Please visit the Submissions page for more in-depth guidelines. I look forward to seeing what comes this way, and I hope you’ll send something and help spread the word. Thank you.

Issue 11 Call for Submissions

by on Nov 30, 2016

This is the Official Call for Submissions for Issue 11 of Gnarled Oak, which will start in January and be an unthemed issue.

Gnarled Oak accepts poetry, prose, videos and artwork. I don’t impose rules on what is and isn’t acceptable (other than the no hate speech, no pornography one), but as a general guideline, I tend to favor shorter works, which for our purposes means poems of less than 20 lines, prose less than 1000 words, and videos less than 7 minutes long. Regarding form and style, I’m open to almost anything. Check out previous issues to get a sense of things.

I’ll be reading for Issue 11 through December 31 and plan on starting the issue the week of January 9 January 16. Please visit the Submissions page for more in-depth guidelines. I look forward to seeing what comes this way, and I hope you’ll send something and help spread the word. Thank you.

2016 Pushcart Nominations

by on Nov 29, 2016

Here are Gnarled Oak’s six Pushcart nominees for 2016 in order of appearance. I hope you’ll go back and reread them:

Ghosts of Home by Kim Mannix (from Issue 6: Cosmology)

Cosmology by Laura M. Kaminsky (from Issue 6: Cosmology)

Sister Speed Racer and the Silent Brides of Christ by Michael Whiteman-Jones (from Issue 6: Cosmology)

Worried Man Blues by Harold Whit Williams (from Issue 8: The Somnambulist’s Notebook)

Gossamer by Jeanie Tomasko (from Issue 9: Harbor, Home, Hard Love)

The Animals Are Gone by Steve Klepetar (from Issue 10: Dark Water)

Congratulations to these authors and my sincerest thanks to them and everyone who allows me the honor of publishing their work at Gnarled Oak.

Issue 10: Call for Submissions

by on Aug 30, 2016

Here we are. It’s the Big 1-0. Gnarled Oak is heading into double digits. This is the Official Call for Submissions for Issue 10 of Gnarled Oak, which will start in October and be an unthemed issue.

Gnarled Oak accepts poetry, prose, videos and artwork. I don’t like to impose rules on what is and isn’t acceptable (other than the no hate speech, no pornography one), but as a general guideline, I tend to favor shorter works, which for our purposes means poems of less than 20 lines, prose less than 1000 words, and videos less than 7 minutes long. Regarding form and style, I’m open to almost anything. Check out previous issues to get a sense of things.

I’ll be reading for Issue 10 through September 30 and plan on starting the issue the week of October 10 (yes, Issue 10 starts on 10/10) October 17. Please visit the Submissions page for more in-depth guidelines. I look forward to seeing what comes this way, and I hope you’ll send something and help spread the word. Thank you.