Congratulations are in order. Laura Garrison is JDP’s new Associate Editor. Laura’s been with JDP for over a year, doing yeoman’s work sorting through the slushpile. In her new position, she’ll continue to help Mike do battle with the aforementioned slush, but will also a) have a much cooler title and b) serve as guest editor for JDP’s first-ever all-poetry issue, to be published next summer.

This is one of three special issues JDP will publish in 2013 so keep checking back for more info on the other two, which are rumored to involve words that rhyme with “snovella” and “slovecraft.” In the meantime, peruse the guidelines Laura drew up for next summer’s poetry issue and dazzle us with the effulgence of your words.

Guidelines

1. All poems must have a discernible speculative element. We would love to see some poems inspired by myths and legends, so if you have written a ballad about Davy Crockett fighting werewolves in outer space and weren’t sure where to send it, your prayers to Poseidon have just been answered (and ours, too). But we’re open to anything with an otherworldly component.

2. We are particularly interested in metrical poems of all kinds: blank verse, sonnets, villanelles, sestinas, limericks, made-up forms, etc. Rhyming is okay, even encouraged, as long as it is clever. We are impressed by powerful, unique imagery and playful use of sound. Oh, and at least one of us has a soft spot for scifaiku. We will consider free verse poetry, but it should not feel like prose that’s been diced by a sushi chef, or like someone’s drunken ramblings.

3. Humor, whether dark or light, is always a plus. Scary poems can be cool, too. (Poe, anyone?) Just don’t send anything that will make us want to hang ourselves.

4. You may submit up to 100 lines of poetry (excluding titles) in a single document. It can be one long poem or several shorter poems, as long as the total line count does not exceed one hundred.

5. No reprints; only freshly baked poems will be considered. This also means you should avoid sending the poetic equivalent of cheetos you found under your sofa cushions.

6. The deadline for submissions is June 1st.

7. Submit your poems here.