Pittsburgh Poetry Journal

Formerly the Pittsburgh Poetry Review.

Pittsburgh means family. Pittsburgh means welcome. It means generosity. It means transformation. It means wipe yourself off and get up again. It means “here, take my hand.” Pittsburgh means be who you are.

Our city, once loud with the clang of steel, now rings with the voices of new generations. It is a city that bridges contradictions, caught somewhere between a small town and a metropolis. Pittsburgh combines tradition and innovation, grit and compassion. It is a city of seasons – sometimes 3 or 4 cycling through within one day. We are a resilient city of increasing diversity, opportunity, and inclusivity.

We are doctors, researchers, engineers, and we are artists, entrepreneurs, and ordinary folks making our way. We are all walks of life, all races and ethnicities, all sexual orientations, all genders. We’re a well-kept secret of arts, literature, and culture, and also a community of nationally recognized names.

Pittsburgh Poetry Journal welcomes and encourages submissions from those underrepresented in literary journals, including women and nonbinary writers, people of color, immigrant communities, and LGBTQIA community members.

We want work that clangs with Pittsburgh grit, passion, and diversity. We want your work that builds on or breaks traditions and strives for progress. We want work that speaks to the spirit of this city from any corner of the world.

We welcome submissions from around the world. No biographical connection to Pittsburgh or western Pennsylvania is required.

Please send us up to 3 previously unpublished pieces of work in a single submission, not exceeding 7 pages total.

We allow simultaneous submissions, but please inform us immediately if your work has been accepted elsewhere. Please send only one submission per issue/reading period.

If we accept and publish your work, we ask that you wait one year to submit to us again.

Do not send us work based in discrimination, denigration, or hatred of any group of people, especially of historically marginalized communities. Any work we receive that we feel falls into this category will be immediately rejected.