Submission Guidelines

Anthology submissions are open!

Alice Says Go Fuck Yourself and Agape Editions are creating an ekphrastic, music-response poetry anthology titled We Are the Weirdos: A Chaotic Poetry Playlist for Outliers, Hot Messes, and Punk Bitches from Hell. Editors are Fox Henry Frazier, Cee Martinez, Jessica L. Walsh, Jasmine An, and Jennifer MacBain-Stephens.

We will remain open for submissions through March 2025.

Are you a skeptical joiner? Compulsive truth-teller? Against-the-grain-goer?

If you make your own chances, your own zines, and/or your own scenes, it is entirely possible that we are your people.

That said, weirdo is a vibe and there are different ways to be “weird.” This is a continuum, not a binary. Yes, we’d like to engage with more alternative stuff, or artists who don’t quite fit into whatever box they’re supposed to; but we’re not here to gatekeep.

Here’s a sample of artists whose songs we’d love to read poems in response to:

Hole, Gogol Bordello, Lucille Bogan, Lana Del Rey, Róis, Cardi B, Skeletonbreath, Sofia Isella, Kneecap, Theatre of Tragedy, Enigma, Gigi Perez, Megan Thee Stallion, Florence and the Machine, Bedouine, Irish Moutarde, Biig Piig, Sia, Tolü Makay, Björk, Ebo Taylor, David Guetta, Allison Russell, P!nk, Sleater-Kinney, Fela Kuti, PJ Harvey, Belly, Wyvern Lingo, Nina Simone, Samia, Pretty Loud, Denise Chaila, The Bleeding Irish, Jenny Lewis, boygenius, Maija Sofia, Public Enemy, Kris Kristofferson, Sinéad O’Connor, Lulu & the Lampshades, OWEL, or some other cool shit we’ve maybe never heard of !

One Important Thing, Up Front:

Poems we accept cannot directly quote song lyrics, full stop. Fair use does not apply to pop songs, and we are not able to purchase the rights. Poems can use images, concepts, ideas (etc.) from the songs you respond to, of course; just no direct quotes. We got enough trouble.

Here’s What We Want:

Email up to five (5) poems to AliceSaysGo@gmail.com as .docx or PDF attachments.
All poems should be previously unpublished. This includes self-published books, as well as websites and blogs. Our one exception to this rule (maybe) is: if you have a poem you’re dying to submit that’s previously appeared only in some super-limited-edition, print-only, Xerox’d & hand-stapled DIY zine — email us to ask, and provide the details. We’ll discuss amongst ourselves & get back to you.
Use this subject line:
We Are the Weirdos submission // [The Name You Use In Your Bio]
Do not send clickable links for us to view or download your work; for security reasons, we will delete such submissions unread.
Include a cover letter in the body of your email that:
- Clearly mentions whether you are a previous contributor to ASGFY, and if so, which issue your work appeared in
- Briefly explains why you chose these songs/artist(s) to respond to
- Include a bio of 50 or fewer words
- Is addressed to all five (5) editors personally, because that’s basic good manners

Do Not Send Us Writing That:

Promotes racism or misogyny, including the use of epithets
Depicts graphic violence of any kind, including sexual assault
Depicts the abuse or degradation of children or animals
Espouses anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric, classism, ableism, or regionalism
Promotes any other mean-spirited, hateful, or oppressive bullshit (look, we’re not gonna list every goddamn ‘ism’ or shitty take out there, but it should be pretty clear by now that if you’re hellbent on being a garbage troll, we don’t want to read your work & so we won’t)
Incites violence against any group(s) or demographic(s) of people

Any submissions of the above nature will be promptly deleted and will not receive a response. We will then set up a filter so that any future emails from you go directly into our trash. Ciaociao.

In Conclusion, May We Remind You:

There is no submission fee.
We are not a paying market.
Each contributor will receive a single copy of the anthology.
There are 5 editors and we’re all in different time zones, so there is no way around the fact that this whole project is gonna take a hot minute.
We currently plan to publish the anthology in 2026. When we have a more specific release date, we will announce it on socials and website.
It does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty !

For additional info:

Follow Alice on Twitter or Instagram for details and updates.
Access back issues of the magazine here.

Agape Editions is currently closed to all other submissions.
Haunted Doll House is currently closed to submissions.
Kumquat Books is currently closed to submissions.
Morning House is currently closed to submissions.
Our blog is currently closed to pitches.