For over 40 years, Arc has been pub­lish­ing the best in con­tem­po­rary poetry. Arc invites sub­mis­sions from poets at all stages of their writing careers.

At Arc, we find the brave new voices. We feature poetry that is woozy, cunning, shearing and wildlike; and prose that offers new perspectives on the verse you thought you knew.

One of the most widely read literary magazines in the country, Arc has a following composed of writers, poetry aficionados, academics and a general cultural readership.

Who doesn't love getting paid? Who doesn't love Canadians? The literary magazines listed below were founded in Canada and pay for published work.

Canadian Lit Mags That Pay Writers

Are there agents that rep poets? Of course there are! While your writing matters most, certain publications are shinier than others and help widen that toe-in-the-door space—like the ones below.

Poetry Magazines That Will Make Agents Notice You

The mags in this list are competitive and publish physical print editions, so you get the satisfaction of seeing your work in print: pocket-sized, book-like, tangible. Way cooler than you'd expect.

Reputable Lit Mags with Print Issues

The top nonfiction lit mags in our database, ranked by how many users have bookmarked them.

The Ultimate List of Places to Submit Your Nonfiction

Looking for balance between prestige and accessibility? These magazines are competitive but attainable for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction writers.

Literary Magazines in the Sweet Spot

All-time most competitive literary magazines. Getting published in these is a significant achievement for any writer.

Most Competitive Literary Magazines of All Time

Discover the all-time most competitive poetry literary magazines. These legendary publications are where only the best poetry gets through.

Most Competitive Poetry-Only Literary Magazines of All Time

Explore the most popular literary magazines of all time. These long-established publications are a staple in the literary world for writers of all genres.

Most Popular Literary Magazines of All Time

Discover the all-time most popular poetry literary magazines. These outlets have maintained a significant presence in the world of poetry.

Most Popular Poetry-Only Literary Magazines of All Time

Discover the all-time most submitted-to poetry literary magazines. These publications have consistently attracted a high volume of poetry submissions.

Most Submitted-To Poetry-Only Literary Magazines of All Time

Arc Poetry

In April 2020, Arc began a monthly prize – a 50/50 cash prize, a vintage object d’art (loosely interpreted) and the all the honour and respect that comes with winning the Arc Award of Awesomeness.

Arc Award of Awesomeness

General call

Arc Poem of the Year

Arc accepts pre­vi­ously unpub­lished poetry in English or pre­vi­ously unpub­lished translations of poetry into English, on any sub­ject and in any form.
Poets may submit poems that are simultaneously submitted elsewhere. If a poem that has been submitted to Arc is accepted by another publication, it should be withdrawn from Arc immediately via Submittable or by notifying Arc using Submittable’s messaging feature.
As a Canadian literary magazine, and due to the increasing number of submissions from US-based poets, we are requesting that US submitters pay a $2 submission fee per poem. If this fee is a barrier for anyone wishing to submit, please email us about having the fee waived.
General Poetry Submission Guidelines

  Submissions must not exceed three poems or 360 lines of poetry. Only three poems per poet will be considered each calendar year.
  Submissions of more than one poem must be broken up into two or three documents and submitted separately along with your biog­ra­phy. In order to submit the files separately you must go through the submission process for each piece you wish to submit. This allows you to provide each submission with the title of your poem and it allows us to group the submissions more easily and update you about the status of each individual poem.
  Submissions must be typed and sin­gle spaced (dou­ble spaces will be inter­preted as blank lines).
  Submissions must include your name and email address on each page.
  Cover Letters must include your biog­ra­phy, which should be two to three sentences or approximately 30 words long.
  Submissions of visual poetry or concrete poetry should be submitted as PDFs. Spoken Word poems can be submitted as text or audio or video recordings.

Poems

For the Fall 2026 issue of Arc Poetry Magazine, we're looking for poetic responses to resistance movements around the world and explorations of protest through poetry. Send us poems that look at injustices and ongoing violence, or poems that advocate for rest in the face of exhaustion from marginalization. Send us poems that oppose the status quo, withstand attacks and temptations, and refuse to be categorized. Submissions on this theme will be accepted until July 15, 2026.
Arc‘s rate for poetry of $50 per page. Payment is issued upon pub­li­ca­tion along with one free copy of the issue in which the work appears. With acceptance, Arc secures First Cana­dian Serial Rights, meaning the poems should not appear in any print or digital publication before the release of the issue in which the work appears. All rights will revert to the author upon publication.
Arc cannot promise to respond to inquiries regard­ing the sta­tus of sub­mis­sions before the com­ple­tion of a reading period.

Oppose, Withstand, Refuse

Prize: $500
The Diana Breb­ner Prize is awarded yearly for the best poem writ­ten by a National Cap­i­tal Region poet, who has not yet been pub­lished in book form. The prize hon­ours the late Diana Breb­ner, an award-winning Ottawa-based poet who was devoted to fos­ter­ing lit­er­ary tal­ent among new, local writers.
Each entry also entitles the entrant to a 1 year (3 issue) Canadian subscription to Arc. If the entrant is in the USA, they will get 2 issues of Arc; if they are outside of the USA and Canada, they will receive 1 issue of Arc.
Entry fees are $35 for 1-2 poems, and additional poems are $5 per poem. Please inquire about alternative payment methods if necessary.
Eligible entries must not exceed 35 lines each (including spaces).
No simul­ta­ne­ous sub­mis­sions or pre­vi­ously pub­lished poems will be accepted.
Entrant’s name, address, e-mail and phone number must not appear on the poems.
Emailed entries should have “Diana Brebner Prize” in the subject line, and can be sent to: brebner@arcpoetry.ca.
Mailed entries should be sent to: Diana Brebner Prize, Arc Poetry Magazine, 2 Daly Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1N 7B9
The contest is open to authors who have had their principal home and actual residence in the National Capital Region for at least 6 months immediately prior to the date of submission, and who have not yet pub­lished their poetry in book form. Proof of residency may be required.
Mailed entries will not be returned.
Entrants’ information is concealed during deliberations.

Arc Poetry

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