Submissions

Author Guidelines

Journal mission & scope
Agenda publishes high-quality poetry, critical essays, reviews, and translations. We aim to foster new voices, recover overlooked poets, and offer cross-cultural perspectives on contemporary poetry. Works in translation, essays on poetics, and international themes are especially welcome.

General submission policy
Agenda does not accept previously published work (print or online).
We do not accept simultaneous submissions.
Submissions are accepted during complete year. 
Please allow up to 2 months for a decision (though many decisions are faster).

What to submit
Poetry
Submit up to 5 poems (in a single submission).
Each poem should be in a separate Word (.doc / .docx) file.
Poems should follow house style (see “Formatting & house style” below).

Biography / Author note
Send your biography in a separate Word document (not in the same file as poems).
Maximum 6 lines.
Use third person, not “I”.
Start with your name in bold.
Titles of books in italics, poem titles in ‘single quotation marks’.
For “Broadsheet poets” (if that applies), include your age (age 15 to late thirties) in the bio.

Critical essays / Reviews / Translations
Submit as a single Word file.
Follow the house style for essays (see below).
For translations: include the original text (if not under copyright) or a clear indication of the original and translator’s name.

Formatting & House Style
File format & font
All submissions (poems, essays, bios) should be Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
Use Times New Roman, font size 12, 100% (i.e. “normal” scaling).
Use single spacing.

Poems
Each poem in its own Word file.
Begin each file with your name in bold, then leave a blank line (double space), then the title in bold.
Then a blank line (double space), then the poem text in single spacing.
Use single quotation marks for speech within poems.
Use proper dashes (see note below).
Don’t embed notes or annotations in poems—these must be submitted separately if needed.

Essay / Review style
Use single spacing throughout.
Use double space to start a new paragraph; do not indent.
For block quotations (longer excerpts), do not use quotation marks; instead leave a blank line before and after the block.
After the block quote, attribute the poem: place the poem name under the last quoted line (on a new line, single spaced, aligned to the right) in parentheses.
Use single quotation marks for quotations; when needed, use double quotation marks inside single.
Titles of books and journals in italics; titles of poems in ‘single quotes’.
For punctuation with quotation marks: e.g. Wordsworth wrote, ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud.’ His poem, ‘The Brook’, is powerful.
Dashes: to produce a proper dash, type which should auto-convert; do not use two hyphens (–) or a single hyphen for a dash.

General
Use British / standard English spelling and punctuation.
Number of footnotes should be minimal; use endnotes only if essential.
Use consistent citation style (e.g. MLA, Chicago) for essays—cite your sources clearly.

Submission procedure
Agenda accepts submissions throughout the year on a rolling basis. There are no fixed submission windows.
You may submit your work either through our online submission portal (available on the journal website) or via email.

If submitting via the online portal:
1. Visit our website’s Submissions section.
2. Create an account or log in.
3. Upload your files following the required format (poems, essays, reviews, or translations).
4. Include your biography and cover note as separate documents.
5. You will receive an automatic confirmation once your submission is received.

If submitting by email:
1. Send your files to editor@agendamagazine.co.uk
2. Use the subject line: “Submission — [Poetry / Essay / Review / Translation] — Your Name”.
3. In the body of the email, include a short cover note (around 100 words) confirming that the work is original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere.
4. Attach each poem or essay as a separate Word file, along with a brief biography (max 6 lines) in a separate file.
5. You will receive an acknowledgment of receipt within 2–4 weeks.
Please allow adequate time for review, as all submissions are carefully considered under our blind peer review process. Authors will be notified by email once a decision has been made.

Rights, Copyright & License
Authors retain copyright to their work.
Accepted works are licensed under CC BY 4.0, unless otherwise agreed.
Authors grant Agenda first serial rights; after publication in Agenda, authors are free to republish (with acknowledgment).
By submitting, you confirm that the work is original, not infringing, and that you have the right to license it.

Review & Acceptance
All submissions are blind peer reviewed (identifying author details are removed internally).
Decisions are made by editors and advisory reviewers; not all submissions can be accepted.
If accepted, you may be asked for light editing or formatting adjustments.
We cannot guarantee payment for every contribution (unless otherwise stipulated).

Article Processing Charge (APC) Policy
Agenda is an independent, non-profit literary journal that maintains the highest editorial and ethical standards. To support our publication and archiving processes, a modest Article Processing Charge (APC) is applied to accepted works.
1. There is no fee at the time of submission.
2. APCs are applicable only after a manuscript has successfully passed the peer review process and been formally accepted for publication.
The amount varies depending on the length and category of the submission (poetry, essay, review, or translation). Authors will be notified of the applicable fee upon acceptance.
The APC covers essential publishing costs, including professional editing, layout, online hosting, digital archiving (LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, PKP PN), and open access distribution under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Agenda follows a strict and transparent APC policy:
Requests for waivers or discounts are considered only in exceptional cases and must be fully justified (for example, authors from under-resourced institutions or countries).
Senior faculty, established researchers, and authors with institutional support are expected to pay the full APC.
Payment details and invoicing instructions will be provided upon acceptance.
Failure to complete APC payment within the given timeframe may delay publication or result in withdrawal of acceptance.