Your Story in Verse
It’s hard to find a medium that tugs harder on the heartstrings than poetry! If you’re a creative writer and get inspired by the nomadic life from time to time, here’s a place for you to submit your work.
CONTENT GUIDELINES
- Poems must address topics and issues TCKs deal with (e.g. identity, moving around, making/losing friends, saying goodbye, etc. Read previously published poems to get a feel for what we are looking for.)
- Poems must uphold biblical perspective and values, and adhere to our Statement of Faith, as we are a Christian ministry.
- Poems should be written with the broader hopeful perspective that we as Christians have in mind. Hope is not the same as resolution. Your poetry doesn’t have to be cheery — life isn’t easy — but we do have an eternal hope. Poems may (and should!) discuss difficult topics and real feelings, but we prefer poems that don’t just end with darkness.
- Please do a search on the website beforehand to ensure your poem is not too similar to one previously published. If you are not sure, submit it and we will let you know.
- There is no need to provide images. Our team will do this for you.
- We prefer to use poems that have not been published previously (because we don’t want to run into copyright issues). However, if you have published a poem on your personal blog or submitted one to a poetry contest, and you believe it would fit our website, you may send us a query, and we will consider it.
- We do not accept pitches. Please send us your full poem.
- All work must be your own. When quoting others, make sure you have permission and include the reference.
STRUCTURE & STYLE
- Our ideal length is between 100–500 words (1–2 pages, ~70 lines), but feel free to submit something shorter or longer, and we will consider it (after all, this is poetry).
- Any poetry style is welcome.
- You can use either British or American English as long as you are consistent throughout the poem.
- Please capitalize pronouns when referring to God.
- When quoting Scripture, please include the reference and the translation. Translations we allow are KJV, NKJV, ESV, and NIV.
HOW TO SUBMIT
- Submit your poem by email to team@tcksforchrist.com. Paste your poem (the title and draft) into the body of your email (no attachments).
- You are welcome to submit as many poems as you want.
- If this is your first time publishing a poem on our website, please include a 60–80 word bio written in third person. If you would like, you can send a good picture of yourself to go with the bio, but this is not mandatory. It is possible to be published anonymously if it is a question of safety and privacy for either you or the people around you.
- If you have not heard from us within 2 weeks, feel free to contact us.
- If your poem is accepted, we will edit it for minor mistakes. If your poem requires a lot of editing, we will reject it.
- Once your poem is accepted*, it will be published on our website as part of a quarterly collection of poems, and we will post about it on our social media profiles.
Everyone at TCKs for Christ volunteers; contributing writers will not be compensated.
Still have questions? Please contact team@tcksforchrist.com. We look forward to your contribution!
Happy writing!
*We reserve the right to reject a submission if it does not align with what the Bible says, needs major editing, or is in any other way not suitable for the ministry.
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