Sample issues of Star*Line are $3.00, payable by PayPal to:

SFPATreasurer@gmail.com

or by check (made out to SFPA) mailed to:

Samantha Henderson
SFPA Treasurer
PO Box 4846
Covina, CA 91723

Other Poetry
On This Site

SFPA's 2007 On-line
Halloween Poetry Reading

Winners of SFPA's 2nd Annual Poetry Contest

The 2007 Rhysling Anthology
Drew Morse, Editor

One-year memberships & renewals are $21 ($25 overseas) payable by PayPal to:

SFPATreasurer@gmail.com

or by check (made out to SFPA) mailed to:

Samantha Henderson
SFPA Treasurer
PO Box 4846
Covina, CA 91723

Interested in becoming a member of the SFPA? Click here to find out more.

 

The Science Fiction Poetry Association was founded in 1978 to bring together poets and readers interested in science fiction poetry.

What is sf poetry? You know what they say about definitions -- everybody has one. To be sure, it is poetry (we'll leave that definition to you), but it's poetry with some element of speculation -- usually science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Some folks include surrealism, some straight science. One thing is certain -- SFPAns know sf poetry when they see it.

SFPA's founder, Suzette Haden Elgin, has shared her thoughts on sf poetry in the aptly titled, "About Science Fiction Poetry." She treats the subject more fully in The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook, just released from Sam's Dot Publishing in cooperation with SFPA. You can find a complete table of contents and a PDF download of the opening chapters on the Handbook ordering page.

Examples of science fiction poetry abound. Visit SFPA's links page to find magazines specializing in genre poetry and author pages for individual sf poets. Our Speculative Poetry Collections page contains a list of sf/f/h poetry collections published within the last two years and links to booksellers. Of course, SFPA's own newsletter, Star*Line, publishes sf poetry and is a wonderful way to begin your poetic journey to the stars.

 

Star*Line is the official journal of The Science Fiction Poetry Association.

Editorial Address

Marge Simon, Editor
1412 NE 35th St.
Ocala, FL 34479
USA
SFPASL@aol.com

You can email Marge with your submissions, or send your submissions to her via snail mail.

Details

Star*Line is the official newsletter and network instrument of the SFPA, established in 1978. It is a 20-24 page bimonthly forum for SF/F/H/Spec. poets and poetry enthusiasts and features market news, interviews, articles, reviews, member news and letters, association business, and poetry--by members and nonmembers. Issues of Star*Line are shipped to standard industry publications, such as Locus, SF Chronicle, etc.

Submissions

Star*Line is currently closed to submissions but will re-open in July, 2008, when I'll be reading for the first three issues of 2009. Please also note that the upcoming prose poem issue is full.

Submit single spaced, no attachments. No cover letter necessary. Submit no more than 5 poems per submission package. Make sure your submissions fit one of the upcoming themes (see below). No simultaneous submissions.

Email submissions are preferred. Snail mail submissions will be considered on the terms that if accepted, they can be sent electronically or on disk. Poetry without an SASE will not be returned. Include name, address, and phone number on all works submitted! If you have not received a response in 30 days, query.

NOTE: Overseas submissions should be disposable copies. Do not include IRC's, but I will respond by email if address is provided.

Poetry

Upcoming Themes-

• January/February 2008: Open.


• March/April 2008: Surreal, humorous, emotions.


• May/June 2008: Escape, memory, transitions.


• July/August 2008: Open.


• September/October 2008: All dark poetry issue (all genres).


• November/December 2008: Prose poems (limit 500 wds max-3 cents/wd). Bruce Boston, guest editor.

Nonfiction

Articles, reviews, market reports, press releases & updates, short interviews on subjects/topics/matters related to SF/F/H/Spec. poetry. Reprints from columns guests in HWA newsletter also welcome.

Art

Not in need of artwork until further notice.

Payment

We pay on publication for First North American Serial Rights. We also buy First Electronic Rights for Editor's Choice poems selected to appear on SFPA's official website. Subsidiary rights revert to the author on publication.
 
Poetry: Poems 10 lines or less, $3; poems 11 to 50 lines, $5; poems over 50 lines, ten cents per line rounded to the next dollar (e.g., a 51-line poem would pay $6, a 91-line poem, $10).
 
Reviews & Articles: 200 to 2500 words, one cent per word rounded to the next dollar.
 
Art: Cover art, $5; spot illustrations, $2.
 
All payments are made on publication. All works accepted will be published and paid for within one year of acceptance. One copy to all contributors.

Review copies sought

All books, chapbooks, anthologies, collections, or poetry magazines containing poetry within the SF/F/H/Spec. genres may be sent to the Editor's address and will be considered for review. Materials will be reviewed in the order received, and reviews published in order, according to available space.

 

SFPA publishes the yearly Rhysling Anthology, which is comprised of works nominated by our members for the Rhysling Awards for Best Poems of the Year. Each member is allowed to nominate one work for "Best Long Poem" (50+ lines) and one for "Best Short Poem" (1-49 lines). All SFPA members receive a copy of the anthology, which brings together the nominated poems in one volume for more convenient consideration.

SFPA also sells copies of The Rhysling Anthology to the general public. Visit The Rhysling Anthology page to see which years are currently on sale. Don't miss this unique compilation of verse from some of the finest poets working in the field of SF/F/Horror poetry.

For the first time in SFPA's history, the Rhysling Award-winning poems have been collected in a single volume. The Alchemy of Stars features the winning poems from 1978 to 2004, an introduction by Jane Yolen and afterword by Suzette Haden Elgin. See the Alchemy page for ordering information.

If that's not enough history, the Rhysling Archive contains information about all the Rhysling Anthologies since 1978, including cover images, tables of contents, and editorial information.

SPECIAL NOTE TO AUTHORS: Inclusion in the Rhysling Anthology is by member nomination only. Do not submit poems for the anthology. Membership in the SFPA is not required for a work to be nominated.