They are based out of Sweden but open to submissions from authors around the world. They accept all submissions through Submittable.

Kraken Press has a visually appealing website but it is a little difficult to navigate (for example it is hard to get from one of the subsections to the catalog). The covers of the books are generally excellent, professional, and intriguing.

They only publish a few books a year. In fact the one warning sign I saw was the fact that the last time they published a book was in 2015, although one is listed as forthcoming on the blog.

Also, if they were closing to publication or going on a hiatus, one would assume that they would close down their Submittable page (particularly because Submittable charges editiors).

The books they publish always have print and eBook editions. All of the books appear to be available for free to Kindle unlimited subscribers.

Follow their submission guidelines carefully as submissions that do not follow their guidelines will be discarded.

Manuscripts must be no longer than 120,00 words. They list their current response time as 30 days.

You can browse their catalog here. You can visit their submission page here.

Forage will be published online four times a year. They accept submissions on a rolling basis, with deadlines for each edition throughout the year. Each issue focuses on a theme, and right now they are accepting submissions for their fall 2016 “Poetry of Politics” edition. The deadline for submissions to “Poetry of Politics” is October 20, 2016. After that, they will be seeking submissions for their winter 2016 issue “Poetry of Personal Myth” (deadline January 3, 2017), their spring 2017 issue “Poetry of Nature” (deadline March 3, 2017), and their open-themed summer 2017 issue (deadline July 3, 2017). Forage encourages authors to interpret the themes creatively, according personal insight and experience. Submitting authors can expect a response within about three weeks, or within one week following the submission deadline.

Poets may submit up to five poems. Nonfiction authors may submit up to one essay or work of creative nonfiction, 3,000 words or fewer. Forage also accepts reviews of literature related to their current theme. Reviews should be 1,500 words or fewer.

Forage accept submissions via email, but not online or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions, but ask that authors immediately withdraw work published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published work, and work previously appearing on a personal blog or website should be removed before submission.

If you would like to learn more or submit to Forage, please visit their website at https://foragepoetry.com/contact/.

These bios are tricky to write.It is hard to describe ones life using 50 words or less. And frankly, you are better off not doing it. The editor of the journal does not care if you have been twice divorced, and neither does the reading public.

I am all for including one or two personal details, but I prefer that they relate indirectly to your writing. For example when I was submitting a lot of geographically themed poems I included the line “Emily Harstone just moved for the 18th time”.

Another fact worth considering including is what you actually do for a living. Most writers don’t write for a living. They do something else to pay the bills. Mentioning what that is can easily add complexity to your bio. Although it might affect the way your submission is considered. For example mentioning that you are a lawyer in your bio would have a different effect than mentioning that you are a stripper.

Most writers focus the bulk of their (very short) bio on writing. This is often a good thing. Although that can be tricky too. The biggest pitfalls is just mentioning the same things as every other writer. For example I once scanned through a literary journal and every single contributor’s bio included the fact that they had an MFA (a Masters of Fine Arts degree).  The schools they attended varied, but that single fact repeated over and over again got to me. Right after reading all of those bios, I removed the fact that I have an MFA from my bio.

The other issue is mentioning too many literary journals that you have been published in. When you are first starting out this seems like a good problem to have. And once your work has been published, you should include some of the most recent or prestigious journals in your biographical statement.

However, you should not include all of them, that would just be overwhelming and also boring. As a general rule of thumb I never include the names of more than 5 literary journals. Usually I limit it to three.

Some authors don’t bother mentioning the names of all the literary journals they have been published in. Their bios instead they say something like this “Their work has been published in over a hundred literary journals.”  If you are just starting out, that sounds impressive, but quality is much more important than quantity when it comes to literary journals. It would be much better to name the three best literary journals you have been published in than to refer to all one hundred (or more).

Below are two examples of biographical statements of less than 50 words, one contains journal names, one does not.

Sample Bio 1:

Maria Smith resides in the rural Pacific Northwest. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous places, including: Tin House, The Liner, and Echolocation, and the anthology Tidelines. Her second chapbook Pancakes for Dinner is forthcoming in 2014 from Hawthorne Press.

Sample Bio 2:

Joshua Thomas is a poet, editor, and recovering New Yorker who now lives in Idaho. Joshua once wrote a sonnet every hour for twenty-four hours straight. He loves to hike, cook, and read.

My personal ideal for a good bio is to mention one interesting personal fact. And then focus the rest of the bio on the area where writing and life intersect. I always include a link to my website as part of my bio. That way readers who like my writing can learn more about me (and possibly purchase a book or two).

Once I write a bio I am happy with, I use it for about a year. I submit the same bio with most of my submissions.  After a year has passed, I write a new one.

Remember, it is important to keep in mind who is seeing the bio. First the editor sees it (if they do blind submissions the editor might not see your bio till right before the issue published), and then the readers of the literary journals.

You want your bio to be short, professional, and to appeal to both the editors and the readers. I know that might seem like a tough task, but it gets a lot easier with time and practice.

Let me briefly share with you a few lessons I’ve learned along the way:

1. Don’t write to be validated; write for the benefit of others. It’s not just about you (or me). More than once, I’ve been tempted to write out of some foolish need to be approved by others. I’ve lived too much of my life with a performance orientation. Here’s an important question we all need to wrestle with: Why are you doing what you are doing? Why do you write (if you’re a writer) or sing (if you’re a singer)? If it’s truly an act of love for the benefit of others, I believe you will blessed beyond your wildest imagination.

2. Have a humble heart and a hefty hide. I wrote this note in my personal journal early in the editing process of my book: What’s black and blue and red all over? A rookie author and his manuscript in the hands of a professional editor! It was a bit painful at first. When you’ve created a manuscript and you’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into it, it’s like having a baby, and nobody wants to be told their baby isn’t perfect. However, one day it hit me: My editor is making me a better writer. I learned to humbly listen, and I’ve grown because of it.

3. Stay the course and keep writing. You are not as bad or as good as you might think. Dealing with the emotional aspects of writing is critical. I’ve finished a couple of marathons in my life, and I know from experience that you have to put in a lot of time and miles to prepare for 26.2 miles of running. Frankly, I’m a better writer today than I was a year ago, and I will continue to grow.

4. If you don’t ask—the answer is always no. No one likes to be rejected. Asking professional people and successful authors for an endorsement can be emotionally risky. You had better learn how to deal with rejection. But if you don’t ask for the support, you’ll probably never get it. No one called me and offered to write an endorsement; I called them. You’d be surprised to know who I asked. Admittedly, I got a little too bold and crazy with some of my requests.  Yet my book ended up with twenty-four amazing endorsements. The list includes several bestselling and award-winning authors. Here’s what you need to know: I asked more than fifty people. Do the math; that means I had more than a 50 percent rejection rate. It’s okay. Deal with it, and just keep asking. It’s good for your character.

5. If you don’t manage your time well, you won’t manage to survive. We’re all busy. On average, I work about fifty-five hours a week. I have a large family. I already have a very full and fulfilling life. At first, I had no idea how I was going to meet all the demands of getting my book published and keep all the plates spinning. It was a serious concern. It’s like the line in John Lennon’s song Beautiful Boy: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” I did not want that to be true of me. My goal has always been to live with intentionality and purpose. So I’ve learned how to manage my time better. (I also learned how to live with less sleep!)

6. There’s a right and wrong way to use social media to promote your book. People hate advertising unless there’s something in it for them. As cool as your book might be, most people won’t be interested in getting bombarded by your pleas of desperation: “Please buy my book.” That being said, if you can show them why they should read your book and what they will gain from it, they’ll be lining up to make the purchase. It’s also extremely important to engage people in conversation. Ask them questions in every post and be sure to respond to them with your thoughts or insights.

7. How we define success has everything to do with how successful we’ll be. Our culture tends to define success in some very obvious ways. You are a success if your book becomes a bestseller or wins an award. However, perhaps a better definition of success is simply doing what you were made to do and using your gift with diligence to make a difference in the world through your writing.

I’m still amazed by all that’s happened in my life. I wouldn’t trade this past year for anything. It truly has been epic! But without a doubt, I’m still growing and learning more, and perhaps that’s the point.

There’s an old Chinese proverb that goes something like this: “Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” May you continue to grow as a writer and be bold enough to embrace the journey.

Keep moving. Keep growing. Keep writing!

Bio:

Kurt W. Bubna published his first book, Epic Grace ~ Chronicles of a Recovering Idiot, with Tyndale in 2013. He is an active blogger, itinerate speaker, regular radio and television personality, and the Sr. Pastor of a church in Spokane Valley, Washington.