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

Printed lit mags are way cooler than you'd expect. Some are pocket-sized. Others are like actual books. Lots of writers get so much more out of seeing their work in print. Holding it. Smelling it. Using it as a reason to show their favorite English teacher while low-key checking if they're still married. We have over 1000 mags with printed issues so we cut this down to our most competitive ones in our top two vibe categories. Good Luck!

89 Reputable Lit Mags with Print Issues

We were recently asked if there are agents that will represent poets, and it stuck with us. Of course there are! Now, that's not to say landing one is easy, but they exist, and some of them read lit mags…these lit mags. 

While what matters most to agents is your actual submitted writing, some publications are shinier than others and can help widen that initial toe-in-the-door space.

15 Poetry Magazines That Will Make Agents Notice You

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 If a poem that has been submitted to Arc is accepted by another publication, it should be withdrawn from Arc immediately via Submittable or by notifying Arc using Submittable’s messaging feature.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

In 2026, Arc will be awarding one $5,000 grand prize to the Poem of the Year and a $500 prize for an Honourable Mention. 
Shortlist: A shortlist of 10 to 12 poems, selected by Arc’s editorial board, will be eligible for the Readers’ Choice Award. The winner receives $250. Visit Arc’s website in April 2026 to read our shortlist selections and cast your vote! Shortlisted poets will be contacted prior to the shortlist announcement.
Publication: Shortlisted entries for the Poem of the Year will be published online and in a print issue of Arc, and will receive page-rate payment for online and print publication. 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.
Contest Guidelines:
The entry fee is $40 CDN, and includes a one-year Canadian subscription of Arc*.
For submissions received via Submittable, the contest entry fee must be paid through this platform. 
If the submission fee is prohibitive to your entry in this contest, we are offering a select number of free entries. These free entries are meant to open the contest up to those who need financial assistance, but we will not be giving free entries a one-year subscription to the magazine. For more information please send queries to poty@arcpoetry.ca.
*or two issues to US entrants, or one issue to overseas entrants. Entrants who are currently subscribers may pass along their contest subscription or complimentary issues to a friend. Please include the name and address to which the contest subscription is destined.
Rules:

  Arc welcomes Poem of the Year entries from Canada, the United States, and around the world. Entrants outside Canada must submit entry fees in Canadian funds.
  Entrants may submit up to three unpublished poems with each $40 fee before the Early Bird Deadline on December 31, 2025 (extra poems: $5 per poem).
  The length of an individual poem must not exceed 100 lines.
  Entrant’s name, address, e-mail and phone number must not appear in the document with the poem.
  Entrants’ information is concealed during deliberations.
  No entrants (including winners, honourable mentions, or authors of shortlisted poems) may substitute, before, during, or after judging, a revision of any poem already submitted to the contest.
  No poems will be returned.


Response Timeline: Submissions will be read by Arc’s editorial board after the contest deadline, and a shortlist will be announced on Arc's website in April 2026. Please do not contact us before the end of April to query about the status of your submission.  
Shortlist: A shortlist of 10 to 12 poems, selected by Arc’s editorial board, will be eligible for the Readers’ Choice Award. Visit us in April to read our shortlist selections and cast your vote!
Publication: All shortlisted poems will receive paid publication in an upcoming issue of Arc and on the Arc website.
Eligibility: Poems published elsewhere (including excerpts and revised versions) are not eligible for consideration. Should the Arc editorial board discover grounds for disqualification at any point during the judging process (including shortlisting and final judging), the poem will immediately be considered ineligible for the contest. The entry fee will not be refunded, but the poet will still receive the subscription to Arc Poetry Magazine.
Privacy Notice: Unless you indicate otherwise, Arc may share addresses of entrants to the 2026 Poem of the Year Contest with similar literary magazines or related organizations for promotional purposes.

Arc Poetry

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