How to Make your Poem Publishable with Diarmuid Fitzgerald

Course Summary

Dream of seeing your poetry in print or online literary journals? This course is designed to guide emerging or established poets through the process of getting published. You’ll learn how to prepare your poems for submission, research the right publications, and avoid common pitfalls. By the end of the course, you’ll have a solid plan for submitting your work to reputable journals and anthologies. Whether you’re just starting or have a stack of poems ready to go, this course helps you take the next step with confidence.

Participants will be expected to submit one poem that may be workshopped towards the end. Participants are asked to bring a laptop/ipad as there will be research on how to submit to journals.

There will be a one hour break for lunch.

Course Outline

10:00 – 10:30am Welcome & Course Overview Introductions, learning goals, overview of the publishing landscape

10:30 – 11:30am The Poetry Publishing World Types of publishers (journals, anthologies, presses), what they look for

11:30 – 11:45am Break Short refreshment break

11:45 – 12:30am Submitting Your Work How to find opportunities, follow guidelines, and write a cover letter

12:30 – 1:30am Lunch Break —

1:30 – 2:15am Editing & Selecting Poems for Submission How to polish your poem and choose what to send

2:15 – 3:15am Building Your Publishing Toolkit Bio writing, tracking submissions, dealing with rejections

3:15 – 3:30am Short Break —

3:30 – 4:30am Workshop (optional) & Action Plan Participants share one poem, receive peer feedback, set next steps

Course Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will leave with:

• A solid understanding of how the poetry publishing world works (journals, anthologies, competitions, online platforms).
• Clear insight into what editors and publishers look for in poetry submissions.
• Confidence in navigating submission guidelines and avoiding common pitfalls.
• A more refined poem ready for submission, after in-session feedback and editing (option)
• A system for tracking submissions, deadlines, and responses.
• Constructive feedback from fellow poets in a supportive setting.

Diarmuid Fitzgerald is a poet based in Dublin, Ireland. He is the author of two haiku collections Thames Way (2015) and A Thousand Sparks (2018) and one poetry collection, The Singing Hollow (2021). All of these books were published by Alba Publishing. Over 70 poems have been published in literary journals such as The Stinging Fly, Cyphers, Crannóg, High Windows, Flare and more. His poetry often explores stillness, transience, and the subtleties of everyday experience. He is working on his next collection of poems on LGBT themes.