The Braag CIC is a production company for literature and performance that supports underrepresented artists in the North East of England* We publish poetry and speculative fiction pamphlets, run the micro-journal Carmen et Error, and host occasional events including Poetry Murder Mysteries, Workshops and meet-ups.

Submissions open June 15th – July 31st each year.

Submissions can be sent to thebraagcic@gmail.com during our open period – Please note that your subject headings for your submission must be either POETRY, PROSE or MICRO-CHAPBOOK submission, so we can identify it and send it to the correct first readers. We do not charge submission fees.

Submissions Guidelines

Poetry Pamphlets:

• A submission of 15 – 30 pages of poetry in a .docx or .pdf format in a sensible font and size. Please include a brief synopsis (up to 250 words) and a brief biography (up to 100 words).
• Simultaneous submissions ok – but please withdraw your submission immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.
• Writers must be currently based in the UK.
• 50% of your submitted work must be previously unpublished, this includes blogs and social media.
• Translations are accepted where work is either copyright has expired or permission can be secured in advance from the writer or their estate. I am most interested in publishing translations that are closer to re-imaginings or re-writes of known texts.
• Collaborative submissions are considered. 

Micro-Chapbooks

• Chapbooks are nine pages formatted in a6! 
• They may contain poetry, microfiction, or a single speculative short story (of between 1.5k – 2.5k words)
• Please submit your manuscript in a5 or a6 format, though, prose writers please prioritise word count over page count as I find the margins and spacing vary greatly between different word processors. Poets, stick to page count.
• Simultaneous submissions ok – but please withdraw your submission immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.
• International writers are welcome to submit.
• 50% of your work must be previously unpublished, this includes blogs and social media.
• Translations are accepted where work is either long-out of copyright or permission can be secured in advance from the writer or their estate. I am most interested in publishing translations that are closer to re-imaginings or re-writes of known texts.
• Collaborative submissions are considered.

You may submit once in either of the pamphlet categories and once in the microchapbook category

Okay but what are you actually looking for? 

Poetry:  Look through Carmen’s past issues! I like poetry that is sprawling and speculative, where the last wolf in England may be hiding in stanzas thick as ancient woodland. Towering smokestacks are just as welcome, the landscapes do not have to be pastoral, they can be emotional—tapestries of family ghosts, spells, glimpses out of a moving train. I prefer richness of language over sparsity but can be convinced! High concept pamphlets (and especially micro-chapbooks) welcomed.
Poets I adore: Rebecca Tamás, Richard Skelton, Malika Booker, Jen Hadfield, Chen Chen, Jacob Polley, Harry Josephine Giles, Rishi Dastidar.
Pamphlets I’ve adored: Malkin by Camille Ralphs, Rootstalk by Ella Duffy, Reconstructions by Bradley Trumpfheller, A Protection of Ghosts by Natalie Linh Boldterston, The Firth by John Glenday
Hard sells: rhyming ballads, people who don’t read modern poetry (it’s obvious!).