Tears in the Fence

About

Tears in the Fence is an internationalist literary magazine based in the U.K. Publishing a variety of contemporary writers from around the world, it provides critical reviews of recent books, anthologies and pamphlets and essays on a diversity of significant modern and contemporary English and American poets. Each issue features a number of regular columnists adding wide focus and independent thought on the contemporary poetry world. We are a not-for-profit community organisation.
We appreciate social and poetic awareness; enjoy what’s spontaneous, strong and direct alongside writing that prompts close and divergent readings. While our central focus stems from the political and socio-economic predicaments of the individual in relation to his/her historical and geographical landscape, Tears in the Fence is open to other human issues and concerns and seeks to be forward-looking in relation to current developments within world poetry. We believe in difference and the other. We admire tradition and experiment. We are thus eclectic and encourage localised and wider, divergent reading.
Effective writing perhaps stems from giving equal measure to the known and unknown, simplicity and difficulty, sound and sense, in an economic, vivid and uplifting way.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for all submissions, except for Subscribers, and they do not offer monetary payment for accepted submissions. (Note: About 8% of magazines always charge fees.)
The fee is GBP £3 (average for magazines that charge).

Want more insight into the editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United Kingdom

Established in 1984

Publication Medium & Frequency

Print Publication Print Publication: Published 2 x per year

AI Policy

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Statistics Synopsis

Faster: Tears in the Fence's overall average response time is faster than most magazines.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open Fee-based

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: All nationalities.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Flash Fiction: Up to 1,000 words.
Short Story: 1,000 - 3,500 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open Fee-based

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: All nationalities.

Lengths:

Interview: No specific word count limits known.
Review: No specific word count limits known.
Essay: No specific word count limits known.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Critical, Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Literature/Books: Theory/Analysis/Criticism.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Open Fee-based

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: All nationalities.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poem: Unlimited number of lines; Up to 6 pieces.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms, including: Prose poetry.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

No monetary payment No monetary payment.

Submissions:

Method: Email.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are NOT allowed.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

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Tears in the Fence Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

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Accuracy

We have received 6 reports from 6 different members within the past 12 months. The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

9 min | 16.0 mean avg | 14.0 median | 31 max days (8.0 std dev)

Other Information

The editors will try to make a decision within 90 days.
Most recent response reported was received on 21 Jul 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 11 Jul 2026.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 09:47 UTC (less than a minute ago).

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Dates

Last Updated: 05 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.