Contact & Submission Guidelines


Rules for Submission:
  1. Send up to TWO original unpublished haiku for each issue through email (Subject line: Autumn Moon Haiku Journal) in the body of the email, no attachments allowed, to: [email protected] 
  2. Write each haiku in your original language, if not English, with an English translation, which might be smoothed out by the editors.
  3. Each haiku should ideally be structured in three horizontal lines, though one line horizontal haiku and other forms will be considered.
  4. If seasonal, the haiku submitted should be in accordance with the seasons of the issue for which it is submitted.
  5. Deadlines for submission: Autumn/Winter, November 1st & Spring/Summer, May 1st.
  6. Publication: Spring/Summer appears in mid-May to June, Autumn/Winter appears in mid-November to December.
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Autumn Moon Haiku Guidelines

We prefer haiku that:

  • Don't use a 5-7-5 syllabic structure: Read this essay for more information on why contemporary English language haiku is not syllabic: www.nahaiwrimo.com/why-no-5-7-5
  • Use internal comparison: Haiku may be regarded as a relation of the particular with the universal. Whereas most poetry is dependent on metaphor, with the affective force of the imaginative comparison determining its success, haiku, in its uniqueness, is constructed upon an "absolute metaphor"; of the natural particular and the universal, using internal comparison.
  • Focus on the particular: The particular itself also has its own quality of mystery. In the best haiku it is the mystery of the particular that is its essence. 
  •  Express a depth of feeling: The best haiku employ what the American poet T.S. Eliot termed an "objective correlative", a poetic image drawn from the real world that represents, or metaphorically connects with, internal emotion. 
  •  Convey the haiku moment: The "haiku moment" might be defined as the conjunction of the particular and the absolute in a moment of time. Haiku is then basically an epiphany. It is seeing with Li-shan that "things are such as they are."  Bashō has said: "Learn how to listen as things speak for themselves"; The greatness in haiku is the revelation of reality just as it is in all its wonder and freedom.
  • Express a connection to nature: These days nature is in a state of crisis; at stake in this post-modern world is the presiding connection of haiku with nature. Now less and less relevant in everyday life are nature and beauty. We  all crave a connection with each other and the world. Nature is actually healing, as people discover now with such activities as forest bathing. By expressing the affective, inherent beauty of nature, haiku may help preserve our sense of wholeness — even in this postmodern age — and, just maybe, the world itself.
  •  Are relevant: the reader should not say “so what?” after reading the haiku.
  •  Are not simple statements or sentences: while they may feel like a breakthrough to the author, that will result in the “so what” reaction most likely from the reader.
  •  Use concrete not abstract language or philosophizing: this is haiku in keeping with the traditional values from Bashō, Issa, Shiki and not the more modernistic approaches that are being published elsewhere.
  • Read the journal: it’s easy to see how great the published haiku are, and some are breaking some but not all the rules above!
  • Haiku is a tiny poem, don't overpower it with too many images! This is probably the main reason a haiku will be rejected by our journal.
  • Not required for submission but for beginners, a helpful guide is the book Writing Haiku by Bruce Ross (Tuttle, 2022). Available on Amazon:  a.co/d/bFHk6PB​
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Note:
Occasionally as editors we feel like a haiku is "almost there" and may offer suggestions on how a poem might be improved (and thus, be accepted to the journal). All submitting poets should be open to this type of feedback.
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Disclaimer:
 
The journal is not responsible for plagiarized haiku, intentional or unintentional, though the haiku poet’s sincerity in this matter is of course expected as you are expressing your own sensibility and insight.
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