Eye to the Telescope 61, Aliens, will be edited by D. A. Xiaolin Spires.
From close encounters to first contact to space operas to UFO Earth visits, stories about aliens or extraterrestrials proliferate in our diverse cultures and communities. Aliens can take on many forms: humanoid, animal-like, plant-like, virus-like or completely divergent from species on Earth. They can be hive-minded or individualistic, coming from other worlds or dimensions. Their presence can be metaphors for migrations, conflict, cooperation, friendship, anxieties, the unknown, the familiar or obstacles. They can live in egalitarian societies or hierarchies of power. They can be serious and scary, as well as whimsical, expressive, cute, cordial or funny. What do they look like? What do they do for fun, for work? What do they eat? What do they wear? What do they want? Why are they here? Why are we there—in their homeworlds or at some mutual location? Looking to weave a vibrant issue on ETs and their interactions with humans or species of various experiences and backgrounds! Open to free verse, scifaiku, humor, rhyme, concrete poetry and more!
Submission Guidelines
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
- Use the form at https://bit.ly/SFPAettt61 to submit.
- Please submit 1–3 unpublished poems in English (ideally, attached as .docx or .txt) and include a short bio. Translations from other languages are acceptable with the permission of the original poet (unless public domain).
- Inquiries only to ettt61@sfpoetry.org with “ETTT” in the subject line.
- Deadline: July 15, 2026. The issue will appear on August 15, 2026.
Payment and rights
- Accepted poems will be paid for at the following rate: US 5¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $5, maximum $25. Payment is on publication.
- The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association normally uses PayPal to pay poets, but can also send checks.
- Eye to the Telescope is an online publication. Therefore, First Electronic Rights (for original unpublished poems) are being sought.
Who can submit?
Any human writing speculative poetry. Please no AI-generated works or AI-human collaborations. Note SFPA’s new AI policy: https://sfpoetry.com/ai-statement.html
What is Speculative Poetry?
Speculative poetry is poetry which falls within the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural horror, plus some related genres such as magic realism, metafiction, and fabulation. It is not easy to give precise definitions, partly because many of these genres are framed in term of fiction rather than poetry.
A good starting point is “About Science Fiction Poetry” by Suzette Haden Elgin, the founder of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Despite its title, this article is applicable to all forms of speculative poetry.
Tim Jones, editor of Issue 2, had a go at defining science fiction poetry on his blog, in two parts (These blog posts date from 2009, and the Voyagers anthology has since been published. These posts do refer specifically to science fiction poetry, rather than the broader field of speculative poetry.):
timjonesbooks.co.nz/2009/02/08/what-is-science-fiction-poetry-part-1-definition/
.timjonesbooks.co.nz/2009/02/15/what-is-science-fiction-poetry-part-2-history/
What Is the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association
(SFPA)?
As the SFPA says on its website at sfpoetry.com, “The Science Fiction Poetry Association was founded in 1978 to bring together poets and readers interested in science fiction poetry. What is sf poetry? You know what they say about definitions—everybody has one. To be sure, it is poetry (we’ll leave that definition to you), but it’s poetry with some element of speculation—usually science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Some folks include surrealism, some straight science.”
See the SFPA site for lots more information—and please consider joining.
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Interested in editing an issue of Eye to the Telescope? See the Editors’ Guidelines for information and requirements.
