Inspired by July: The Orchards Cover Reveal, Summer Reading, and More!
Introduction
We can't wait to share the cover of The Orchards Poetry Journal: Summer 2025. Twice a year, we open The Orchards, Kelsay Books' own anthology of poetry, for themed submissions. Each issue highlights the finest from emerging and favorite poets. Stay tuned to order your copy very soon!
Events
You are invited to our Summer Zoom Reading on Saturday, July 19 at 12:00 PM MT.
Click on the flyer to register with the same email address your Zoom account is under!
Gladwyne, PA: On July 29 at 3:00 PM ET, Joyce Meyers presents an Introduction to Contemporary Poetry at the Gladwyne Library! See below for details, including the QR code to register.
Charlottesville, VA: Sharon Perkins Ackerman will give a reading with William Prindle at New Dominion Bookshop on Friday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Learn more here.
Opportunities
Enter the 2025 Rattle Poetry Prize by July 15th!
From Rattle's newsletter: "As always, this contest funds the free programs we offer year-round. By entering, you’re not only tossing your hat in the ring for a $15,000 first prize—you’re also keeping our regular submissions free and supporting hundreds of emerging poets each year. Every entry comes with a one-year subscription, including four issues and four chapbooks. It’s a win-win-win.
And remember: variety is our goal. Please don’t try to guess what we want based on the previous winners. Our finalists always range widely in form and tone—from sonnets to surrealism, haiku to heartfelt narratives. Just send the best four poems you have."
Poetic Excellence
Congratulations to Lee Orlich Bertram! Lee recently completed a successful book tour in Stockholm, Sweden. Insistence, Persistence, and Resistance won in two categories of the 2025 American Fiction Awards: General and Contemporary Poetry.
Congratulations to Sophia Conway on a successful launch party for Someday Somewhere Beautiful! Watch on YouTube and order your copy below.
