Submission guidelines

What, how and when to submit to the IIML's annual online poetry showcase Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems.

Submissions for Ōrongohau | Best New Zealand Poems 2025 open on 1 January and close on 15 December 2025.

What to submit

  • Only poems or books of poems by New Zealanders published within the calendar year of the current collection are eligible for consideration. (Unpublished poems may be submitted to our other annual online collection, Turbine | Kapohau ).
  • Poems or collections published in print or in online journals, and in local or international publications, are eligible, provided the publication date falls within the calendar year.
  • Publishers may submit books, magazines, journals or links to online journals that meet these criteria.
  • Individual poets may also submit published poems or books directly.
  • Personal websites are not eligible publication sources.
  • Please note the specific guidelines about electronic submissions under 'How to Submit' below.

When to submit

You may send submissions for Ōrongohau | BNZP 2025 at any time during the 2025 calendar year, provided they reach the IIML by 15 December 2025.

Poems that will be published between the submission deadline and the end of December can be submitted in advance, with the place and date of impending publication clearly noted. In the case of books scheduled for mid-late December publication, see below.

How to submit

These guidelines attempt to cover most forms of submission and frequently asked questions from poets and publishers.

Please note: we receive a large number of submissions each year, most guest editors prefer to read longer works in hard copy, and our budget does not extend to printing books submitted in electronic form. This means that books and print journals must be submitted by post or courier. 

Please email bestnzpoems@vuw.ac.nz if you have questions about this or any aspect of the submission process.

Electronically:

Individual poems or a small selection (up to five poems or ten pages) may be submitted by email, preferably as a single attachment.

Where a poem or journal is only published in digital form, a link may be submitted by email.

  • Send to bestnzpoems@vuw.ac.nz
  • Please put 'Ōrongohau |BNZP submission' and your name in the subject line.
  • Include your name and contact email on each page of your submission, where practicable.
In hard copy:

Please submit books, print journals or larger selections of individual poems (more than five poems or ten pages)  in hard copy.

Actual copies of books and print journals are preferred. However, chapbooks and other micro-press or limited run publications may be submitted in printed A4 form instead.

If your book or print journal will be published between the submission deadline and the end of December, you may submit a printed copy of the final edited proofs, noting the publication date.

Submissions of e-book-only publications may also be made in the form of a printed copy, with a link to the publication site.

Postal address:

Ōrongohau | BNZP Editor
c/o International Institute of Modern Letters
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
PO Box 600
Wellington 6140
New Zealand

Courier address:

Ōrongohau | BNZP EditorInternational Institute of Modern Letters
c/o Mailroom
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
Kelburn
Wellington 6012
New Zealand

Whether posting/couriering or emailing, please include the following information with each individual submission:

  • The place and date of publication (or pending publication) of each poem or work submitted, including URL if relevant.
  • Your name, email and the poem title on each page of your submission, where practicable.
  • an email address for acknowledgement of receipt and any further communication.
  • If submitting a journal, anthology or collected work for consideration, it would be very helpful if you could note whether all poems included are eligible, or specify which poems are / are not eligible.

What happens after you submit

  • Receipt of email submissions will be acknowledged with an automated reply. If you have asked a question, or if we need to check anything or ask for more details, we will follow up with you as soon as possible. Otherwise your submission will be forwarded to our guest editor.
  • Postal submissions will be acknowledged if an email address is included with the submission.
  • Authors and/or publishers of selected poems will be contacted in February of the following year. For all accepted material, copyright remains with the author (or in some instances the original publisher) upon publication. Due to the volume of submissions, we are unable to contact individual poets and publishers to advise if work has not been selected.
  • The editors are unable to engage in correspondence regarding individual submissions.

The new edition is launched in late March or early April each year.