Email Submissions from July 1st - 31st to:
Please Address Submission/s to Editor, Chukwuebuka Onyishi
The Friday Poem Submission Category is Open All Throughout the Year.
Submit to Penned in Rage Literary Journal How to Submit Submit Free of Charge, by Email - pennedinrage@outlook.com Penned in Rage invites submissions from underrepresented writers. SUBMIT a Poem or Flash Fiction in Word Document Format Please Poem - free verse, haiku, Fibonacci, Prose et cetera preferred over meters. Maximum lines 40. Flash Story - maximum 500 words; Fiction. Nonfiction and Non-academic essays accepted. Submissions The unthemed submission window will reopen 01 AUGUST 2025 for the third online edition of Penned in Rage Literary Journal. CLOSES 31 AUGUST 2025
EDITOR’S NOTE | August–December 2025 Edition Theme: We Were Not Meant to Die Here. Sometimes, there are stories we inherit, and others we are courageously forced to carry. While some echo through silence, others are patterned enough to speak even in the midst of fire. This edition of Penned in Rage is able to gather those voices together with their beauty: amazing works shaped not only by the force of anger and grief, but also by the stubborn endurance of those who have vowed to let their voices be heard. Whether through verse, narrative, or meditative reflection, the contributors summon a shared language that moves through broken systems and fractured selves, each boldly reaching deeper for something so startlingly honest.
About Penned in Rage Journal
Penned in Rage magazine is focused on publishing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, flash fiction, experimental prose and hybrid works, written by underrepresented writers. Each quarter a submission is chosen as the featured piece. The journal aims to create a community of subscribed readers who enjoy contemporary creative writing styles. Penned in Rage invites submissions from underrepresented and marginalised writers.
Submissions: Closed until January 2026
The 'unthemed' submission window will reopen 01 JANUARY 2026 for the third online edition of Penned in Rage Literary Journal.
CLOSES 31 JANUARY 2026.
How to Submit
Submit Free of Charge, by Email - pennedinrage@outlook.com
Submissions: You may submit a 40-line poem for consideration. Styles accepted: free verse, haiku, Fibonacci, prose et cetera preferred over meters. Maximum lines 40. Flash Story - maximum 500 words; Fiction. Nonfiction and Non-academic essays accepted. We do not publish metered poetry of any shape or form, neither do we accept anything that offends other social groups. Flash fiction not exceeding 500 words on any genre or topic may be submitted, as may non-academic essays or creative nonfiction not above 500 words. Underrepresented writers from anywhere may submit a poem or flash fiction for consideration. We only consider submissions sent through our online submission portal https://www.ellaspoems.com/#subscribe-to-penned-in-rage-journal or by email. Please provide a brief 30-word third-person bio to accompany your submission. Only one poem not exceeding 40 lines and/or one story of not above 500 words will be considered.
Simultaneous Submissions & Withdrawals: We accept simultaneous submissions, but we must be immediately notified if a piece is accepted elsewhere. If you wish to withdraw your submission, please email me directly at pennedinrage@outlook.com with the title/s of the work(s) you are withdrawing.
Previously Published Work: Except for The Friday Poem, https://ellaspoems.com/#the-friday-poem we will not publish pieces which have appeared elsewhere, including social media sites.
Publishing Rights: We ask for first time worldwide rights for accepted pieces. Following publication, all rights revert back to the author.
Payment: Penned in Rage Journal was borne out of a small, self-funded project. At this time, we are not able to offer payment to our contributors for published works; however, the PDF version of the journal is widely circulated and published writers are promoted on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
How is the journal published?
Triannual Online Publication - Downloadable PDF January, April, August
Naked Earth
By Chidi Nwakpa
Chimneys, exhaust pipes, firewood, and bushes smoke cigarettes
I lit with my hand, spewing smoke into the eyes of Earth’s guarding soldier
Choking blind – fuming – the Earth’s sentinel opens the gate
And lets in the attacker-friend who now bakes me for bread
On his searing oven, in readiness for a meal of crisp flakes
I conspire with the wind to shave the hair on Earth’s head
Pulling down her shelter Earth lies naked under threat
As raging waves of Heaven’s weeping tears cut a dangerous swathe
Through her compound, yanking off and stealing away
A large chunk of her body parts
Mother Earth is angry with me, her child
An unloving child – my actions endanger her life
I build houses and block the roads through which her Nature friend travels
In her anger, she drowns me with the flood of spittle
Flowing from her mercenary’s sprawling mouth
In solidarity, amputated and beheaded trees protest
Vomiting fire on me, her careless child
At night, in the day, she bathes me with scalding hot water
My skin peeling off from the burning heat
In her honour, Sahara Desert is fast spreading
His oppressive mat in anger
Mandating little devils to lie in ambush, guns in hands
Colonising lands belonging to me, her unruly child
In her furnace Mother Earth roasts cash crops
Bearing fruits of money for me, the stubborn child
Thus, subjecting me to the inhuman torture
Of the brutal police who imprison me
In the cell built in my belly
In my throat, she commissions a battalion of ferocious monsters
Endlessly baying for blood – to quench their longing taste
As Lake Chad out of fear rolls up her own mat
Shrinking into the tiny cocoon of her shell
Shutting me out of Nature’s kitchen where rich food is served
Thus, leaving me eating myself dead on a heap of adulterated food
POET of the Month Chidi Nwakpa is a Nigerian novelist and poet. His poems have recently been featured in ANA Abuja anthology. Currently, he is a graduate researcher in the Department of English and Literary Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
From the Manuscript of Soil Unfurling from Stem
This Month's Featured Poet
Nwapka Philemon chidi
The Following Poems Were Placed, Commended or Won a Special Prize
Entry 770822 - 'Big Lights Thunder' Matched to runner-up, Chukwuebuka Freedom Onyishi -$10 USD + Best Metaphorical Poem - $5
Entry 58622 - 'All of it' Matched to Solomon Hamza - $10 USD
Entry 50870 - 'Prayer' Matched to winner Osahon Oka - My Favourite Poem: $20 USD + $40 USD
Entry 46770 – 'The Path I Learned “Wilt”'Matched to Egharevba Terry - Judges' Favourite Piece- $10 USD
Entry 12977 – 'Sigh' Matched to Clement Abayomi - Third Place- $10 USD
Entry 30466 - 'House of Water' Matched to Daniel Jacinth - Fourth Place - $10 USD
Youngest Shortlisted Contestant - Fifteen-year-old Utaara Tjozongoro - $10 USD
