The Emily Dickinson Museum is now accepting proposals for our 2025 programs: Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series – a virtual event held monthly from April through September AND the 13th annual Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, held September 15-21! The Museum’s poetry programming features established and emerging poets who represent the diversity of the flourishing contemporary poetry scene and fosters community by placing poetry in the public sphere.
To submit for the Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series and the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival, please click on the appropriate submission link and complete the free application process. All submissions must be received through SurveyMonkey Apply (via Amherst College) using the submission links provided below. Email or paper submissions will not be considered.
If you wish to submit multiple proposals, please complete a new application for each proposal (up to 3 allowed per program).
TIMELINE:
All proposals must be submitted by Thursday, January 16 2025, 8am ET. All submitters will be notified of their acceptance status by March 5. Participating poets and presenters will be asked to sign a letter of agreement confirming participation on assigned dates.
Learn more about each program below.
About Phosphorescence
Produced by the Emily Dickinson Museum, the Phosphorescence Contemporary Poetry Series celebrates contemporary creativity that echoes Dickinson’s revolutionary poetic voice. The Series is a place to connect virtually over a shared love of poetry and an appreciation for Dickinson’s literary legacy. This year, poets may read remotely from the location of their choice or travel to the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, MA, to have their reading live-streamed to a virtual audience. Poets will indicate their preference for reading location on their submission form.
Featured poets are promoted on the Museum’s event web page, through a mailing list of over 25,000 addresses, and through the Museum’s social media. Each participating poet receives a $200 honorarium. There is no fee to submit proposals.
READINGS: Readings will take place on Thursdays at 6PM ET on the following dates: April 17, May 15, June 19, July 17, August 21, and September 18. Each reading may feature 2-3 poets. Readings are 15 minutes long on average per reader. Poets who submit alone will be paired with other poets if selected. Poets are welcome to promote sales of their books and awareness of other media during the program. (The Museum does not sell books for this series.) Poets should be prepared to engage in a facilitated conversation after their readings.
The following submission qualities are especially encouraged:
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- Group submissions of up to 3 poets
- Builds community
- Features BIPOC and/or LBGTQ+ voices
- Highlights a connection to Dickinson’s life and legacy
- Pushes poetic boundaries
Only complete submissions made through the SurveyMonkey Apply (via Amherst College) platform linked above will be considered. (You may be prompted to create a free account if you do not already have one.)
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Thursday, January 16 2025, 8am ET.
About the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival
Produced by the Emily Dickinson Museum, the Tell It Slant Poetry Festival celebrates the poetic legacy of Emily Dickinson and the contemporary creativity she continues to inspire from the place she called home. The Festival’s name, “Tell It Slant,” pays homage to Dickinson’s poem, “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.” This title underscores the revolutionary power of poetry to shift our perspective and reveal new truths.
The Festival is a hybrid event, with programs happening in-person at the Museum and online, for both in-person and virtual audiences throughout the week of September 15-21. We invite you to “dwell in possibility” and submit your most inventive proposals for in-person or virtual, generative workshops and panels! Submissions for virtual programs should be for live, synchronous content only. Honoraria of $350 are provided per event. There is no fee to submit proposals.
View last year’s Festival schedule
The Festival Steering Committee especially welcomes the following submission qualities:
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- From groups of 2 – 5 facilitators
- Generative writing programs
- Creatively encourage audience participation or foster a strong sense of community
- Engage young attendees and/or those new to poetry
- Ensure people with a range of abilities can participate meaningfully
The Committee is seeking submissions for the following program types:
IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS:
- Public poetry workshops are typically 90-minutes long.
- Workshops must be interactive and generative, centering around skill-building activities.
- Virtual workshops must be adaptable for large virtual audiences of around 200.
IN-PERSON OR VIRTUAL PANELS:
- Public poetry panels are typically 90-minutes long.
- Panels must consist of at least three people, including a facilitator.
- Panels should foster a strong sense of community and include moments for audience participation. They may include short readings by panel members.
- Virtual panels will be recorded and live-streamed to large virtual audiences of around 200.
Only complete submissions made through the SurveyMonkey Apply (via Amherst College) platform linked above will be considered. (You may be prompted to create a free account if you do not already have one.)
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Thursday, January 16 2025, 8am ET.
All submissions will be notified of their acceptance status by March 5. Participating poets and presenters will be asked to sign a letter of agreement confirming participation on assigned dates.
Please direct questions about submissions to EDMprograms@EmilyDickinsonMuseum.org.
This program is now SOLD OUT — please join us for the virtual birthday celebration. 
For any questions, please e-mail 
Thursday, August 22, 6:30pm
Thursday, September 12, 6:30pm ET
Thursday, October 16, 6:30pm ET
Thursday, November 21, 6:30pm ET
Tatyana Feeney grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and spent a lot of her early childhood going to the library and listening to stories. She still loves books and reads as much as she can in her free time. She is now based in County Meath, Ireland where she spends a lot of time working on illustrations and new story ideas. Most of her artwork is done using monoprinting but she often adds collage or watercolor to the finished pieces. Her books have been nominated for several awards including: The UKLA Book Award, the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize, and the Kate Greenway Medal. Little Owl’s Orange Scarf was the winner of the Rotherham Children’s Book Award in the Picture Book Category in 2014. Her artwork has been exhibited in Dublin, Belfast, Vienna, Bologna, London and The Hague. Illustrations from Small Elephant’s Bathtime were included in the Society of Illustrator’s Original Art Exhibition 2015. In addition to children’s books, she has also provided illustrations for CD covers, magazines, greeting cards and websites. Learn more at