Description
Line Rider Press is a working-class poetry website and book publisher that seeks to showcase class-conscious, counter-cultural, and human-centered poetry and viewpoints. We feature a new poem on our homepage every week, publish artwork, reviews/essays, interviews with poets, and release poetry books annually. We take pride in being a working-class publication offering poetry from provincial locales and other vantage points often overlooked by the mainstream publishing world. You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram @lineriderpress.
Poetry
We accept submissions year-round. Submitting your work is free. We are interested in writing that takes risks and abandons the sterility of so much contemporary poetry. We want poetry that is authentic and sincere – poetry that risks sentimentality yet avoids clichés.
Finally, as a working-class publication, we emphasize accessibility and discourage overly-highbrow or abstract poetry. Yet, we also maintain that the most powerful poetry is rooted in images, stories, and human experience while avoiding sloganeering and platitudes. We think great art is itself often a struggle. We encourage politically-minded poetry. Click here for submission instructions.
Art, Reviews, and Essays
We accept essays and reviews that highlight independent and underground music, film, and art. We aim to celebrate and explore works of art that enrich working-class life, communities, and society.
We also love to publish original artwork.
To submit your artwork, review, or essay, visit our submissions page for instructions.
Poet Interviews
We regularly feature short interviews with our featured poets in an effort to encourage dialogue and community around working-class poetry. If your poem is accepted for publication, we may ask if you’d like to participate in our interview series.
Editorial Board
Line Rider Press was founded by twins Jessica Colleen McDermott and Joshua Lew McDermott, who serve as co-editors.
We have a rotating cast of guest editors and readers. If you are interested in working with us, please email us at lineriderpress@gmail.com
Editor Bios:
Jessica McDermott is a fifth-generation Idahoan who is heavily influenced by place and nature. She is an activist, essayist, and poet who received her MFA in creative nonfiction writing from the University of Idaho in 2016. Along with writing creatively, she has also written on environmental and political issues. Currently, she lives in Southern California.
Joshua Lew McDermott is a writer, poet, and songwriter originally from Idaho. He lives in Pittsburgh. He was mentored by fellow Idaho poet Charles Potts, and was a member of the Logan, Utah, poetry scene in the early 2010s. His first book of poems, Codex, was released in 2019 by Hand to Mouth Books. He also writes on political economy and labor issues.
Background art: “Przewalski Horse Skeleton” by Lacie Lady Lynx