Submissions

Thanks for stopping by. Our press has published more than 50 books since we started in 2003. We have decided to take a hiatus from publishing to concentrate on marketing our books, arranging readings, and considering what direction to go in next.

We will post an announcement here and in newsletters when we are ready to start receiving submissions. If you’re interested, check back on this site once in a while. We hope you will support our press by buying some of our books. This is also a good way to get a sense of what kind of poetry we are looking for.

In general, what we are looking for when we are reading manuscripts is:

• A poetry collection from 20 to 40 pages long
• At least 3 or 4 of the poems published somewhere in paper or online journals (be sure to include acknowledgments with your manuscript)
• Your best work, and a collection that hangs together
• Please, no religious poetry, children’s poetry, or purely political poetry.

General advice:

• Put thought into choosing and arranging the poems
• Make sure these are FINAL versions of your poems
• Come up with a good title
• Ask people whose literary taste you trust to go over your manuscript and be honest with you about weaknesses, lack of clarity, etc.
• Proofread repeatedly and get others to do this for you, too. It’s very hard to see errors in your own writing. Spelling mistakes, etc. are unprofessional and show carelessness, and will keep your work from being taken seriously and/or published.

I recommend a website called Empty Mirror Books, under Publishing Info/Poetry Publishing Info and Advice – this gives excellent practical tips about publishing your work.

Thank you.