Listed below are our current open calls. We are open for our chapbook contests from March to May, our open reading period for full-length poetry manuscripts from June to August, our broadside contest from September to November, and our open reading period for prose manuscripts from December to February. Our residency applications are open year-round. Other calls will be published here as they open.
Sundress Publications Open for Full-Length Poetry Collections
Sundress Publications is pleased to announce that we are now open for submissions for our annual poetry broadside contest. The contest will be open for submission between September 1st to November 30th, 2026.
The winner’s poem will be letterpress-printed as an 8.5” x 11” broadside complete with custom art and made available for sale on our online store. The winner will receive $200 and 20 copies of their broadside.
To submit, send up to three poems, no longer than 28 lines each (line limit includes stanza breaks but not the title) through our Google Form by November 30, 2025. Be sure to include a copy of your payment receipt or purchase order number (see below for payment of fees).
Please make sure that no identifying information is included in the submitted poems.
From September 1st through 14th, submissions to this contest are free for the first submission for any and all writers. If you submit more than one set of poems during the free period, only the first set will be accepted without payment.
Beginning September 15th, the reading fee is $10 per batch of three poems, though the fee will be waived for entrants who purchase or pre-order any Sundress title. Entrants can place book orders or pay submission fees at our store.
Once the purchase is made, the store will send a receipt with a purchase code. This code should be included in the submission, or you may forward the email receipt at the same time as you send the submission. This fee is waived for all writers of color.
Previously published material is welcome so long as you maintain the rights to the work. Let us know in your cover letter if any of your submitted poems have been previously published.
Poems translated from another language will not be accepted.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, but we ask that authors notify us immediately if their work has been accepted elsewhere; poems accepted for publication are still qualified provided the author retains the rights to the work at the time of printing.
Any questions or concerns, as well as withdrawal notifications, can be sent to sundresscontest@gmail.com.
The judge this year is Ashley Elizabeth. Ashley Elizabeth (she/her) is a Pushcart nominated writer and educator living on Piscataway and Susquehannock land (Baltimore, MD). She is the author of A Family Thing, CHARM(ed), red line, black has every right to be angry, and you were supposed to be a friend. When Ashley isn’t teaching, editing with Porcupine Lit, working as the Chapbook Editor with Sundress Publications, or coordinating workshops for fifth wheel press, she habitually posts on Twitter and Instagram (@ae_thepoet). Ashley is Black before she is anything else. You can find her at aetheblkpoet.com.
Sundress Reads Looking for Recently Published Books to Review
Deadline: Rolling
As part of Sundress’ Publications’ ongoing commitment to service and the importance of highlighting work from other small presses, we are now accepting submissions for consideration for inclusion in our review series, Sundress Reads. We’re looking to feature reviews for any books published or to be published in 2026 or 2027.
We at Sundress champion writers whose work highlights human resilience and challenges misconceptions. We will not consider reviewing any book that promotes actions or includes language that contribute to oppression. Books by authors from LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, neurodivergent, disabled, immigrant, incarcerated, and otherwise marginalized communities are encouraged to submit.
Authors or publishers of books published within this date range are invited to submit books, chapbooks, or anthologies in any genre for consideration by our reviewers who are standing by. Books must be published by independent presses, university presses, or small presses; we do not accept submissions from “the Big 5” or self-published collections. Submissions will be considered on a rolling basis.