Sundress Publications Opens Submissions for 12th Annual E-Chapbook Competition
Deadline: May 31st, 2023
Sundress Publications announces its 12th annual e-chapbook contest. Authors of all genres are invited to submit manuscripts during our reading period of March 1st to May 31st, 2023.
Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid work are welcome as are visual poetry, poetry comics, and visual hybrid works. Manuscripts must be between twelve to twenty-six (12-26) pages in length, with a page break between individual pieces. Individual pieces may have been previously published in anthologies, print journals, online journals, etc., but cannot have appeared in any full-length collection, including self-published collections. Both single-author and collaborative dual-author manuscripts will be considered. Manuscripts must be primarily in English; translations are not eligible.
All of our chapbooks are available on our website for free digital download, which means these collections are more accessible to readers and more easily shared. Most of the Sundress chapbooks average over 1,000 downloads. Each title receives a full promotional packet, extensive social media coverage, as well as an organic readership from our website is highly trafficked.
From March 1-17, submissions to this contest are free for the first submission for any and all writers. Beginning on March 15th, the entry fee is $10 per manuscript, though the fee will be waived for all writers of color and entrants who purchase or pre-order any Sundress title. Authors may submit as many chapbook manuscripts as they like, so long as each is accompanied by a separate reading fee or purchase/pre-order. Entrants can place book orders or pay submission fees at our store.
The winner will receive $200, plus publication as a beautiful full-color PDF available exclusively online; the editor’s choice prize will receive $100 and publication. Runners-up will also be considered for publication.
All manuscripts should include a cover page (with only the title of the manuscript), table of contents, dedication (if applicable), and acknowledgments for previous publications. These pages will not be included in the total page count. Identifying information should not appear in any part of the manuscript. Authors with a significant relationship to the judge (friends, relatives, colleagues, past or present students, etc.) are discouraged from entering.
To submit, attach your manuscript as a DOCX or PDF file along with your order number for a Sundress title or the entry fee to contest@sundresspublications.com. Simultaneous submission to other presses is acceptable, but please notify Sundress immediately if the manuscript has been accepted elsewhere. Multiple submissions are allowed, but a separate entry fee must accompany each entry. No revisions will be allowed during the contest judging period. Winners will be announced in late summer of 2023.
This contest will be judged by Rita Mookerjee. Mookerjee is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Worcester State University. In 2020, she was a Fulbright Research Fellow in Kingston, Jamaica. She is the author of False Offering, forthcoming from JackLeg Press (Fall 2023). Her poems can be found in the Baltimore Review, New Orleans Review, the Offing, Poet Lore, and Vassar Review. She edits poetry at Split Lip Magazine and Honey Literary.
Sundress Publications 2023 Open Call for Full-Length Poetry Manuscripts
Deadline: August 31st, 2023
Sundress Publications is open for submissions of full-length poetry manuscripts. All authors are welcome to submit qualifying manuscripts during our reading period of June 1st to August 31st, 2023, but we especially welcome authors from marginalized and underrepresented communities.
We’re looking for manuscripts of forty-eight to eighty (48-80) single-spaced pages; front matter is excluded from page count. Individual pieces or selections may have been previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, print journals, online journals, etc., but cannot have appeared in any full-length collection, including self-published collections. Single-author and collaborative author manuscripts will be considered. Manuscripts translated from another language will not be accepted. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but we ask that authors notify us immediately if their manuscript has been accepted elsewhere.
From June 1st through 14th, submissions to this contest are free for the first submission for any and all writers. Beginning June 15th, the reading fee is $15 per manuscript, though the fee will be waived for entrants who purchase or pre-order any Sundress title or broadside. Authors may submit as many manuscripts as they would like, so long as each is accompanied by a separate reading fee or purchase/pre-order. Entrants can place book orders or pay submission fees at our store. Please note that this submission fee is waived for all BIPOC writers for the duration of the reading period.
All manuscripts will be read by members of our editorial board, and we will choose at least two manuscripts for publication. We are actively seeking collections from writers of color, trans and nonbinary writers, disabled writers, and others whose voices are underrepresented in literary publishing. Please note that Sundress does not have a defined aesthetic and invites you to send your strange, unique, hybrid, beautiful, and hard-to-place work for us to consider. Selected manuscripts will be offered a standard publication contract, which includes 25 copies of the published book, as well as any additional copies at cost.
To submit, email your Sundress store receipt for submission fee or book purchase, along with your manuscript (DOC, DOCX, or PDF), to sundresscontest@gmail.com. Be sure to note both your name and the title of the manuscript in your email header.