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 Microgrant Applications for Trans Writers
Deadline: July 15, 2025
Sundress Publications is open for submissions for grant applications from trans writers with a chapbook or full-length book in progress. All eligible authors are welcome to submit during our application period which closes on July 15th, 2025. Applicants may apply for any genre.
The Sundress Microgrant for Trans Writers will award $500, a one-week residency at the Sundress Academy for the Arts in Knoxville, TN, and the potential for publication to one trans writer with a chapbook or full-length in progress to support the completion of said project. This grant is made possible by a generous anonymous donation.
All applications will be read by members of our editorial or reader board. One writer will be selected who will then work with Sundress’s residency team and editorial board.
To apply, please send a sample of the work in progress (up to 15 pages) along with a brief (no more than 500 words) artist/personal statement about what this grant would mean to the completion of said work. There is no fee to apply.
Sundress Publications Open for Full-Length Poetry Manuscripts
Deadline: August 31, 2025
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, 2025, but we especially welcome authors from marginalized and underrepresented communities.
We are looking for manuscripts of forty-eight to eighty (48–80) single-spaced pages; front matter is excluded from the 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 collections, 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 of 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 book purchase. Entrants can place book orders or pay submission fees at our store. Please note that the 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.
Submit your manuscript to us here.
Please note that we are unable to accept manuscripts from authors who reside outside of the United States as we are unable to adequately support books in international markets.
Sundress Academy for the Arts Open for Spring 2026 Residencies
Deadline: September 1, 2025
The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is now accepting applications for short-term writing residencies in all genres—poetry, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, screenwriting, journalism, academic writing, and more—for their spring residency period which runs from January 4th to May 9th, 2026. These residencies are designed to give artists time and space to complete their creative projects in a quiet and productive environment.
Each farmhouse residency costs $350/week, which includes a room of one’s own, as well as access to our communal kitchen, bathroom, office, and living space, plus wireless internet.
Residencies in the Writers Coop are $175/week and include your own private dry cabin as well as access to the farmhouse amenities. Because of the low cost, we are rarely able to offer scholarships for Writers Coop residents.
Residents will stay at the SAFTA farmhouse, located on a working farm on a 45-acre wooded plot in a Tennessee “holler” perfect for hiking, camping, and nature walks. The farmhouse is also just a half-hour from downtown Knoxville, an exciting and creative city that is home to a thriving artistic community. SAFTA is ideal for writers looking for a rural retreat with urban amenities.
SAFTA’s residencies, which also include free access to workshops, readings, and events, offer a unique and engaging experience. Residents can participate in local writing workshops, lead their own workshops, and even have the opportunity to learn life skills like gardening and animal care.
As part of our commitment to anti-racist work, we are now also using a reparations payment model for our farmhouse residencies which consists of the following:
- 3 reparations weeks of equally divided payments for Black and/or Indigenous identifying writers at $150/week
- 3 discounted weeks of equally divided payments for BIPOC writers at $250/week
- 6 equitable weeks of equally divided payments at $350/week
Black and/or Indigenous identifying writers are also invited to apply for a $350 support grant to help cover the costs of food, travel, childcare, and/or any other needs while they are at the residency. We are currently able to offer two of these grants per residency period (spring/summer/fall). If you would like to donate to expand this funding, you may do so here.
For the Spring 2026 residency period, SAFTA will be offering the following fellowships only:
- SmokeLong Quarterly Fellowship for Trans Writers: one 100% fellowship for a trans writer
- LGBTQIA+ Fellowship: one 100% and one 50% week-long fellowship for writers who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community
- Black & Indigenous Writers Fellowships: one full week-long fellowship for Black and/or Indigenous identifying writers
The application deadline for the spring residency period is September 1, 2025. Find out more about the application process at www.sundressacademyforthearts.com.
The application fee is waived for all BIPOC identifying writers. For all fellowship applications, the application fee will also be waived for those who demonstrate financial need; please state this in your application under the financial need section. All application fees are used to fund support grants for Black and/or Indigenous writers.
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 2023 or 2024.
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. Recent titles we’ve reviewed include Alicia Mountain’s Four in Hand (BOA Editions), Teow Lim Goh’s Faraway Places (Diode Editions), and Noreen Ocampo’s Not Flowers (Variant Literature).
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.