July Open Reading Period

Submission period: July 1 – July 31st (postmark or online-submission date)

From July 1st to July 31st, Tupelo Press will hold open submissions for book-length poetry collections (48-90 pages) and chapbook-length poetry collections (28-47 pages).

Selected manuscripts will receive publication by Tupelo Press, a book launch, and national distribution with energetic publicity and promotion. Please read the complete guidelines before submitting your manuscript.


Who May Submit

The Tupelo Press July Open Reading Period is open to anyone writing in the English language, whether living in the United States or abroad, and regardless of prior publication history. We are again accepting translations for the July Open Reading Period. This is not a contest and manuscripts are not read anonymously. Previously self-published books are not eligible. Employees of Tupelo Press and authors with books previously published by Tupelo Press are not eligible. Poets submitting work for consideration may be published authors or writers without prior book publications.

We continue to be impressed by the quality of work we see and generally receive many, many more worthy manuscripts than we are able to publish. In addition, each of our contests and reading periods has a different team of editors, guest editors, esteemed readers, and final judge. And of course our tastes and needs evolve from year to year with each production schedule. For all of these reasons and more, please know you are welcome to submit your manuscript to the July Open even if you have already entered it in one or more of our contests or reading periods in the past. Thank you for honoring us with your work — we’re excited to see what wonders arrive over the transom.


Manuscript Requirements & Ethical Guidelines

Please note, the July Open Reading Period is for poetry manuscripts. If you would like to send us your fiction or creative nonfiction manuscript, please visit our prose guidelines which can be found here.

Submit a previously unpublished manuscript with a table of contents. Cover letters or biography notes are optional.

If you are submitting a paper manuscript, include one cover pages with the title of the manuscript, name, address, telephone number, and email address. Cover letters or biography notes are optional.

Individual poems in a manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks, but the work as a whole must be unpublished. If applicable, include with your manuscript an acknowledgments page listing prior publications of individual poems.

Simultaneous submissions to other publishers or contests are permitted, as long as you notify Tupelo Press promptly if a manuscript is accepted elsewhere.

Before you submit a manuscript to a Tupelo Press competition or reading period, please consider exploring the work of the poets we have published. We’re drawn to technical virtuosity combined with abundant imagination; memorable, vivid imagery and strikingly musical approaches to language; willingness to take risks; and an ability to convey penetrating insights into human experience.

Tupelo Press endorses and abides by the Ethical Guidelines of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP), which can be reviewed here, along with more about Tupelo Press’s ethical considerations for literary contests.


Notification of Receipt

To confirm receipt of your manuscript, include a self-addressed stamped postcard.
The online Submittable system automatically confirms receipt.

To receive notification of July Open Reading Period results, include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
An email announcement will also be sent to all entrants.

Beyond these notifications, kindly refrain from requesting an individual response to confirm receipt of your manuscript and/or payment. Submittable offers automated confirmations. We receive thousands of manuscripts each year and cannot offer individual acknowledgments. Thank you for your understanding.

Please do not enclose a SASE for return of manuscript. All manuscripts will be recycled at the conclusion of the reading period, except those under consideration for future publication.


Deadline

All entries must be postmarked or certified by Submittable online by midnight of July 31st, 2023 (EST).


Results

Results will be announced in the fall. We notify all entrants in three ways:

  • Via postal mail to those who included a SASE with their manuscript.
  • Via email to those who included an email address with their contact information.
  • We post the results on our website.

Reading Fee

A reading fee of $30 (U.S.) must accompany each submission. Multiple submissions are accepted, so long as each submission is accompanied by a separate $30 reading fee. Why a reading fee? We are an independent, nonprofit literary press. Reading fees help defray, but do not entirely cover, the cost of reviewing manuscripts and publishing the many books we select outside of our competitions and reading periods.

If you are submitting your manuscript online, you will be prompted to pay via Submittable.

If you are mailing your manuscript to us, please enclose a check or money order for the reading fee, payable to Tupelo Press.


Submit Your Manuscript

We cannot accept manuscripts via email. There are two ways to submit your manuscript:

  • Via postal mail. Be sure to include your check or money order.
    Optionally, include a self-addressed stamped postcard for confirmation of receipt.
    Mail your domestic submission to: Tupelo Press July Open Reading, PO Box 1767, North Adams, MA 01247
    Mail your international submission to: Tupelo Press July Open Reading, 60 Roberts Drive, # 308, North Adams MA 01247 USA
  • Via Submittable
    (Submittable will be accepting poetry manuscripts between July 1 and July 31st)
    Click here to submit electronically. Be sure that your document is complete and formatted correctly before uploading. 

Thank you for your participation and your support of Tupelo Press.  We look forward to reading your work!

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