Become the next Tupelo Press author
It is important that you read the complete guidelines for each contest or reading period before submitting your work. Writers submitting work for consideration may be published authors or writers without previous book publications. Submissions are accepted from anyone writing in the English language, whether living in the United States or abroad.
Tupelo Press does not publish children’s books, inspirational books, graphic novels, or religious books. We do not accept emailed manuscripts for any contest, reading period, or submission opportunity.
Before submitting an entry to Tupelo Press, please explore the work of the writers 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.
Contests & Prizes
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The Berkshire Prize for Poetry
Submission period: January 1st – April 30th
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The Dorset Prize for Poetry
Submission period: October 1st – December 31st
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The Snowbound Chapbook Award
Submission period: December 1st – February 29th
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The Summer Open Reading Period
Submission Period: July 1st - August 31st
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The Helena Whitehill Book Award
Submission Period: August 15th — October 31st
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Translations
Submission period: Ongoing
about the submission process
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While we do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, we are open for a variety of contest, prizes, and open submission periods year round! Please check the guidelines, available on our website and our Subfolio account for specific instructions. Submissions are accepted via Subfolio & mail-ins.
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We do not accept previously self-published collections. However, individual poems that have appeared in other journal publications are accepted within a new manuscript -with the proper acknowledgments!
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All of our currently open contests, prizes, and open submission periods are available on our Subfolio page.
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Yes! In fact, here’s what Kristina Marie Darling, Editor-in-Chief of Tupelo Press and Tupelo Quarterly, has to say about resubmissions:
"As Editor-in-Chief of Tupelo Press, I’m often asked whether writers should resubmit to contests if they weren’t chosen as winner in the prior year. I’m here today to speak about the value of persistence. Many of our contest winners at Tupelo Press would have never been selected for their respective prizes if they had given up after a single submission We’ve seen talented writers win the Dorset Prize after their seventh or eighth manuscript submission, and we’ve made offers of publication to writers sending the same project to us for the second or third time. One of the great pleasures of being an editor is this: having the privilege of seeing working writers hone their craft, and watching a promising manuscript take shape before our eyes over the course of several submissions. And of course, I should mention that our preliminary judges and final judges rotate with each new submission opportunity. We have seen a change in judges or screeners result in more pleasing outcomes for those whose work may not have been fully appreciated the first time, and this is part of the value of and reasoning behind our process. As always, we look forward to reading your manuscript."
Most of our books were selected through contests, prizes, and open submission periods.
Take a look at some of the titles published through our submission processes
