Adrian Van Young is the author of The Man Who Noticed Everything, a collection of stories, which won Black Lawrence Press’s St. Lawrence Book Award; the novel, Shadows in Summerland (Open Road Media); and the story collection, Midnight Self (Black Lawrence Press). He is also the author of Vampire Pool Party, a book for children (Madeleine Editions.) His fiction and non-fiction have been published in Black Warrior Review, Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, The Baffler, Conjunctions, The Believer, BOMB, Granta, McSweeney’s and The New Yorker online. He lives in New Orleans with his family where he teaches American Literature & Creative Writing.

Adrian will provide detailed comments on your manuscript as well as a cover letter. After receiving these files, participants who submit chapbooks and full-length manuscripts may also book phone/video conferences with Adrian at no additional charge.

Adrian is accepting everything from flash fiction to novels. The fees and parameters for each of these categories is as follows:

    Flash fiction, up to 2 pages in length, $25

    Short stories, up to 20 pages in length, $55

    Chapbooks, up to 40 pages in length, $275

    Novellas, up to 100 pages in length, $425

    Short story collections, up to 180 pages in length, $550

    Novels, up to 300 pages in length, $795

All manuscripts should be double spaced and formatted in 12-point font.

The deadline to submit work for this consultation program is April 30. Adrian will complete his work and respond to all participants by May 31.

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Adrian Van Young's Statement of Purpose
 

My philosophy of critique when it comes to fiction is to always approach the narrative on its own terms. Which is to say: I will never make the story into something it's not. My foremost goal as a critical reader of manuscript drafts is to help the story be the best kind of story it wants to be in the most efficient way possible. So, if you have written a piece of domestic realism with an epiphanal climax that tapers into falling action, I will not try and make it into a gothic historical story. What I *will* do is zero in on issues of characterization, atmosphere, genre, space-time issues, point of view and, particularly, structure and pacing (my specialties!) to facilitate what I believe to be the best mode of storytelling given the specific aims of the writer. I will also place a separate, heavy emphasis on plot and narrative entertainment which is what, after all, keeps a reader turning pages, something many writers sorely underestimate. But, a word to the wise: I am not into polish. I believe in radical revision, i.e. modifying and rearranging large sections of narrative, if called for. And I do this behind the logic that the more urgently and completely a manuscript is re-engineered over a series of drafts, the better it promises to be when the final one emerges.

Marcela Sulak's fifth title with Black Lawrence Press, a novella-in-verse, The Fault, was published in 2024. Her previous four titles include three poetry collections, City of Skypapers, a 2021 finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, Decency, and Immigrant, as well as her lyric memoir, Mouth Full of Seeds. She’s co-edited with Jacqueline Kolosov the 2015 Rose Metal Press title Family Resemblance. An Anthology and Exploration of 8 Hybrid Literary Genres. Sulak, who translates from the Hebrew, Czech, and French, is a 2019 NEA Translation Fellow, and her fourth book-length translation of poetry: Twenty Girls to Envy Me: Selected Poems of Orit Gidali, was nominated for the 2017 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation (University of Texas Press). Her essays have appeared in The Boston Review, The Iowa Review, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Asymptote, and Gulf Coast online, among others. She coordinates the poetry track of the Shaindy Rudoff Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Bar-Ilan University, where she is an associate professor in American Literature. She also edits The Ilanot Review and hosts the TLV.1 Radio podcast, Israel in Translation.

Marcela is accepting everything from individual poems to full-length collections. The fees and parameters for each of these categories are as follows:

•    Single poem or hybrid piece of up to 2 pages: $25
•    Folio of five poems/short hybrid work of up to 7 pages: $55
•    Chapbook of up to 40 pages: $275
•    Manuscript of up to 80 pages: $425
•    Manuscript of up to 200 pages: $625

Marcela will provide detailed comments on your manuscript as well as a cover letter. After receiving these files, participants who submit chapbooks and full-length manuscripts may also book phone/video conferences with Marcela at no additional charge.

All manuscripts should be formatted in 12-point font. The deadline to submit work for this consultation program is April 30. Marcela will complete her work and respond to all participants by May 31.

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Marcela's Statement of Purpose

I am seduced by tensions in poetry. With regard to the music of the poem, “tensions” might mean the slippage between an ideal form or meter and the physical form or meter embodied in the syntax of the sentence and line breaks. In narrative, it might mean the balance between what is said and what remains unspoken. In documentary poetics, it might mean the desire new facts and information create in me to change my life, or to learn more. In hybrid work, tension might mean the memory of a traditional genre in the unmapped freedom of an experimental form. 

Although we love most what we have to work for in poetry, as in most things, we also have to have a reason to invest our interest and our care. Sometimes poetry fails to engage us because we can’t access it—the poem is still in the poet’s head, speaking a private symbolic language. Sometimes a poem is so anxious to please us or so anxious not to be misunderstood, it spells everything out, overwhelming us. A good poem is an exploration the reader and writer make together. A good poem is a process—it introduces us to a new born world, rather than wrapping up a completed one.  A good poem is a generous poem, that gives the reader a space to feel, think, and discover connections for herself, through the gaps between what is said and what is suggested; what is and what might be. 

My approach to reading your poems and helping you maximize their creative tensions is discovering what your poem most values by determining how the poem works. Then, I can act as a poet-mechanic, helping you fine-tune the language, the music, the balance between what is there and what is implied. I pay special attention to the meaning-making music of your work (rhythms, vowel and consonant sounds, the play of syntax and stress, etc.).

My approach to reading your manuscript is to determine what your collection values, and how best to achieve the fullest effect, with regard to musical scope, narrative arc, and the timing of emotions, information, and sound. 

In my own work, I specialize in prosody (the music of lines), documentary poetics, hybrid work (prose poems, nano-nonfiction, essays in verse, lyric essays, etc.) and literary translation. In other people’s poems, I particularly enjoy work that engages with the world around it with fresh curiosity. I love work that is beautiful and musical, but not slight. I appreciate poems that are honest, vulnerable, complex, and that take risks. I like poems that are acts of investigation and discovery. Poets and writers I have recently been enjoying, and who have influenced me most long term include Yehuda Amichai, Elizabeth Bishop, Paul Celan, Hart Crane, Natalie Diaz, Emily Dickinson, Terrance Hayes, Yusef Komunyakaa, Layli Long Soldier, Sabrina Ora Mark, Erika Meitner, Pablo Neruda, Mary Ruefle, Wallace Stevens, C.D. Wright, Rachel Zucker, and Louis Zukofsky, to name a few. 

You're in the submission form for poetry. If you're intending to submit prose (fiction, creative non-fiction, etc.), please return to the main page and select the prose category instead. (Chapbooks of prose poems and poetry/prose hybrid projects can be submitted under either poetry or prose, per your preference.)

Twice each year Black Lawrence Press will run the Black River Chapbook Competition for an unpublished chapbook of poems or prose between 16-36 pages in length. The contest is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner will receive book publication, a $500 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes are awarded on publication.
 

All entries are read without identifying information by our panel of editors. All manuscripts should include a title page (listing only the title of the work), table of contents (if applicable), and when appropriate, an acknowledgments page. Manuscripts should be paginated and formatted in an easy-to-read font such as Garamond or Times New Roman. Manuscripts should be 16-36 pages in length (double-spaced for fiction), not including front and back matter (table of contents, title page, etc.). Identifying information for the author should not be included anywhere on the manuscript itself, including in the name of your file or in the "title" field in Submittable. You are welcome to include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable, which will only be made accessible to the editorial panel after the group of Semi-Finalist and Finalist manuscripts has been chosen.

A note regarding previously published work: Chapbooks containing individual stories or poems that have been previously published online or in print are absolutely eligible for the BRCC–please simply note previously published work on an acknowledgments page. On the other hand, if your chapbook–or a significant portion of the work included in your chapbook–has been previously published as a book or chapbook-length collection (including publication with a press, self-publication, online/digital publication, and publication in a small, limited-edition print run), then the manuscript is not eligible for the BRCC.

• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.
• Multiple submissions (the submission of more than one manuscript to the contest) are permitted.
• Collaborative collections are welcome.
• Hybrid/multi-genre submissions are also welcome; please enter under the submission category that best fits your work.
• Prose category: Beginning with the Spring 2019 contest, our category previously titled “fiction” has been re-categorized as “prose” to accommodate fiction, creative non-fiction, lyric essay, and prose hybrid manuscripts. (Chapbooks of prose poems and poetry/prose hybrid projects can be submitted under either poetry or prose, per your preference.)
• We cannot accept translations for the BRCC.
• We will consider submissions including visual art (i.e. interior illustrations or photographs), but please note we do not regularly publish chapbooks with interior art. Please do not include suggested cover artwork with your submission.

  The annual deadlines for the prize are May 31 and October 31.

Optional book bundle: Interested in reading a few of our chapbooks while we read yours? Below you will have the option to purchase a bundle of five of our chapbooks, which includes Inconsiderate Madness by Helen Marie Casey, No Girls No Telephones by Brittany Cavallaro and Rebecca Hazelton, Nonfiction by Shane McCrae, Families Among Us by Blake Kimzey, and Benefits of Doubt by Cyrus Armajani. The discounted price of $39.95 for this chap bundle includes the cost of shipping. Purchase not required for submission to the BRCC!

You're in the submission form for prose. (This includes fiction, creative non-fiction, lyric essay, and prose hybrid manuscripts.) If you're intending to submit poetry, please return to the main page and select the poetry category instead. (Chapbooks of prose poems and poetry/prose hybrid projects can be submitted under either poetry or prose, per your preference.)

Twice each year Black Lawrence Press will run the Black River Chapbook Competition for an unpublished chapbook of poems or prose between 16-36 pages in length. The contest is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner will receive book publication, a $500 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes are awarded on publication.
 

All entries are read without identifying information by our panel of editors. All manuscripts should include a title page (listing only the title of the work), table of contents (if applicable), and when appropriate, an acknowledgments page. Manuscripts should be paginated and formatted in an easy-to-read font such as Garamond or Times New Roman. Manuscripts should be 16-36 pages in length (double-spaced for fiction), not including front and back matter (table of contents, title page, etc.). Identifying information for the author should not be included anywhere on the manuscript itself, including in the name of your file or in the "title" field in Submittable. You are welcome to include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable, which will only be made accessible to the editorial panel after the group of Semi-Finalist and Finalist manuscripts has been chosen.

A note regarding previously published work: Chapbooks containing individual stories or poems that have been previously published online or in print are absolutely eligible for the BRCC–please simply note previously published work on an acknowledgments page. On the other hand, if your chapbook–or a significant portion of the work included in your chapbook–has been previously published as a book or chapbook-length collection (including publication with a press, self-publication, online/digital publication, and publication in a small, limited-edition print run), then the manuscript is not eligible for the BRCC.

• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.
• Multiple submissions (the submission of more than one manuscript to the contest) are permitted.
• Collaborative collections are welcome.
• Hybrid/multi-genre submissions are also welcome; please enter under the submission category that best fits your work.
• Prose category: Beginning with the Spring 2019 contest, our category previously titled “fiction” has been re-categorized as “prose” to accommodate fiction, creative non-fiction, lyric essay, and prose hybrid manuscripts. (Chapbooks of prose poems and poetry/prose hybrid projects can be submitted under either poetry or prose, per your preference.)
• We cannot accept translations for the BRCC.
• We will consider submissions including visual art (i.e. interior illustrations or photographs), but please note we do not regularly publish chapbooks with interior art. Please do not include suggested cover artwork with your submission.

The annual deadlines for the prize are May 31 and October 31.

Optional book bundle: Interested in reading a few of our chapbooks while we read yours? Below you will have the option to purchase a bundle of five of our chapbooks, which includes Inconsiderate Madness by Helen Marie Casey, No Girls No Telephones by Brittany Cavallaro and Rebecca Hazelton, Nonfiction by Shane McCrae, Families Among Us by Blake Kimzey, and Benefits of Doubt by Cyrus Armajani. The discounted price of $39.95 for this chap bundle includes the cost of shipping. Purchase not required for submission to the BRCC!

Each issue of Fair Copy includes a limited number of prose pieces, each comprised of an early draft; the final, fair copy; and a reflective craft essay from the author about the drafting and revision process.

Fair Copy wants to see flash prose, short stories, essays (broadly defined), hybrid prose, and experimental prose up to 7500 words. We’re open to submissions from both emerging and established writers, and we’re especially interested in pieces with forms and content solidified in surprising ways through the drafting and revision process. Fair Copy is also open to a variety of subgenres and movements including speculative and genre-bending work, and we skew towards literary styles and techniques. Pieces with gratuitous violence–physical, emotional, or psychological–are highly unlikely to fit our aesthetic, and for the benefit of our readers, we ask that you provide content warnings when appropriate. We do not consider AI-generated work or pieces developed with the aid of AI generators/software.  

In your cover letter, please provide a short, third person bio with your preferred contact information. Upload one file in 12pt, double-spaced font. Your file should include your submission followed by a page break and then a draft from your writing process which best shows the evolution of your piece. Submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines will not be considered. We aim to respond to authors in 3-6 months.

If a piece is accepted, editors at Fair Copy will request the author contribute a mini craft essay/reflection on your drafting and revision process, and either a writing exercise authored by the writer meant to engage an aspect of craft featured predominantly in the piece or permission for the editors of Fair Copy to develop a craft-based writing exercise based on the published piece. All accepted submissions will be included in print issues; select submissions will also be published online.

Questions about submitting can be directed to editors@faircopyjournal.com.

​tr. is an international literary journal that celebrates and highlights the cultural power and vital contributions of literature in translation to the english-speaking world. ​
​
tr. publishes poetry and prose translated from any language. we read submissions on a rolling basis. we publish work on a rolling basis. 

tr. reads the world. join us. . .

Submissions should be formatted in an easy-to-read font such as Garamond or Times New Roman. Please attach your work as a .pdf, .doc, or .docx file and include a copy of the original text as well as a cover letter and bios for the author and the translator. 

It is the translator’s responsibility to secure all relevant and appropriate translation rights.

All submissions must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. 

If you have a pending submission, please wait for a response before submitting again. Our average response time is 2–3 months. 

General submissions require a submission fee of $2.00 per submission.   

Fiction and Nonfiction (up to 3000 words)  

Poetry (no more than 5 poems) 

The immigrant narrative is at the heart of the American experiment. However, despite the contributions of immigrants to the cultural, financial, scientific, and artistic makeup of the United States, there is no clear home for new immigrant writings in the United States. To remedy this, Black Lawrence Press proudly announces the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series, an innovative program designed to provide a home for new immigrant writings in the United States and bridge a gap in the American literary community. The Series will remain a self-standing body with complete autonomy within Black Lawrence Press, and its editorial and advisory boards will be composed of immigrant writers and/or authors whose works explore the immigrant experience.

Mission Statement:

The Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series aims to provide a clear and consistent home for new Immigrant Writings in the U.S. Book selections will be made by a four-member editorial board composed of writers in the U.S. who are either immigrants or whose works focus on the immigrant experience. Selections will be based on merit with the goal of publishing the best works by immigrants. Poets and authors, at any stage of their careers, who identify as immigrants are welcome to submit a book manuscript of poetry or prose or a hybrid text for consideration. Submissions are accepted year-round. However, selections are made in June and November for a total of two books per year. In addition to publication, marketing, and a standard royalties contract from Black Lawrence Press, authors chosen for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series will receive a travel stipend of $500, which can be used for book tours or in any manner chosen by the authors.

Editorial Board:
 Sun Yung Shin
 Rigoberto Gonzalez
 Ewa Chrusciel
 Abayomi Animashaun

Advisory Board:
 Barbara Jane Reyes
 Ilya Kaminsky
 Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka
 Virgil Suarez

Rules & Eligibility

1. Works by immigrants will be considered for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series. 

2. Submission is open to any individual living in the U.S. who identifies as an immigrant and who either (i) was born in another country, (ii) has at least one parent who was born in another country (iii) is a refugee, or (iv) lives in the United States under Asylum or a Protection Program, such as TPS or DACA .
 

3. No more than two book manuscripts can be submitted per year per author.
 

4. A third book manuscript submitted in a given year by an author will not be considered for the Writing Series.
 

5. All manuscripts received after May 31st will be considered for the November Reading Period.
 

6. All manuscripts received after October 31st  will be considered for the June Reading Period.
 

7. Only full length manuscripts of poetry (at least 45 pages), prose (fiction or nonfiction), and hybrid texts of poetry and prose (at least 100 pages) will be considered for the Writing Series. We are not accepting chapbook manuscripts at this time.
 

8. An author whose book manuscript has previously been selected for the Writing Series and published through Black Lawrence Press will not be considered a second time for the Series. However, the author in question is welcome to send new book manuscripts to Black Lawrence Press (BLP) for consideration during BLP’s June and November Open Reading Periods.
 

9. Only authors who have not previously published with Black Lawrence Press will be considered for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series.
 

10. Aside from Rules 1 through 9, there are no conditions for submitting manuscripts.
 

11. There are no entry fees.
 

12. Submissions are accepted year-round.
 

*13. Only one book manuscript will be selected for the June Reading Period, and only one book manuscript will be selected for the November Reading Period, for a total of two books per year. (* If no book manuscript is chosen for a June Reading Period, the Series Editors reserve the right to choose two book manuscripts (instead of one) in the November Reading Period immediately following the June Reading Period in question)
 

14. The Series Editors reserve the right to choose no book manuscript for the Writing Series during any given year or any Reading Period.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do you define an immigrant?
Anyone who identifies as an immigrant and who either (i) was born in another country, (ii) has at least one parent who was born in another country, (iii) is a refugee, or (iv) lives in the United States under Asylum or a Protection Program, such as TPS or DACA

2.  I live outside the United States, can I submit my work?
No, immigrant authors must be living in the United States when they submit their work for consideration

3. Can I submit an anthology for consideration?
No, anthologies will not be considered for the Writing Series. However, Black Lawrence Press (BLP) welcomes proposals for anthologies during its June and November Open Reading Periods

4. Are collaborations welcome?
No, works should be by one author only. However, collaborations are welcome during BLP’s June and November Open Reading Periods

5. Are BLP’s June & November Open Reading Periods the same as those of the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series?
No, these are different and distinct programs within the Press. While the readings occur concurrently, The Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series is a self-standing entity with its own eligibility and rules and editorial and advisory boards. The editorial board, composed of immigrant authors, has complete autonomy in selecting book manuscripts for the Writing Series. Each year, these editors recommend up to two books for publication through Black Lawrence Press. Please see the program’s mission statement , rules and eligibility, and bylaws.

6. How many book manuscripts can I submit in a given year?
Only two book manuscripts will be considered each year per author

7. Can I submit two book manuscripts in different genres?
No, each author can submit no more than two manuscripts in a given year, regardless of genre

8. I am an immigrant and I have two book manuscripts, can I submit both at once or at different times of the year?
Yes. Each author is welcome to submit a maximum of two books per year either together or at different times in the given year

9. It’s the end of June or November and there’s been no announcement yet on the manuscript selected for the Writing Series. What’s going on?
Thanks for your patience. The four-member editorial board will announce the selected manuscript as soon as they’ve made a decision. That said, the editors also reserve the right to choose no manuscript during a reading period.

10. I have other questions not addressed here. Who should I contact with my questions?
Please send questions to immigrantwritingseries@blacklawrencepress.com. 

You may send an email to the same address to request a copy of the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series bylaws.7. Only full length manuscripts of poetry, prose (fiction or nonfiction), and hybrid texts of poetry and prose will be considered for the Writing Series. We are not accepting chapbook manuscripts at this time.

Mission Statement:

In keeping with our commitment to being a clear and consistent home for immigrant writing, we are proud to announce The Black Lawrence Fellowship for New Immigrant Authors. The fellowship is for immigrant authors at the start of their literary careers, who have published no more than one book in any genre at the time of application. Applicants are welcome to submit a one page project proposal along with a five page writing sample. Successful applicants will receive a package of support that includes a free 12-month subscription to Sapling worth $50, a gift card in the amount of $150 to purchase books from Black Lawrence Press, a full manuscript consultation for a full-length project worth between $425 and $795, and $150 in cash.

Rules & Guidelines

1. The fellowship is open to immigrant authors who have published no more than one book at the time of application

2. The fellowship is open to any individual living in the U.S. with no more than one book, who identifies as an immigrant and who either (i) was born in another country, (ii) has at least one parent who was born in another country (iii) is a refugee, or (iv) lives in the United States under Asylum or a Protection Program, such as TPS or DACA.

3. New immigrant authors working in any genre are welcome to submit a one-page project proposal along with a five-page writing sample for consideration.

4. Black Lawrence Press authors are not eligible for the fellowship.

5. Fellowship applications will be considered once a year between January 1 and April 31.

6. Only one application will be selected each year for the fellowship. 

7. There are no entry fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I am an immigrant author who hasn't published a book. Will my application be considered for the fellowship?

Yes! Immigrant authors who haven't published a book are encouraged to apply for the fellowship.

2. Do you accept submissions year-round?

No. Fellowship applications are considered once a year between January 1 and April 31. 

3. Can applicants for the fellowship submit work for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series?

Yes! Fellowship applicants can submit work for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series. The fellowship and Writing Series are separate programs within Black Lawrence Press. 

4. Can applicants submit more than one application for the fellowship each year?

No. Fellowship applicants can submit no more than one application each year. 

5. I am an immigrant author, but I have no publication credits. Will my application be considered for the fellowship?

Yes! Immigrant authors with no publication credits are encouraged to submit applications for the fellowship.