During the month of November, Black Lawrence Press author Carolyn Dekker is on board to critique creative nonfiction manuscripts.

Carolyn Dekker is the author of North Country: A Pedagogical Almanac (Black Lawrence Press, 2023). She holds a BA in Biology and English from Williams College and a PhD in literature from the University of Michigan. She lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Since the demise of Finlandia University, she has been teaching at Michigan Technological University and leaning into her role as a local eccentric. Her creative nonfiction has appeared in Identity Theory, Up North Literary Journal, and Waccamaw. She has published scholarship on Jean Toomer, Leslie Marmon Silko, Willa Cather, and Emily St. John Mandel, and edited Jean Toomer’s A Drama of the Southwest for the University of New Mexico Press.

Carolyn is accepting everything from flash-length essays to full-length manuscripts. The fees and parameters for each of these categories are as follows:

• Flash Essays, up to 2 pages in length, $25
• Essays, up to 20 pages in length, $55
• Chapbooks, up to 40 pages in length, $225
• Manuscripts, up to 180 pages in length, $475
• Long Manuscripts, up to 300 pages in length, $725

All manuscripts should be double spaced and formatted in 12-point font.The deadline to submit work for this consultation program is November 30. Carolyn will complete her work and respond to all participants by December 31.

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Carolyn's Statement of Purpose

I love memoir and creative nonfiction that tells an interesting story in interesting ways. Creative nonfiction is a wonderfully big genre. I am ready to immerse myself in your memoir or nerd out over your researched longform essay. (I take particular interest in science, animals, education, environmental and social justice issues.) In memoir, I’m drawn to work that has formal complexity—a wide gap between fabula and syuzhet—but can respect a compelling story told more plainly.

To follow Dickinson’s directive to “tell all the truth but tell it slant”—good advice for prosaists as it is for poets—means seeking a balance between what we spell out and what we approach more cautiously or through refraction. I think as nonfiction writers we sometimes write all the way up to the most important moments or truths but shy away from pinning them down in language. I love it when I get the chance to encourage another writer to gather their courage and actually write the passages that the work has been building to all along.

When coaching other writers, I first try to reflect back to them the main threads of meaning I find. Then I use that vision to help identify the places where the piece can grow more fully into itself. I hope that every writer exits the manuscript consultation with a strong sense of what they have already communicated well and what they want to amplify.

During the month of November, Black Lawrence Press author Miah Jeffra is on board to critique fiction manuscripts. Miah is author of four books, most recently the short fiction collection The Violence Almanac (finalist for several awards, including the Grace Paley and St. Lawrence Book Prizes) and the novel American Gospel, winner of the Clark-Gross Award. Work can be seen inStoryQuarterly, Prairie Schooner, The North American Review, Barrelhouse, DIAGRAM, storySouth and many others. Miah is co-founder of Whiting Award-winning queer and trans literary collaborative, Foglifter Press, and teaches writing and decolonial studies at Sonoma State University.

Miah is accepting everything from flash fiction to full-length novels.The fees and parameters for each of these categories are as follows:

•    Flash Fiction, up to two pages,  $25.00
•    Short Stories, up to 20 pages $55.00
•    Chapbooks,  up to 40 pages, $225.00
•    Novellas, up to 100 pages, $350.00
•    Short Story Collections,  up to 180 pages, $475.00
•    Novels, up to 300 pages $725.00

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

The deadline to submit work for this consultation program is November 30. Miah will complete his work and respond to all participants by December 31. 

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Miah Jeffra's Statement of Purpose

When working with fiction writers, I focus on getting to the heart of the work’s intention, communicate what I as a reader perceive as the intention, and then provide a range of possibilities on how to achieve that intention without compromising the unique voice, knowing that I may also possess blind spots in my reading. The potential dissonance between my read and the author’s desire is a great place to negotiate what will be best for the manuscript.

In my own fiction, I lean heavily into voice/point of view, dialogue as a tool to propel a story forward, and language that evokes setting and character. Many folx have called my writing social realism, but I defer to ambiguity for fear of being labeled one thing. Most of my characters are severely flawed, yet I try to render them easy to empathize with as a means for the reader to recognize their own complexities through the character’s experience. Fiction writers I find inspirational—those not afraid to show our culture’s complicated psyche—include Toni Morrison, Ron Rash, Annie Proulx, ZZ Packer, Michael Cunningham, Kazuo Ishiguro, Randall Kenan, Aimee Bender, among others. However, I read across genre and style in order to cultivate writing strategies that move beyond my own identity and practice.

During the month of November, Black Lawrence Press author MK Chavez is on board to critique poetry manuscripts. 

MK Chavez is an Afro-Latinx writer, educator, multi-disciplinary artist, and curator. Chavez is co-director of the Berkeley Poetry Festival and co-founder and curator of Lyrics & Dirges and teaches and supports writers at Ouroboros Writing Lab. Chavez’s writing explores identity, social injustice, environmental degradation, horror cinema, magic, and ritual and has been recognized with a Pen Oakland Josephine Miles award, the San Francisco Foundation/Nomadic Press Literary Award. Chavez is a 2018 Alameda County Arts Leadership Award recipient and a 2023 YBCA 100 fellow. Chavez’s literary offerings include Dear Animal, Mothermorphosis, the lyric essay chapbook A Brief History of the Selfie, and Virgin Eyes. Chavez’s work can be found among the trees in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park through the Voices of the Trees Project.

MK Chavez is accepting single poems, folios, chapbooks, and full-length collections for critique. The fees and parameters for each of these categories are as follows:

• Individual Poems, up to 2 pages in length, $25
• Folios, up to 7 pages in length, not to include more than 5 poems, $55
• Chapbooks, 16-40 pages in length, $225
• Full-length collections, 45-80 pages in length $350

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

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MK Chavez's Statement of Purpose

There is a profound urgency I find in writing and reading. I am drawn to the spaces where varied narratives collide, overlap, and diverge. In the realm of words, it's the process of transmutation, the alchemy of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary, that pulls me in. For me, the magic emerges when a piece of writing detaches from its creator to converse directly with the reader. 

I look below the surface, into the energy of words, their intent, but also something beyond. Understanding and honoring the core is a primary goal but I also consider how the work conveys and perceives beyond the experience of the creator—searching the dynamic and ethereal space of the gaze. While reviewing the writing of others I inhabit the lens of a reader and writer and use this dual vantage point, to ask questions and offer insights about the work’s impact and where opportunities offer themselves for expansion or shapeshifting.  

In my own writings, I'm deeply influenced by the spirit of exploration—be it documenting the nuances of life, studying the resonance of language, or the transformation of experience into art. I'm intrigued by the stories embedded in our surroundings and the juxtaposition of our complex histories. I have a penchant for voices that document brave spaces, trust their readers, see beyond the immediate, and can hold the universal and are imbued by timelessness.

My personal writing is engaged with new eco-literature, ekphratic works based on American Horror Films, documentary poetics, and writing that is born of and occupies liminal spaces. I have been inspired by the writings of Anne Carson, Octavia Butler, Carmen Gimenez, James Cagney, Maw Shein Win, Alejandra Pizarnik, Bhanu Kapil, and Claudia Rankine. Authors whose new books are inspiring me are mimi tempsett’s, The Delicacy of Embracing Spirals, Omotara James’s, Song of my Softening, and Tureeda Mikell’s, Body: Oracle of Memory. 

Each year Black Lawrence Press will award The Big Moose Prize for an unpublished novel. The prize is open to new, emerging, and established writers. The winner of this contest will receive book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes will be awarded on publication.

The Big Moose Prize is open to traditional novels as well as novels-in-stories, novels-in-poems, and other hybrid forms that contain within them the spirit of a novel.

Entries are read by senior Black Lawrence Press editors and a rotating panel of former Big Moose Prize winners. That panel currently includes:

-Tracy DeBrincat, author of Hollywood Buckaroo

-Ron Nyren, author of The Book of Lost Light

-Jill Stukenberg, author of News of the Air 

All manuscripts should include a title page (listing only the title of the work), and when appropriate, an acknowledgments page and table of contents. Manuscripts should be paginated and formatted in an easy-to-read font such as Garamond or Times New Roman. Manuscripts should be 90-1,000 pages in length, 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.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

The annual deadline is January 31.

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: Submit your manuscript by November 30 and enjoy a $5 discount on the entry fee!

The previous winners of The Big Moose Prize are Tracy DeBrincat, Jen Michalski, Betsy Robinson, Genanne Walsh, Megan McNamer, Robley Wilson, Shena McAuliffe, Colin Hamilton, Ron Nyren, Caroline Patterson, Jill Stukenberg, Sara Johnson Allen, and Leslie Li. Below, you will have the option to purchase a selection of their novels for a discounted fee, which includes the cost of shipping. While authors from around the globe may submit to the Big Moose Prize, these discounted book prices are only available to those with U.S. mailing addresses.

Black Lawrence Press welcomes proposals for bold and engaging anthologies that have the potential of contributing to our understanding of literature and the genres within it. Proposals by and/or about historically marginalized groups are especially encouraged.

Please include bios for the anthology editor(s), an abstract and proposed outline, and sample selections. Manuscripts should be paginated and formatted in an easy-to-read font such as Garamond or Times New Roman. 

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

Submit biography and cultural studies manuscripts to our open reading period here.

All manuscripts should include a title page (including your name and contact info), table of contents, 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. Biography & Cultural Studies submissions should be double-spaced and 45-500 pages in length. Please include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

Submit creative nonfiction manuscripts to our open reading period here.

All manuscripts should include a title page (including your name and contact info), table of contents, 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. Creative Nonfiction submissions should be double-spaced and 45-500 pages in length. Please include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

Submit novels to our open reading period here.

All manuscripts should include a title page (including your name and contact info), table of contents, 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. Novel submissions should be double-spaced and 120-500 pages in length. Please include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

Submit novellas to our open reading period here.

All manuscripts should include a title page (including your name and contact info), table of contents, 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. Novella submissions should be double-spaced and 50-110 pages in length. Please include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

Submit poetry chapbooks to our open reading period here. (Chapbooks of prose poems and poetry/prose hybrid projects can be submitted under either poetry or prose, per your preference.) Chapbooks should be 16-36 pages in length.

*Please note: if you have submitted this same chapbook manuscript to the Black River Chapbook Competition that has just closed, there is no need to re-submit during the Open Reading Period.  

All manuscripts should include a title page, 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, not including front and back matter (table of contents, title page, etc.). Please include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable.

• 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 during a given open reading period) are permitted, however we recommend you allow us to read only one manuscript from you at a time.
• Collaborative collections are welcome.
• Hybrid/multi-genre submissions are also welcome; please enter under the submission category that best fits your work.
• 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.

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 consideration–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 consideration.

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

Submit full length poetry collections to our open reading period here.

All manuscripts should include a title page (including your name and contact info), table of contents, 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. Full-length poetry collection submissions should be 45-120 pages in length. Please include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

Submit prose chapbooks (fiction, creative non-fiction, lyric essay, and prose hybrid) to our open reading period here. (Chapbooks of prose poems and poetry/prose hybrid projects can be submitted under either poetry or prose, per your preference.) Chapbooks should be 16-36 pages in length, double-spaced.

*Please note: if you have submitted this same chapbook manuscript to the Black River Chapbook Competition that has just closed, there is no need to re-submit during the Open Reading Period.  

All manuscripts should include a title page, table of contents (if applicable), and when appropriate, an acknowledgments page. Manuscripts should be 16-36 pages in length (double-spaced for fiction and creative non-fiction), not including front and back matter (table of contents, title page, etc.). Please include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable.

• 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 during a given open reading period) are permitted, however we recommend you allow us to read only one manuscript from you at a time.
• Collaborative collections are welcome.
• Hybrid/multi-genre submissions are also welcome; please enter under the submission category that best fits your work.
• 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.

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 consideration–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 consideration.

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

Submit short story collections to our open reading period here.

All manuscripts should include a title page (including your name and contact info), table of contents, 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. Full-length short story collection submissions should be double-spaced and 90-300 pages in length. Please include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

Black Lawrence Press publishes translations from German and French. Submit translations to our open reading period here.

All manuscripts should include a title page (including your name and contact info), table of contents, 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. Please include a brief bio or something about yourself in your cover note on Submittable.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable and encouraged, but please notify us by withdrawing your manuscript on Submittable immediately if it is accepted for publication elsewhere. 

Black Lawrence Press is happy to select many of our titles through our twice-annual Open Reading Periods in June and November. We ask all submitters to select one Black Lawrence Press publication at a discounted price ($14, including shipping for print editions). Proceeds from the open reading period will go directly back into supporting the activities of the press.

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 fill a much needed 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.

Black Lawrence Press now offers scholarships for our consultation program. Although we work hard to keep the costs of our consults as low as possible, we understand that many writers are not able to afford these services. 

We plan to award a total of $1,000 in scholarships per month. The deadline to submit your manuscript is November 30. We will award the scholarships in the first week of December. If your manuscript is not selected for the scholarship, please feel free to apply again in the future.

Scholarship recipients will be chosen by senior Black Lawrence Press editors and will be selected based on the merit of the submitted work. While we do not request that submitters disclose any personal financial information, we want to be clear that these scholarships are intended for writers who would not otherwise be able to afford the cost of our consultation service. 

FAQ
 

1. Who is eligible for this scholarship?

Any writer who is looking for feedback on their work and would not otherwise be able to pay for a manuscript consultation is eligible. Applicants may be at any stage in their writing careers and we heartily welcome new writers. 

2. I'm not currently a student, may I apply?

Yes. This scholarship is open to both students AND applicants who are not currently pursuing degrees or otherwise enrolled in academic institutions. 

3. Do I need to demonstrate need to receive this scholarship?

No. We do not require any such demonstration.