During our June and November open reading periods, we accept submissions in the following categories: novel, novella, short story collection (full-length and chapbook), poetry (full-length and chapbook), biography & cultural studies, and creative nonfiction. We also enthusiastically accept hybrid submissions.
We also hold several annual contests. Here is our reading schedule:
The Big Moose Prize: November 1 – January 31
(Open competition, novels)
The Hudson Prize: January 1 – March 31
(Open competition, poetry and prose collections)
The Spring Black River Chapbook Competition: April 1 – May 31
(Open competition, poetry and prose chaps)
Open Reading Period 1: June 1 – June 30
The St. Lawrence Book Award: June 1- August 31
(First book competition, poetry and prose)
The Fall Black River Chapbook Competition: September 1 – October 31
(Open competition, poetry and prose chaps)
Open Reading Period 2: November 1 – November 30
Please submit your work to the appropriate category below. If you are submitting a hybrid manuscript, please select the submission category that best fits your work.
If you require a fee waiver, please contact editors@blacklawrencepress.com at least seven days before the submission deadline.
Each year Black Lawrence Press will award the St. Lawrence Book Award for an unpublished collection of poetry or prose. The St. Lawrence Book Award is open to any writer who has not yet published a full-length collection in any genre. 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.
Beginning with the 2021 contest, the St. Lawrence Book Award is judged by a revolving panel of judges, in addition to the Executive Editor and other members of the BLP editorial staff. The judging panel is comprised previous St. Lawrence Book Award Winners, including: Jody Chan, Anna B Sutton, Brad Ricca, KMA Sullivan, Kim Sousa, Jason Tandon, Katie Umans, Leigh Camacho Rourks, Shubha Sunder, Yelitzaveta P Renfro, and Max McDonough.
Manuscripts should include a title page (listing only the title of the work), 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. Manuscripts should be 45-95 pages in length (poetry) or 120-280 pages in length (prose), 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. 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 for the prize is August 31. Please enter poetry submissions here.
The past winners of The St. Lawrence Book Award are Marcel Jolley, Stefi Weisburd, Jason Tandon, Fred McGavran, Yelizaveta P. Renfro, Brad Ricca, Katie Umans, Adrian Van Young, Craig Bernier, KMA Sullivan, Thomas Cotsonas, Alexandra Lytton Regalado, Vedran Husic, Leigh Camacho Rourks, Jody Chan, Anna B Sutton, Kim Sousa, Shubha Sunder, and Max McDonough. Below, you will have the option to purchase a selection of their titles for a discounted fee, which includes the cost of shipping. While authors from around the globe may submit to The St. Lawrence Book Award, these discounted book prices are only available to those with U.S. mailing addresses.
Each year Black Lawrence Press will award the St. Lawrence Book Award for an unpublished collection of poetry or prose. The St. Lawrence Book Award is open to any writer who has not yet published a full-length collection in any genre. 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.
Beginning with the 2021 contest, the St. Lawrence Book Award is judged by a revolving panel of judges, in addition to the Executive Editor and other members of the BLP editorial staff. The judging panel is comprised previous St. Lawrence Book Award Winners, including: Jody Chan, Anna B Sutton, Brad Ricca, KMA Sullivan, Kim Sousa, Jason Tandon, Katie Umans, Leigh Camacho Rourks, Shubha Sunder, Yelitzaveta P Renfro, and Max McDonough.
Manuscripts should include a title page (listing only the title of the work), 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. Manuscripts should be 45-95 pages in length (poetry) or 120-280 pages in length (prose), 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. 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 for the prize is August 31.
Please enter prose submissions here.
The past winners of The St. Lawrence Book Award are Marcel Jolley, Stefi Weisburd, Jason Tandon, Fred McGavran, Yelizaveta P. Renfro, Brad Ricca, Katie Umans, Adrian Van Young, Craig Bernier, KMA Sullivan, Thomas Cotsonas, Alexandra Lytton Regalado, Vedran Husic, Leigh Camacho Rourks, Jody Chan, Anna B Sutton, Kim Sousa, Shubha Sunder, and Max McDonough. Below, you will have the option to purchase a selection of their titles for a discounted fee, which includes the cost of shipping. While authors from around the globe may submit to The St. Lawrence Book Award, these discounted book prices are only available to those with U.S. mailing addresses.
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 August 31. Adrian will complete his work and respond to all participants by September 30.
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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.
H.R. Webster is a poet, abolitionist, and educator living in the Hudson Valley. H.R. has received fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, the Vermont Studio Center, and Monson Arts. H.R. has taught writing in prisons, secondary schools, museums, and colleges around New England and the Midwest. Her work has appeared in the Massachusetts Review, POETRY, Ecotone, The Iowa Review, Black Warrior Review, Guernica, Agni, and elsewhere. Her debut poetry collectionWhat Follows was published by Black Lawrence in 2022.
H.R. is accepting everything from single poems to full-length collections. The fees and parameters for each of these categories is as follows:
- Single poems up to 2 pages in length, $25
- Folios of up to 5 poems, up to 7 pages in length $55
- Chapbooks, up to 40 pages in length, $275
- Full-length manuscripts, up to 80 pages in length, $425
H.R. 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 H.R. at no additional charge.
All manuscripts should be formatted in 12-point font.The deadline to submit work for this consultation program is August 31. H.R. will complete her work and respond to all participants by September 30.
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H.R. Webster's Statement of Purpose
I am inspired by guts: bravery, mess, interiority. “What is this poem asking?” is more important to me than “what is this poem saying?” Ambiguity, illegibility, contradiction, the strange, the self-indulgent—I celebrate all these tendencies above static certainty. One of the most vital tasks of revision is to find a balance between language that captures the writer’s experience of the unexpected and language that revels in the labor of craftedness. Revision, at both the level of the poem and the level of the manuscript, can be a path back into surprise.
What excites me about revision is the way both wild experiments and small, precise shifts in syntax, lineation, and diction can open spaces of possibility and multiplicity of meaning. My approach to manuscript consultation is to celebrate the curiosity, ambition, and authentic questions that bring writers to the process. Useful dialogue during our consultation may take the form of insights into what your poems intend, incite, and explore: I hope to offer actionable tools that will further those aims. Useful dialogue may also take the form of instructive misunderstandings, gaps between what I see and what you hoped I would see, tools I offer that don’t feel quite right. I hope our dialogues forge a space for echolocation, sounding through the dark together for what you feel is most true for your poems.
My own writing draws on the rich topographies of traditional and experimental forms—both those that reveal themselves to the reader and those that are a private compositional experience for the writer. I love serious jokes, deceptive simplicity, approaches to natural, political, and interior worlds grounded in a particularity of language and experience. Poets whose work is close to my heart include Atsuro Riley, Diane Seuss, C.D. Wright, and francine j. harris, but I read widely and wildly, and I love discovering and recommending new writers to friends. I can’t wait to suggest books and poems in which I see an instructive echo with your work.
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 August 22. We will award the scholarships in the first week of September. 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.
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.
Please note: this category is open only to our current BLP authors (those with forthcoming or previously published chapbooks or full-length titles). Submissions entered via this category from writers who are not currently published by BLP will not be considered. If you are not a current BLP author, please exit out of this category and submit through the relevant open category or contest. Our full reading schedule appears on our Submittable page. Thank you!
Current BLP authors: We're so happy that you'd like us to consider another manuscript from you. Please submit it here.