Black Lawrence Press author Jen Michalski is on board to critique fiction manuscripts. Jen graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a BA in English and received her MS in Professional Writing from Towson University. She was voted one of the best authors in Maryland by CBS News, one of "50 Women to Watch" by The Baltimore Sun, and "Best Writer" by Baltimore Magazine. She’s the author of four novels, the most recent of which, ALL THIS CAN BE TRUE, was published in 2025 by Turner/Keylight. Her debut novel, THE TIDE KING, was winner of the Big Moose Prize from Black Lawrence Press 

Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in more than 100 publications, including McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, Writer's Digest, Psychology Today, The Literary Hub, and others. She's the founding editor of the weekly literary journal jmww and lives in Southern California, although she’s always a Baltimore girl at heart.

Jen 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, $785

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

   The deadline to submit work for this consultation program is January 31. Jen will complete her work and respond to all participants by February 28.   

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Jen Michalski's Statement of Purpose 

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” 

― W. Somerset Maugham

It often feels like this, doesn't it? Having published four novels, however, I’ve found there are definite notes that a novel must hit in order to make it unforgettable. In my consultation, I’ll discuss your novel or short story with you in terms of these notes: its beginning, its characterizations, its voice, its pacing, and perhaps most important of all—its need. Why does this story need to be told? Is it being told by the right character during in the most effective setting and timeline? For short story collections, I will consider your broader themes and tone, your ideal reader(s), and the order and cohesion of your pieces. 

In addition to in-text feedback (prompting for clarification, or emphasis, not line editing or chapter-level revision), I will provide a detailed letter of my general impressions and suggestions to make sure the novel you're sending to agents and publishers most closely reflects your vision. 

After we’ve finished, I think we’ll be quoting a different man of letters:

“I love it when a plan comes together.”

—George Peppard’s character John “Hannibal” Smith from The A Team

Michal ‘MJ’ Jones (they/he)  is an award-winning poet, parent, and editor living in Oakland, CA. Their poetry has appeared in the American Academy of Poets, Obsidian, Split This Rock, Muzzle Magazine, TriQuarterly Review, ANMLY, & elsewhere. Their debut collection of poetry, HOOD VACATIONS, won the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Poetry. They are also the author of a chapbook, SOFT ARMOR (2023), from Black Lawrence Press. Often addressing the troubling and haunting aspects of life, violence, and identity, MJ’s poetry blends lyrical, documentary, and confessional modes. 

MJ 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 them at no additional charge.

MJ 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, $275
• Full-length collections, 45-80 pages in length $425

All manuscripts should be formatted in 12-point font. The deadline to submit work for this consultation program is January 31. MJ will complete their work and respond to all participants by Feburary 28.

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Michal ‘MJ’ Jones' Statement of Purpose

Poetry represents an opportunity to constantly reinvent; to find new words, arrangements, landscapes, and forms with which to express the age-old. I am drawn in by poems that take and then refill my body’s breath. With softness or boldness, a poem must say something beyond beauty and lyric. It must enact. It must make a declaration. It must lead to revolution. It must shock the reader with its aliveness of witness.

When is a poem done, then? We’re rarely blessed with the final poem in our first draft. Our early versions are often akin to channeling, to birthing; revision, then, is the tender care we take to shape and raise the best of our language to fullness. As an editor and consultant, it is my task to understand why you must write, to understand how important your work is to you, to identify your unique poetic cadence. I will treat it with care and grace.

To share these tender beings we call poems with others is an act of bravery, and I am grateful to read them. I can’t wait to enter the world through your words.

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 blind by senior Black Lawrence Press editors and a rotating panel of former Big Moose Prize winners.

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. 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.

Manuscripts containing previously published excerpts are absolutely eligible–please simply note previously published work on an acknowledgments page. On the other hand, if your manuscript has been previously published as a whole (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.

• 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 manuscripts are welcome.

The annual deadline is January 31.

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, Leslie Li, Kevin Fenton, and Emily Mitchell. 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.

Each year Black Lawrence Press will award The Hudson Prize for an unpublished collection of poems or prose (short stories or essays). Novels are not eligible for this prize. The winner of this contest will receive book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes awarded on publication. 

Entries are read blind by senior Black Lawrence Press editors and a rotating panel of former Hudson Prize winners. 

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.

Manuscripts containing individual stories, essays, or poems that have been previously published online or in print are absolutely eligible–please simply note previously published work on an acknowledgments page. On the other hand, if your manuscript has been previously published as a 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.

• 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.
• Novels and memoirs are not eligible. Prose refers to collected short fiction or essays.

The annual deadline for the prize is March 31. Please enter prose submissions here. 

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: Submit your manuscript by January 31 and enjoy a $5 discount on the entry fee!

The past winners of The Hudson Prize are Jo Neace Krause, Daniel Chacón, Abayomi Animashaun, Patrick Michael Finn, Sarah Suzor, B. C. Edwards, Jacob M. Appel, Bettina Judd, Matthew Cheney, Gillian Cummings, Caroline Cabrera, Beth Mayer, Alan Chazaro, Gwendolyn Paradice, Ananda Lima, Raena Shirali, JoeAnn Hart, Jeremy Griffin, and Greg Nicholl. Below, you will have the option to purchase a selection of their titles for a discounted fee, which includes the cost of shipping.

Each year Black Lawrence Press will award The Hudson Prize for an unpublished collection of poems or prose (short stories or essays). Novels are not eligible for this prize. The winner of this contest will receive book publication, a $1,000 cash award, and ten copies of the book. Prizes awarded on publication. 

Entries are read blind by senior Black Lawrence Press editors and a rotating panel of former Hudson Prize winners. 

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.

Manuscripts containing individual stories, essays, or poems that have been previously published online or in print are absolutely eligible–please simply note previously published work on an acknowledgments page. On the other hand, if your manuscript has been previously published as a 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.

• 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.
• Novels and memoirs are not eligible. Prose refers to collected short fiction or essays.

The annual deadline for the prize is March 31. Please enter poetry submissions here. 

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: Submit your manuscript by January 31 and enjoy a $5 discount on the entry fee!

The past winners of The Hudson Prize are Jo Neace Krause, Daniel Chacón, Abayomi Animashaun, Patrick Michael Finn, Sarah Suzor, B. C. Edwards, Jacob M. Appel, Bettina Judd, Matthew Cheney, Gillian Cummings, Caroline Cabrera, Beth Mayer, Alan Chazaro, Gwendolyn Paradice, Ananda Lima, Raena Shirali, JoeAnn Hart, Jeremy Griffin, and Greg Nicholl. Below, you will have the option to purchase a selection of their titles for a discounted fee, which includes the cost of shipping.

​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. ​
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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) 

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.

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. The Hudson Valley Writers Center has generously offered to host a reading each fall featuring the recipient of Black Lawrence Fellowship for New Immigrant Authors along with a member of the Hudson Valley Writers Center network. Depending on the fellow's schedule and preference, this reading can take place in person at the HVWC in Sleepy Hollow, New York or via Zoom.

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 30.

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 30. 

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.