Christopher Locke is the author of 12 books and chapbooks. His latest collection of poetry Music for Ghosts (New York Quarterly Books) and memoir Without Saints (Black Lawrence Press) were both released in 2022. He received the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Award, and grants in writing from Fundacion Valparaiso (Spain), the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and has been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize many times. Chris teaches English and creative writing at SUNY Plattsburgh in the Adirondacks.

Chris 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, $275
•    Manuscripts, up to 180 pages in length, $550
•    Long Manuscripts, up to 300 pages in length, $795

Chris 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 Chris at no additional charge.

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

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Christopher Locke's Statement of Purpose 

We each have a story to tell; that’s the easy part. Yet how do we move beyond the familiar “Write what you know” into “Write what you know has meaning”? For personal writing to resonate, it certainly must be honest, but that does not mean its validity resides solely in autobiographical details; it means our work helps readers experience the small miracle of transformation—we have shifted our lives into theirs. Because even though we want our work to communicate the lived and the universal, our work also must convey surprise and emotional risk that feels more than just engaging: it feels earned.

As nonfiction writers, we should always address questions such as “What does authenticity mean?” But when completing a draft, we should also consider: “What have I revealed by what I’ve chosen to exclude?” This is critical. It is usually when we begin to feel the pull to retreat that we should put our head down and bravely proceed. And it doesn’t mean we crash our winding memories without regard, but that we enter those rooms thoughtfully, with a listening heart.

Careful writing that begs approval and always behaves usually never satisfies, (ourselves or the world). I will help you not only strengthen your own unique voice, but also help you dive deeper in your writing so you’ll look beneath the underneath you already thought you’d discovered. I will read and respond to your work in a safe, supportive atmosphere where risk is championed. Your experience level is not important—only your desire to allow your story to become deeper, richer, and more complex.

Dana Diehl is the author of Our Dreams Might Align (Splice UK, 2018) and the collaborative collection, The Classroom (Gold Wake Press, 2019). Her chapbook,TV Girls, won the 2017-2018 New Delta Review Chapbook Contest judged by Chen Chen. Diehl earned her MFA in Fiction at Arizona State University. Her work has appeared in or is forthcoming in North American Review, Necessary Fiction, Mid-American Review, and elsewhere. She is an educator in Tucson.

Dana 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 Dana at no additional charge.

Dana is accepting everything from flash fiction to novels for critique. The fees and parameters for each of these categories are 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 June 30. Dana will complete her work and respond to all participants by July 31.

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Dana's Statement of Purpose

   I’m drawn to fiction for its ability to make the familiar feel unfamiliar. I love work that is inventive, prose that electrifies, and stories that transport and reveal.

As your consultant, my goal is to meet your writing where it is. I want to identify what makes your writing stand out—what makes it you—and to help your work become the best version of itself. I will do this by looking at how story elements such as plot structure, characters’ emotional arcs, setting, and language work together to realize your vision. My focus will not be on copyediting, but on identifying how your writing works on a macro level. I will ask questions that may help you tighten your plot structure. I will ask “what if?” questions that, if necessary, may help you expand it.

I love speculative writing, magical realism, genre-blurring work (particularly work that draws from horror, fantasy, and sci-fi), and realism. However, I enjoy reading in any genre. Some novels and story collections I’m into right now are The Antidote by Karen Russell, Exit Zero by Marie-Helene Bertino, Meet Me at the Crossroads by Megan Giddings, and What We Fed to The Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri. I enjoy these books for their immersive details, sense of wonder, and use of speculative storylines to reveal emotional truths.  

In my own work, I often take inspiration from the natural world, fairy tales, film and TV, and sometimes video games. I write stories that are often rooted in setting and explore themes such as climate change, motherhood, and transformation. I have published a chapbook of flash fiction, TV Girls, exploring the tropes of reality television. I’ve also published two short story collections, Our Dreams Might Align and The Classroom, the latter of which is a collaboration with Melissa Goodrich. I have a third short story collection, The Earth Room, published by Black Lawrence Press earlier this year.

Each year Black Lawrence Press will award the St. Lawrence Book Award for an unpublished collection of poetry or prose (short stories or essays). Novels are not eligible for this prize. 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.

Entries are read blind by senior Black Lawrence Press editors and a rotating panel of former St. Lawrence Book Award 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 August 31. Please enter poetry submissions here.

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

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, Charlie Peck, Max McDonough, Jill Rosenberg, and Grace H. Zhou. 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 (short stories or essays). Novels are not eligible for this prize. 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.

Entries are read blind by senior Black Lawrence Press editors and a rotating panel of former St. Lawrence Book Award 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 August 31. Please enter prose submissions here.

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

 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, Charlie Peck, Max McDonough, Jill Rosenberg, and Grace H. Zhou. 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.

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.

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Note: Should you be interested in reading former Immigrant Writing Series selections, some titles will be available for purchase at the end of this form. All available titles are discounted and come with free domestic shipping. Purchasing one ore more titles is optional.  

We at Black Lawrence Press are proud to announce “Writing in Community: BLP Masterclass Workshops”.  

Our Program

For too long, we’ve been approached by writers from across the country, who are looking for high-quality workshops by authors who can teach a range of original content with breath, depth, and nuance, and who have asked us if we could provide such a program consistently and at a reasonable cost. 

While we’ve offered weeks-long workshops in the past, we’ve been careful about starting a full-scale program because there are others in the literary market. How might our workshop be different? We were hesitant, but we knew we had a great foundation because of our past workshop leaders, and we had wonderful feedback from workshop participants, who are eager for more in-depth classes on a variety of subjects. 

We are proud to launch this program because of the amazing work of our past workshop leaders and because of the faith of our previous workshop attendees. In addition, we are committed to providing the best classes at the cheapest rates possible. This is consistent with our belief that publishers should also work toward the viability of the literary community. Our programs speak clearly to this ethos. 

Our Call for Proposals

We would love for you to be a part of this journey by teaching one of our weeks-long workshops in your genre. 

These weeks-long workshops are not generative workshops. Instead, they are opportunities to demonstrate expertise by pushing past normative considerations into neglected aspects of craft, while also providing us with the tools to read more closely and write more clearly. Thus, we are looking for proposals with breadth and depth.

If your proposal is accepted, we will work tirelessly to ensure the success of your workshop. 

Please Note

To ensure economic viability, each accepted workshop would need at least fifteen students to run. The table below shows our low cost of attendance for prospective students and the remuneration package for workshop leaders. 

Each workshop session should be two hours long and will be conducted through BLP's Zoom account.

We look forward to reading your proposals. 

4 Week Workshop

Tuition Per Student: $195, Fee to Workshop Leader: $1350

5 Week Workshop

Tuition Per Student: $245, Fee to Workshop Leader: $1650

6 Week Workshop

Tuition Per Student: $295, Fee to Workshop Leader: $2000

​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.