Presses with Open Readings for Full-Length Poetry Manuscripts

Below is a list of presses with open readings for full-length poetry manuscripts. Most of the listings have free open readings, but I have included some that charge a Submittable fee or a reading fee, but I do try to limit it to just free open readings. Before the pandemic, I kept it up to date, but during the pandemic I did not. 😟 From now on, I will update each month at or near the beginning of each month, and I’ll update “All the Time Open Readings” at least once per year.

Below is a list of presses with open readings for full-length poetry manuscripts. Most of the listings have free open readings, but I have included some that charge a Submittable fee or a reading fee, but I do try to limit it to just free open readings. Before the pandemic, I kept it up to date, but during the pandemic I did not. 😟 From now on, I will update each month at or near the beginning of each month, and I’ll update “All the Time Open Readings” at least once per year.

All the Time Open Readings (Updated 7-21-2022.)

• 8th House Publishing (Begin with sample and query letter)
• 11:11 Press (January 1, 2022, to March 31, 2022 for “Nothing Exists Alone” submissions.)
• A.B. Baird Publishing (Mail a query letter and first 30 pages)
• Aldrich Press (Imprint of Kelsay Books. $20 reading fee)
• All Things Matter Press (Spiritual, self growth/transformation. Poetry manuscript “should be at least 35k words minimum.”)
• Anansi
• Anaphora Literary Press (Email submissions only.)
• Andrew McMeel Publishing (Use their online form. Requires proposal, bio, and sample of work.)
• Another New Calligraphy
• Anvil Press (Canadian poets only. Guidelines being updated.)
• April Gloaming Publishing (Southern writing. Start by sending 10 poems.)
• Apocalypse Party
• Arteidolia Press (“Our focus is on publishing collections of poetry & visual poetry.”)
• Arte Público Press (“Poetry … based on U.S. Hispanic (Cuban American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and others) cultural issues and themes.”)
• Baobab Press
• Bat Cat Press (“We welcome the submission of complete manuscripts throughout the year. We read in the fall (September-December) and typically send out accept/decline letters in December and January.” . . . They plan to reopen “in the 2022/2023 school year.” )
• Bauhan Publishing (“We are booked through 2022.” Verified 5-25-22.)
• bd-studios (“Much of the work we publish is by queer creators.”)
• Better Than Starbucks (“We prefer books of 90–110 pages, including front and back matter, such as TOC, a forward or introduction, credit pages, etc.”)
• Biblioasis (“Please note that while the majority of our authors and translators are Canadian, we do selectively consider international submissions.”)
• Black Centipede Press
• Black Lawrence Press Immigrant Writing Series
• Black Mountain Press (“a literary press for outstanding emerging writers.” $8 submission fee on Submittable.)
• BlazeVox
• Bloodaxe Books (British press. Mail “a sample of up to a dozen poems.”)
• Blue Figure Press (Unsure if they are open all the time.)
• BOA (Open submissions to the American Poets Continuum Series closes September 30. Not known when submission period begins. Mail only.)
• BookLand Press. (“We are particularly interested in submissions from culturally diverse Canadian authors, Indigenous authors, people with disabilities, and official language minority authors.”)
• Bottom Dog Press (Begin with query.)
• Bower House (Bower House is currently not accepting submissions. Verified 5-25-2022.)
• Brain Mill Press: Mineral Point Poetry Series (Open reading period varies.)
• Breakaway Books (Sport themes only.)
• Broadstone Books (“We anticipate resuming open reading on September 1, 2022.”)
• C & R Press ($25 reading fee.)
• Caitlin Press Inc. (“Caitlin Press publishes books in all genres, but mainly on topics concerning or by writers from the BC Interior and stories about and by BC women.”)
• Cephalo Press (“Send us 3-5 poems that best represent your collection.”)
• Cholla Needles Arts & Literary Library (You might have to be first published in their journal)
• City Lights Books (“Regretfully, we are unable to accept manuscript submissions at this time.” Verified 5-25-2022.)
• City Work Press (San Diego poets. Send “a sample poem” and an SASE to begin process.)
• Clash Books
• co•im•press (Poetry translations.)
• Coach House Books (“We publish primarily Canadian authors.”)
• Cooper Dillon (for $10 or with purchase of one of their books)
• Corrupt Press (I think they are open all year.)
• Counterpath Press (“Please send a query with a sample of no more than about 10 pgs.” to begin process.)
• Daffydownlilly Press (Imprint of Kelsay Books. Rhyming poetry for children written by adults. $20 reading fee.)
• Dalkey Archive (Appears to be open all year long. Begin with query. One-year response time.)
• Damaged Goods Press (“books by queer and trans identified writers”)
• Deep Vellum
• Disorder Press
• ECW Press (Canadian poets only. Send “approx. 10-15 pages” to begin process.)
• Ekstasis Editions (Mail only.)
• El Balazo Press (This may be defunct. Not sure.)
• Elyssar Press
• Encircle Publications (Use their “Author Query Form.” . . . “Our publishing slate is full for 2021-2022, so for now, we are not accepting any new manuscript submissions.”)
• Etruscan Press (with $20 reading fee)
• Fragmented Voices (Begin with ” 3 – 4 poems, with an outline of a concept for a book, and a structured CV (no more than 2 pages) with a focus on the author’s creative life.”)
• Fremantle Press (“Fremantle Press welcomes unsolicited manuscripts from authors of Western Australian origin or whose main place of residence is Western Australia. Work by non–Western Australian authors will be considered when the subject matter has a strong Western Australian focus.”)
• Gasher Journal and Press ($25 reading fee.)
• Get Fresh Books (“Our chief concern is to provide opportunities for underrepresented voices in publishing.” “We are now closed for regular submissions until spring 2023.” Verified 5-25-2022.)
• Giramondo Publishing (Reading periods seem to vary. Last checked on 5-25-2022.)
• Golden Foothills Press (Will reopen sometime in 2023.)
• Goose Lane Editions (Canadian poets only.)
• Grayson Books (query with “a sample of 6-10 pages of the manuscript, along with a statement of your qualifications and publication credits, expected audience and promotion ideas.”)
• Grey Borders Books (“Interested in works that confront and challenge contemporary social norms.” Use their submission form. . . . “Our reading period is currently closed and will reopen sometime in 2021.” They may be defunct.)
• Grieveland
• Half Mystic Press ($5, $10, and $15 reading fee. “At least three-quarters of the book should be previously unpublished in any form.”)
• Harbor Mountain Press (Start with “letter or email inquiry.” “Response time is breaking some (long) records.” . . . “we are not reading manuscripts until further notice” as of 5-25-2022.)
• High Plains Press (“Poetry of the American West. Old West history is what we can sell best.”)
• Holland Park Press (“Places special emphasis on bringing the work of Dutch authors to the English language market.” Email only.)
• Holy Cow! Press (“There is a three step process for reviewing your work.”)
• IF SF Publishing (Begin with cover letter, 10-pages, publication credits.)
• Invisible Publishing
• Kaya Publishing (“Publishing Asian diasporic literature.”)
• Lady Lazarus-Press
• Lapwing Publications (Belfast, Ireland.)
• Left Fork and Flowerstone Press (Full for next 6-12 months. Added 3-21-2023.)
• Literary Laundry (The Vitalist Series. “Submissions are due April 1 of each year.” No opening date given.)
• Luath Press (Begin with query and sample text.)
• Manic D Press (You must read one of their books and tell them which one you read. Query with 5-10 poems.)
• Measure Press
• Milk Press (The Poetry Society of New York) ($12. No simultaneous submissions.)
• Moonrise Press
• Moon Tide Press (Submit by mail. Unsure if they are open all the time.)
• New Binary Press
• New Meridian Arts (Uncertain of reading period. “Greetings Fellow Writers. Our submission page is closed for now. Please check back with us later in the year” as of 5-25-2022.)
• Nine Arches Press (Appears to be open year round.)
• Northwestern University Press (Email proposal.)
• Offord Road Books (“ORB is currently closed for submissions” as of 5-25-2022, and they have been closed since 1-3-2020.)
• Oolichan Books. (“Oolichan Books is not accepting unsolicited manuscripts at this time” as of 5-25-2022, and they have been closed since 1-3-20.)
• Oomph! Press (Poetry in translation.)
• Open Letter
• The Operating System (Reads year round, but has not been updated since 2017.)
• Paloma Press (Begin with query by email. . . . “We have books already scheduled for release through 2022 and are unable to accept submissions at this time.”)
• Pank Books ($20. “PANK loves you. PANK is always open for your love.”)
• Peepal Tree Press
• Penteract Press
• Persea Books (Begin with a query.)
• Pinyon Publishing (“Queries welcome.” “Please no simultaneous submissions.”)
• Platypus Press (England-based press. “We are currently closed for submissions” as of 5-25-2022.)
• Plough Books (Faith based??)
• Poetic Matrix
• Prolific Press
• Propertius Press (“Submissions opened January 6, and there are dozens already in the queues. We are limiting each portal to a specified number of submissions so we don’t get overloaded. When that number is reached, the portal for that classification will close” as of 5-25-2022.)
• Querencia Press (It appears it is always open for submissions.)
• Rebel Mountain Press (“Canadian authors only.”)
• Red Hen Press ($20.)
• Red Squirrel Press (Scotland based, but open to all. “Red Squirrel Press currently have a full publication plan until the end of 2022 and almost full until the end of 2023.”)
• Salò Press (“Currently closed to submissions” as of 5-25-2022.)
• Salmon Poetry (“Our list is full until the end of 2025.”)
• Shabda Press (Unsure if they are open all the time. Current message, as of 6-1-2022, reads, “Submissions reading period: Poems from manuscripts received out of the submissions reading period will not be read or responded to. We are currently on hiatus and taking a break for self-care; no submissions can be taken until further notice. Thank you for your interest in us, and please check back with us in Summer 2023.)
• Shanti Arts (“We expect to return to normal toward the end of 2022.”)
• Shearsman Books
• Signature Editions. (Canadian citizens only.)
• Slant Books ($3 Duosama (Duotrope’s submission manager) fee.)
• Skull + Wind Press (First, second, or third full-length manuscripts.)
• Spuyten Duyvil (“[W]e ask you to support our press by purchasing our books whenever you are (financially able and) inspired by their contents.”)
• SparkWheelPress (“Submissions are currently closed. Please check back in 2020.” Checked 1-3-20.)
• Tavern Books (“Poetry Manuscripts in Translation” or “English-Language, Single-Author Poetry Reprints.”)
• Threadsuns Press (Email only.)
• Trembling Pillow Press (“Book Manuscripts should be at least 80 pages.” “$15.00 reading fee.”)
• Ugly Duckling Presse (Begin with query and proposal. “We are not currently accepting submissions” as of 5-25-2022.)
• University of Saint Katherine Press (Christian perspectives.)
• University Professors Press
• Unsolicited Press ($5 reading fee.)
• Urban Farmhouse Press
• Urtica Press (“On hiatus” as of 5-25-2022.)
• Vegetarian Alcoholic Press
• Victoria University Press (“Most of our authors live in Aotearoa New Zealand and/or their work is suitable primarily for a local audience. Please note that we are not able to consider submissions from overseas writers whose work does not have a connection with Aotearoa New Zealand.”)
• Wesleyan University Press (Currently closed to poetry submissions as of 5-25-2022.)
• Whisk(e)y Tit
• White Violet Press (Imprint of Kelsay Books. For formalist poets. $20 reading fee)
• Wood & Water Press (“Publishes minimalist writing and art.” Begin with online query form.)
• Word West (Currently closed to subsmissions as of 5-25-2022.)
• Xi Draconis Books (Currently “Under Construction.”)

January Open Readings (Checked and updated 1-2-23.)

• Astrophil Press (University of South Dakota. Open reading period has changed. No known dates.)
• Augury Books
• Brick Road Poetry Press ($15 reading fee. 75-100 pages. December 1 – January 15.)
• Broken Sleep Books (January 1 through February 28. Open submission for wildcard books (books that don’t often fit our other submission windows.” . . . “We particularly wish to encourage more working-class writers, LGBTQ+, and BAME writers to submit.”)
• Green Lantern Press (December 1 through January 30.)
• Inside the Castle (January 1 to March 1.)
• SurVision Books (For poets born on the island of Ireland or current long-term residents there.)
• Tavern Books: The Wrolstad Contemporary Series ($25 reading fee. “The Wrolstad Contemporary Poetry Series is only open to female poets aged 40 years or younger. Entrants must be US citizens.” October 1 to January 15.)
• Terrapin Books (January 24 to February 28 and August 1 to August 31. $12.)
• Tinderbox Editions (December 1-7 fee-free open reading period. December 1 – January 30: $25 donation period.)

February Open Readings (Updated 2-3-2022)

• Astrophil Press (University of South Dakota. Open reading period has changed. No known dates.)
• BkMk Press (Previously: February 1 through June 30. Process begins with a sample of 10 pages of poetry. See guidelines. . . . “BkMk Press is not accepting open submissions at this time. We will make an announcement here when we are able to consider new work” as of 2-3-2022.)
• Broken Sleep Books (January 1 through February 28. Open submission for wildcard books (books that don’t often fit our other submission windows.” . . . “We particularly wish to encourage more working-class writers, LGBTQ+, and BAME writers to submit.”)
• Canarium Books (Open submission period has changed. No dates indicated. 2-3-2022.)
• Cherry Castle Publishing (February 5 to March 5.)
• ELJ Publications (February 1 to April 1. $5. ELJ Editions prefers narrative prose and free verse poetry that explores human emotions, experiences, dreams, revelations, etc.)
• Galileo Press (4-1-2023. An imprint of Free State Review. $3.50.)
• Inside the Castle (January 1 to March 1.)
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message still appears on 3-5-2023.)
• Milk and Cake Press (February 1 to March 31.)
• Panhandler Books (February 1 to April 30. Not updated since 2019.)
• Terrapin Books (January 24 to February 28 and August 1 to August 31. $12.)

March Open Readings (updated 3-5-2023)

• Astrophil Press (University of South Dakota. Open reading period has changed. No known dates.)
• BkMk Press (Previously: February 1 through June 30. Process begins with a sample of 10 pages of poetry. See guidelines. . . . “BkMk Press is not accepting open submissions at this time. We will make an announcement here when we are able to consider new work” as of 3-5-2023.)
• Black Ocean (March 3-24, 2023. There may be a reading fee.)
• Cherry Castle Publishing (February 5 to March 5.)
• Copper Canyon Press
• Cormorant Books. (Currently they are not “accepting poetry submissions.” March 5, 2023.)
• ELJ Publications (February 1 to April 1. $5. ELJ Editions prefers narrative prose and free verse poetry that explores human emotions, experiences, dreams, revelations, etc.)
• Glass Lyre Press (March 15 to April 30 and August 15 to September 30. $15 reading fee.)
• Gold Wake Press (Open reading begins March 1. There is no specified end date. Next open reading begins September 1 with no specified end date.)
• Inside the Castle (January 1 to March 1.)
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message still appears on 3-5-2023,)
• Milk and Cake Press (January 1 to March 31.)
• Panhandler Books (February 1 to April 30. Not updated since 2019.)
• Sibling Rivalry Press (Was March 1 – June 1. “After a decade of disturbance, we’re hitting pause on our annual open-submission period. Watch this space or follow our social media accounts, and we’ll let you know when we open for submissions again.” This message appeared on 5-25-2022 and 3-5-2023.)
• The Waywiser Press (“Authors who have published two or more previous collections of poems.” March 1 – July 1.)

April Open Readings (last checked and updated 4-2-18)

• Astrophil Press (University of South Dakota. Open reading period has changed. No known dates.)
• Barefoot Muse Press (April 1 – April 30. “Poems should demonstrate an allegiance to meter/form.”)
• BkMk Press (Previously: February 1 through June 30. Process begins with a sample of 10 pages of poetry. See guidelines. . . . “BkMk Press is not accepting open submissions at this time. We will make an announcement here when we are able to consider new work” as of 2-3-2022.)
• Broken Sleep Books (40+ pages. “We particularly wish to encourage more working-class writers, LGBTQ+, and POC writers to submit.” April 1 through May 31.)
• Close-Up Books (April 30 to July 30. “Close-Up Books is currently on hiatus as of February 2021.”)
• Cormorant Books. (Currently they are not “accepting poetry submissions.” March 5, 2023.)
• Galileo Press (4-1-2023. An imprint of Free State Review. $3.50.)
• Glass Lyre Press (March 15 to April 30 and August 15 to September 30. $15 reading fee.)
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message still appears on 3-5-2023,)
• New Rivers Press
• Octopus Books
• Panhandler Books (February 1 to April 30. Not updated since 2019.)
• Sibling Rivalry Press (Was March 1 – June 1. “After a decade of disturbance, we’re hitting pause on our annual open-submission period. Watch this space or follow our social media accounts, and we’ll let you know when we open for submissions again.” This message appeared on 5-25-2022 and 3-5-2023.)
• The Waywiser Press (“Authors who have published two or more previous collections of poems.” March 1 – July 1.)
• Willow Books
• Woodley Press (“Woodley Press strives to publish books by Kansans or books that focus on Kansas.”)
• YesYes Books (April 1 – May 15. $22. “There are presently no open calls for submissions” as of 5-25-2022.)

May Open Readings (Checked and updated 5-25-2022)

• Able Muse Press (May 1 to July 15.)
• BkMk Press (Previously: February 1 through June 30. Process begins with a sample of 10 pages of poetry. See guidelines. . . . “BkMk Press is not accepting open submissions at this time. We will make an announcement here when we are able to consider new work” as of 2-3-2022.)
• Broken Sleep Books ($0+ pages. “We particularly wish to encourage more working-class writers, LGBTQ+, and BAME writers to submit.” April 1 through May 31.)
• Close-Up Books (April 30 to July 30. “Close-Up Books is currently on hiatus as of February 2021.”)
• The Elephants ($15. May 1 to June 30.)
• Galileo Press (Begins May 1. Unknown end date. An imprint of Free State Review.)
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message still appears on 3-5-2023,)
• New Rivers Press (“General Submissions are temporarily on hiatus” as of 5-25-2022.)
• Ninebark Press (“As of March 2020, Ninebark Press is on hiatus.” Checked on 5-25-2022.)
• Sibling Rivalry Press (March 1 – June 1. . . . “After a decade of disturbance, we’re hitting pause on our annual open-submission period. Watch this space or follow our social media accounts, and we’ll let you know when we open for submissions again.” This message appears on 5-25-2022.)
• Sundress Publications ($13 reading fee.)
• Unicorn Press (May 1 to June 30.)
• University Press of Kentucky: New Poetry and Prose Series. (May 1 to May 31.)
• The Waywiser Press (“Authors who have published two or more previous collections of poems.” March 1 – July 1.)
• Willow Books
• YesYes Books (April 1 – May 15. $22. “There are presently no open calls for submissions” as of 5-25-2022.)

June Open Readings (Checked and updated 6-1-2022)

• Airlie Press (June 1 to July 31. Pacific Northwest poets.)
• Able Muse Press (May 1 to July 15.)
• BkMk Press (Previously: February 1 through June 30. Process begins with a sample of 10 pages of poetry. See guidelines. . . . “BkMk Press is not accepting open submissions at this time. We will make an announcement here when we are able to consider new work” as of 2-3-2022.)
• Black Lawrence Press
• Close-Up Books (April 30 to July 30. “Close-Up Books is currently on hiatus as of February 2021.”)
• Four Way Books ($30 reading fee. June 1-30.)
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message is still there on 3-5-2023.)
• Red Hen Press
• River River Press (June 1 – July 31. “Pay-what-you-can reading fee.”)
• Sibling Rivalry Press (March 1 – June 1. . . . “After a decade of disturbance, we’re hitting pause on our annual open-submission period. Watch this space or follow our social media accounts, and we’ll let you know when we open for submissions again.” This message appears on 5-25-2022.)
• Sundress Publications (June 1 – August 31. $13 reading fee.)
• Unicorn Press (May 1 to June 30.)
• The Waywiser Press (“We regret we cannot consider submissions from authors who have published two or more previous collections of poems.” March 1 – July 1.)
• Willow Books

July Open Readings (Checked and updated 7-1-2022 through 7-25-2022)

• Able Muse Press (May 1 until July 15.)
• Airlie Press (June 1 to July 31. Pacific Northwest poets.)
• Bad Betty Press
• Belle Point Press (Begin with a query.)
• Black Ocean (Poetry translations. July 14-28, 2023. There may be a reading fee. Added 12-13-2022.)
• Carcanet Books (will reopen in early 2023)
• Close-Up Books (April 30 to July 30. “Close-Up Books is currently on hiatus as of February 2021.”)
• The Emma Press (July 18 through August 14)
• FutureCycle Press (They read July through September.)
• Gasher Press (Not sure when it opened, but it closes on August 31)
• Kore Press (Currently closed.)
• Lummox Press (July 1 to August 31. Begin with query.)
• Mayapple Press (Currently closed to submissions.)
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message still appears on 3-5-2023.)
• River River Press (June 1 – July 31. “Pay-what-you-can reading fee.”)
• Sarabande (“Sarabande Series in Kentucky Literature” and poetry translations.)
• The Song Cave (“We are not taking submissions at this time.”)
• Sundress Publications (June 1 – August 31. $13 reading fee.)
• Tinderbox Editions (July 1-7 fee-free open reading period. July 1 – August 31: $25 donation period. Also, December 1-7 fee-free open reading period. December 1 – January 30 $25 donation period. )
• Trio House Press
• Tupelo Press (.July 1 to August 31. $30 open reading fee.)
• Willow Books

August Open Reading (Checked and updated 8-1-22)

• CavanKerry Press  (August on even years.)
• Deerbrook Editions (“Suspended until further notice. . . . The normal reading period is August 1 to October 1.”)
• The Emma Press (July 18 through August 14)
• FutureCycle Press (They read July through September.)
• Gasher Press (Not sure when it opened, but it closes on August 31)
• Glass Lyre Press (March 15 to April 30 and August 15 to September 30. $15 reading fee.)
• Kore Press (Currently closed.)
• Lummox Press (July 1 to August 31. Begin with query.)
• Mayapple Press (Currently closed to submissions.)
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message still appears on 3-5-2023.)
• Rose Metal Press (“We are not currently accepting manuscripts or manuscript queries. . . . and plan to have a submission period in 2023.”)
• The Song Cave (“We are not taking submissions at this time.”)
• Sundress Publications (June 1 – August 31. $13 reading fee.)
• Terrapin Books (January 24 to February 28 and August 1 to August 31. $12.)
• Tupelo Press (July 1 to August 31. $30 open reading fee.)
• University of Pittsburgh Press (August 1 to September 20. Pitt Poetry Series. For poets who have previously published a poetry book.

September Open Readings (Checked and updated 9-11-2022)

• Bat Cat Press (“We welcome the submission of complete manuscripts throughout the year. We read in the fall (September-December) and typically send out accept/decline letters in December and January.” . . . They plan to reopen “in the 2022/2023 school year.” )
• Deerbrook Editions (“Suspended until further notice. . . . The normal reading period is August 1 to October 1.”)
• FutureCycle Press (They read July through September.)
• Glass Lyre Press (March 15 to April 30 and August 15 to September 30. $15 reading fee.)
• Kore Press (Currently closed.)
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message still appears on 3-5-2023.)
• Sidebrow Books (Currently closed. “Sign up for our mailing list to be notified of our next reading period.”)
• Tarpaulin Sky Press (“Will open soon. Please join out mailing list to be notified.”)
• University of Pittsburgh Press (August 1 to September 20. Pitt Poetry Series. For poets who have previously published a poetry book.)

October Open Readings (Checked and updated 10-20-2022)

• Bat Cat Press (“We welcome the submission of complete manuscripts throughout the year. We read in the fall (September-December) and typically send out accept/decline letters in December and January.” . . . They plan to reopen “in the 2022/2023 school year.” )
• Black Ocean (Manuscripts from BIPOC writers only. October 13-27, 2023 There may be a reading fee. Added 12-13-2022.)
• Carnegie Mellon University Press (They plan to reopen in October 2023.)
• co-im-press (“Likes works in translation that are strange, transgressive, visceral-mystical, or “unpublishable” through traditional means.”)
• Counterpath (Begin with a query and a short sample.)
• Deerbrook Editions (“Suspended until further notice. . . . The normal reading period is August 1 to October 1.”)
• El Balazo Press
• Gold Wake Press (Open reading begins March 1. There is no specified end date. Next open reading begins September 1 with no specified end date. Checked 10-10-2022.)
• Jacar Press: The New Voices Series ($15)
• Kore Press (Currently closed.)
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message still appears on 3-5-2023.)
• Milkweed Editions (“Milkweed Editions is not currently open to unsolicited submissions. We will make an announcement via our newsletter and update this page if plans change.”)
• Sidebrow Books (Currently closed. “Sign up for our mailing list to be notified of our next reading period.”)
• Tavern Books: The Wrolstad Contemporary Series ($15 reading fee. “The Wrolstad Contemporary Poetry Series is only open to female poets aged 40 years or younger. Entrants must be US citizens.” October 1 to January 15.)

November Open Readings (Checked and updated 12-12-2022)

• Bat Cat Press “We welcome the submission of complete manuscripts throughout the year. We read in the fall (September-December) and typically send out accept/decline letters in December and January.” . . . They plan to reopen “in the 2022/2023 school year.” )
• Black Lawrence Press
• McSweeney’s Books (“Submissions are currently closed. We don’t have an exact date when they’ll reopen, but we’d suggest checking back in a few months. Thank you for considering McSweeney’s. (3/1/20).” This message still appears on 3-5-2023.)
• Tavern Books: The Wrolstad Contemporary Series ($15 reading fee. “The Wrolstad Contemporary Poetry Series is only open to female poets aged 40 years or younger. Entrants must be US citizens.” October 1 to January 15.)
• WordTech Communications (Includes the following imprints Cherry Grove Collections, CW Books, David Robert Books, Turning Point, Word Press, and WordTech Editions.)

December Open Readings (Checked an updated 12-12-2022)

• Bat Cat Press (“We welcome the submission of complete manuscripts throughout the year. We read in the fall (September-December) and typically send out accept/decline letters in December and January.” . . . They plan to reopen “in the 2022/2023 school year.” )
• Black Ocean (First book only. December 9-23. $15 reading fee.)
• Brick Road Poetry Press ($15 reading fee. December 1– January 15.)
• Future Poem Books (December 1 through January 15. <==This used be to reading period. The dates are no longer listed as of 12-13-2022.)
• Green Lantern Press (Currently closed to submission.)
• Red Rook Press (Undergrad and Grad students graduating in Spring 2023 or later. Deadline is December 12. No listed opening date.)
• Tavern Books: The Wrolstad Contemporary Series ($25 reading fee. “The Wrolstad Contemporary Poetry Series is only open to female poets aged 40 years or younger. Entrants must be US citizens.” October 1 to January 15.)
• Tinderbox Editions (December 1-7 fee-free open reading period. December 1 – January 30 $25 donation period. Also, July 1-7 fee-free open reading period. July 1 – August 31 $25 donation period.)
• WordTech Communications (Includes the following imprints Cherry Grove Collections, CW Books, David Robert Books, Turning Point, Word Press, and WordTech Editions. Closes December 15.)

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More to come.

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Ultimate Update: 3-21-2023

• Added to All the Time Open Readings
  • Dalkey Archive
  • Left Fork and Flowerstone Press

Penultimate Update: 12-12-2022 and 12-13-2022

• Added Red Rook Press to December
• Updated multiple Black Ocean open reading dates.

Antepenultimate update: October 10, 2022

• Removed from October:
  • boost house
  • Orison Books

Preantepenultimate update: September 11, 2022

• Added University of Pittsburgh Press to August
• Removed from September, October, and November: Arktori Books

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202 presses that print paperback and/or hardcover poetry books.

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Laura McCullough’s Speech Acts

A version of this may appear in Redactions: Poetry & Poetics issue 14.

Black Lawrence Press has released another fine collection of poems. This time it’s Laura McCullough’s Speech Acts – an exploration into the language and experience of poetry. Yes, language. And McCullough deliberately makes poems about language. Oh, but they are fun, and they aren’t some intellectual bullying of the reader or some masturbatory ego-stroking of the poet’s cleverness. No. These are fun and enjoyable while maintaining integrity.

I am getting bored of the intellectual poetry that is void of experience, which is why I like McCullough’s newest collection,  because her poems can be intellectual while maintaining an experience.

The first section of Speech Act does this well by being sexy and showing the sexiness of language. It’s as if the first section announces to the reader: “Pay attention to language in this book. I’ll give you sex up front, but come the second section I’m gonna give you more.  I’m going to give you poems in the second section that are strong on their own, and if you read the first section, they will gain new depths. I’m telling you something more is going on down below. Dear reader, you will go down on these poems like you are going down to perform fellatio on the poem, and the poems may be ‘more than the mouth can handle’, and in a good way.” Even if you didn’t know that, you’d realize it in the poem “Crucifix Block” in the second section, but I’m getting ahead of myself, so let me explain.

The first section of the book is about language and the sexiness of language, but it’s also about the consciousness of language or the self-consciousness of language and of reading a poem.

What Burns 

I want to kiss the mouth of another
   language, feel the small muscles electric
and tingling around their vowels,
   the consonants swallowed, the silences
like small maps of a small
   engine that rests on both of our lips.
Chomsky said language
   is too difficult to deduce by attention
to repetitions, but I will
   repeat this exercise until your tongue
feels like my own and the spittle
   of apprehension collects in the pit
of my mind. Your reason
   isn't all I care for; when you speak, the air
is shaped into momentary volcanoes,
   the ash drifting into my eyes, blinding me,
so I can finally see vowels
   that float in the air like ash, like snow,
searing and momentarily illuminated.

On a sexy level, that’s like getting to first base, but I think the point is clear. The poems examine language and use the lens of sex to zoom in even closer, especially the home run poems, oo la la.

In the second section, the self-consciousness disappears. The poems become more experiential, like “Crucifix Block.” In this poem not only do you symbolically go into the unconsciousness by diving underwater with the whales and holding your breath of consciousness, but the poem moves with leaps, the kind of leaping I like and celebrate – the haiku leap, the jumping-with-sensation leap. The type of leaping that can’t occur if you are self-conscious. And there are two of these leaps in this poem.

Crucifix Block 

Today, the humpbacks have made a comeback,
   and still we know so little about them.
We don't know why they hold their breath
   and go still underwater or why they
gather off Hawaii; we do know only males
   sing the famous songs and change them each year.
We know the males rise up out
   of the water, their bodies tall, the tails submerged,
their fins extended like the cross.
   Scientists say this is to block other males from
charging a female, but I don't buy it,
   it's too grand, too high out of the water, the mating
dances far below. Whales live
   in a world they hold their breaths to survive in.
We breathe the details of our lives like oxygen
   isn't the endangered species it is.
A fog has rolled in, and someone's been disappeared,
   no charges filed, and none of us
are singing, writing letters, or even complaining at all.

These leaps are so below my consciousness, so below self-consciousness that I can’t quite explicate what the poem is trying to say, but I can tell you what the poem is doing. The first part reminds us of how the humpback whale almost went extinct. It shows us how the whale breathes, and it shows us sex acts – sex acts explained by a scientist and McCullough. The scientists give a practical answer as to why the whale behaves as it does – it’s a mating ritual. McCullough, however, gives us a grander explanation, a religious explanation. She explains it as a ritual of joy. A rising up to the gods, almost. A holy hosanna. Look at that those two lines:

We know the males rise up out
   of the water, their bodies tall, the tails submerged,

There are three prepositions in a row interrupted by a line break. You might think McCullough should get rid of “up” as that is implied by “rise.” But read it again, aloud, and with imagination. The “up” makes the humpback whale rise higher. Then higher still with “their bodies tall.”

The males rise up out / of the water their bodies tall, the tails submerged / their fins extended like the cross.

I can’t remember when I’ve seen three prepositions strung together like that while being successful and adding to the poem’s doings and meanings.

But back to the leaps. Back to the experiential and unself-consiousness. The first leap happens with:

We breathe the details of our lives like oxygen
   isn’t the endangered species it is.

The poem makes a leap from whale world to human world. What makes the leap work is the oxygen, the breathing. It connects the first part of the poem with the second part of the poem. The scientist helps the bridge, too, since he is human, but he is the self-consciousness, the self-conscious world we’ve been in. At the same time, he is in the whale world. That leap takes us into the human world.

The next leap takes us into the unknown, the lost, the “disappeared.” It’s almost like a movie scene, too. This is the experiential. The lack of self-consciousness. These last three lines feel right. The poem closes shut tightly and snugly. My body and extremities feel good about the poem. They embrace the poem. They say, “Yes. I get it. Wonderful.” My conscious mind, however, is a bit lost. It can’t seem to explicate. It thinks, “Maybe it has something to do with singing and rituals. Does singing and writing and complaining do something. Are the whales not extinct because they sing or because we wrote about them or because we complained when they were almost extinct and then they were brought back from extinction?”

Is this how the book works? Is this “the ars poetica hidden in the agenda”? Will the third section end up:

            [. . .] breaking the sky
   into component parts. Everything
is reanimated, but, like some crazy
   reincarnation, you can't ever be
sure if the original thing is retained
                                               ("Beauty, I Said")

The third section moves like good poems do – just moving in and out of consciousness and unconsciousness, moving in and out of water, in and out of breathing, in and out of sex, as she says in  “Animal Engine:”

   "It's the third element that matters, the one that
completes the equation, that computes to love."
   This engine gone still hums hot underneath us.

Where “engine” is sex and the momentum generator of the poems. The question of the third section:

            [. . .] Is
            there such a thing as beauty if we're
           not aware of it? ("Beauty, I Said")

After reading the second section, the answer is “Of course there is.”

“So that’s, cool,” my inner voice says. “There’s a dialectical movement between the sections, but do the poems work?”

Yes. And what’s important is that there is something new happening in these poems. A new type of engagement for the reader with the poems. It’s an engagement that explores both the experiential and self-conscious involvement of the reader. The poems are indeed Speech Acts. They are poems that act on you and ask you to act back.

These poems show how McCullough’s:

[. . .] body was fertile, then not,
then fecund, again, with language. There's           
a connection between the throat           
and vagina.
                                          ("What Can Happen in the Dunes")

I feel like this is a significant collection of poems for McCullough as she seems to be on the edge of doing something wonderful. These poems are her exploring poetry, her poetry, and her speech acts. The exploration is fun, and Speech Acts is a fine book of poems that I recommend to any reader or writer of poetry. I also await her next book, where I think she will really create and share something truly wonderful. That’s a tip to you Black Lawrence Press – Make sure you hold on to Laura McCullough because her next collection of poems is sure to be something even more special than this collection.//