All the info we have about our open submissions periods is on this page. WE ONLY ACCEPT UNSOLICITED WORK THROUGH OUR SUBMITTABLE PAGE. Subscribe to our newsletter (bottom of the page), and we’ll let you know when we open for submissions of any sort. Right now we have one open call for submissions, the 2024 Arthur Smith Poetry Prize, awarded for a full length poetry collection.
The 4th Annual, 2024, Arthur Smith Poetry Prize is accepting submissions!
● Accepting Submissions June 1 through September 30, 2024.
● Winners will be announced in January 2025
● Winning poet receives: a $1,000 advance; a standard royalty contract; and 10 copies of the published book.
● Finalists will also be considered for future publication.
Final Judge: Allison Joseph.
Preliminary Readers: Shlagha Borah, and Edison Jennings
Competition Guidelines
- Eligibility: We will be happy to receive work by any poet writing in English. Poems published in print or online periodicals, anthologies, or chapbooks may be included, but the manuscript itself must be unpublished. Original work only; translations are ineligible.
- Format: Minimum of 48 pages. There is no maximum length, but we expect manuscripts not to be much more than 90 pages. Pages should be numbered with no more than one poem per page. Please include a title page with title only, a table of contents, and an acknowledgments page.
- Simultaneous Submissions: Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. Please notify Madville Publishing immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
- Multiple Submissions: Submission of more than one manuscript is acceptable, but each manuscript must be submitted separately and include a separate entry fee.
- International Submissions: We accept international submissions.
- Revisions: The winner will have the opportunity to revise the manuscript before publication. No revisions will be considered during the reading period.
- SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE BLIND. PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE AUTHOR NAME ANYWHERE ON THE MANUSCRIPT.
- Entry Fee: $25
- Deadline: September 30, 2024
- Winner will be announced January 2025.
(opens June 1st!)
Other Submissions News and Updates
The Wrong Side of the Tracks: Stories (formerly Sticks and Bricks) is still in the works. Editor Luanne Smith is communicating directly with submitters.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Motown Review is with the editors, we’re trying for Spring 2025 at this point! Sorry for the delays.
We know whose work will appear in the Wild Wind: Poems and Stories Inspired by the Songs of Robert Earl Keen read about it here.
The editors of the Plain Folk anthology are hard at work. Updates to Follow.
Submitting Manuscript Queries
All manuscripts published by Madville Publishing undergo a rigorous vetting process before they are accepted for publication. We are turning away queries at present. We have more than we can read.
Formatting
Writers should ensure that their manuscript submitted for editing adheres to the following guidelines.
Prose should be submitted in 12 pt., Times New Roman, double spaced, one inch margins and pages numbered. If it is not a contest submission, make sure your name and contact information is in the header and on the title page.
Poetry should be 12 pt., Times New Roman, single spaced, one inch margins, one poem per page, and pages numbered. Full manuscripts should include credits for previously published poems and a table of contents.
Style Manual: Madville Publishing generally follows the Chicago Manual of Style and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and defers to American spellings (e.g., gray, not grey). We use Oxford commas, em dashes with no space on either side, and ellipses with the three dots run together as in APA style (which assures that the ellipsis won’t break at the end of a line). Also, the standard is one space after end punctuation.
Titles of books, films, albums, plays, art exhibits, television shows, podcast series, radio programs, periodicals, and newspapers should be italicized. Place quotation marks around the titles of short stories, poems, songs, and individual TV/radio/podcast episodes.
Numbers can be tricky for poems, and we aim for readability and consistency.
Regarding long lines and line breaks, in the first proof after layout the editor and the poet may decide whether to rewrite the line or break it differently. There should be no further changes in line breaks after the first proof.