Overview
We’re open for submissions from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day (November 28 to January 1), and we’ll be choosing one or two new book projects that align in a special way with the character and direction of the press for publication in the fall of 2025.
Though our scope might expand in coming seasons, this reading period is once again for full-length poetry collections. We’re looking for original, well-structured, polished manuscripts of (about) 40 to 60 poems, with a preference for first or second books by women (inclusively defined).
We’re particularly interested in work with ecological/environmental themes or that engages in meaningful ways with nature or place. This cycle, we’re aiming to broaden the range of voices the press represents and highlight regions of the country not yet emphasized in our catalog (such as the South, the Southwest, or California), though we’re open to submissions by writers from all backgrounds and parts of the United States.*
Details
• Simultaneous submissions are fine; we want great writing to find a home with another publisher if it can’t be with us (but please let us know if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere or withdraw the submission).
• Please only submit one manuscript for consideration in this reading period.
• The manuscript as a whole should be previously unpublished (except for individual poems in literary magazines or online, as long as you retain the rights), primarily in English (not in translation), singly authored, and in no part AI-generated.
• We plan to respond to all submissions and make selections by the end of February (early 2025).
• We reserve the option of closing the reading period before January 1 if submission volume reaches 400 so as not to exceed our capacity to read and respond to all entries within the timeframe of our editorial calendar, given the size and work/life obligations of this all-volunteer team.
* Note that our current distribution limitations only allow us to work with authors who are U.S. residents.
What else to know
This is not a contest with blind judging, and we’ll be taking into account a variety of factors: literary merit, foremost, but also a subjective sense of mutual fit as we seek to balance the next season’s selections, amplify a wider range of voices, and shape the broader course and composition of the press.
We encourage you to explore our website, particularly the individual pages for the books we’ve published so far, to get acquainted with the press and our catalog before submitting.
Please keep in mind that we typically only publish two books a year, as an intentionally small press, which means we receive many more excellent manuscripts than we can accept, though we always appreciate your interest and the chance to look at your work. Each submission that meets the criteria above and is entered via this Submittable form will be personally considered by the publisher and editor, and finalists will be reviewed by our team of current authors. We also intend to share a list of this year’s finalists through our newsletter and on social media after the selection process is complete.
June Road Press is a traditional literary publisher; authors do not subsidize their books. However, our resources are quite limited, so we do expect authors to take the lead on marketing and publicity. We work with each author to organize a marketing plan and provide as much ongoing support as possible, including print ARCs and trade review submissions.
To reduce labor and complexity, given our means and the relative sales volume of poetry collections, we pay a standard advance for accepted authors at the time of signing in lieu of royalties (covering up to a set sales threshold, with further compensation if that threshold is later exceeded). We also supply a generous number of author copies and cover multiple post-publication award entry fees for each book. Our fully in-house editorial, design, and production processes are intensive, closely collaborative, and tailored to each project with great care. We’ll even produce an audiobook edition if you’re up for recording one, and you can preview these for our existing titles on each book’s page on our website.
For an introduction to the editor and current authors—and a deeper understanding of who we are, how we operate, and the kind of community we’re building—we invite you to watch some of our recent virtual event recordings.