We created The Poetry Box® Cooperative Publishing Program to offer poets a professional, trustworthy, and affordable option for publishing their full-length poetry collections and chapbooks. We began offering our hybrid model of publishing in 2018 and have produced 96 poetry collections under this paradigm so far (as of March 2023) by writers from varied backgrounds and level of experience—both established and emerging.

(Please note: we are only accepting submissions from U.S. based authors/poets at this time)

Please read all contract details and full submissions guidelines HERE before submitting.


Submission Checklist:

1.  Cover Letter containing:

• Proposed Book Title
• Legal Name of Poet
• Poet Name as it should appear on the cover
• Brief synopsis/description of the collection (approx 100-150 words)
• Contact Information including: Email Address,  Mailing Address
•  Phone Number
•  Social Media links, if applicable (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Author Website, YouTube Channel, etc).
• Why you’re interested in having The Poetry Box publish your work.
• Whether or not this is a simultaneous submission.    
   

2.  Manuscript containing:

• Table of Contents (list of poems in order as they appear in manuscript)
• All poems in order, with each poem beginning on a new page. (generally 50-80 pages)
• In order to show illustrations, you can include the images in the manuscript document or pdf. Upon acceptance, we will provide instructions for sending high-res, print quality images to incorporate into the layout. 
• Acknowledgments for any previously published poems.
• Author Bio written in 3rd person, noting any literary awards, publications, and anything you’d like to share with the readers as it related to the topic of your book, etc.
• Artist Bio (for illustrated books or chapbooks with art, when artist is not the author)

Guidelines:

• Accepted manuscript file formats: WORD (.doc or docx), RTF (rich text format), PDF (Upon acceptance, will require text portion of manuscript as WORD Document or RTF )
• Please use a standard readable font in 12pt.
• Do NOT use ALL CAPS for poem titles.
• Start each poem at the TOP of a new page.
• Individual poems of the manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, journals, or anthologies, but the work as a whole must be unpublished. Poems that are previously published should be included in "Acknowledgments" section.
• Simultaneous submissions are permissible; please notify us immediately if a manuscript has been accepted/committed elsewhere.
• A reading fee of $10.00 — payable through Submittable (submission manager system).
• We will acknowledge receipt of your manuscript immediately via automatic email.
• We aim to respond with a decision regarding your manuscript within 60 days

If you have any questions, you can contact the editor, Shawn Aveningo Sanders via Shawn@thePoetryBox.com.

We look forward to reading your work!