Poets Wear Prada is a poetry publishing house with excellent poets and affordable books with beautiful covers. Have you had your poetry today?--Meredith Sue Willis, Books for Readers * * * Stylistically, these beautifully designed and produced chapbooks bear their own distinctive signature.--Linda Lerner, SMALL PRESS REVIEW

Submission Policy (2010/2011)



2010/2011 Anthology Topic: RITUALS
Poetry (any form or style) wanted for an anthology on RITUALS.  Microfiction, flash, comic strips, stand-up comedy routines will also be considered.  Erik La Prade, Austin Alexis and I will be co-editing this third in the series of anthologies from Poets Wear Prada.

Off the top of my head here are some rituals:
Baptism/Christening, Holy Communion, Marriage, Last Rites, Funerals, Mating & Dating Rituals, OCD Behaviour, Holiday Observances, Lighting up after Sex, Watching the Ball Drop on NYD, Sitting Shiva, Bris, Bar/Bat Mitzva, Saying Grace, Walking the Dog, Cleaning the Refrigerator, Spring Cleaning, etc.

Co-Editor Austin Alexis writes:
I'm glad you included what I call unconscious rituals, such as mowing the lawn, "lighting up after sex," etc. "Unconscious rituals" might be a subcategory to mention in the submission call, so that writers get the idea of how broad the definition of ritual is. Also, there are poems that show the rituals of inanimate (or at least non-living) things, such as "Eight O'Clock" by A. E. Housman, which portrays the ritual of a bell striking the hours. We might mention Housman and Dickinson as two poets who use rituals often in their poetry, in very different ways.
The poem should describe the ritual in a unique and interesting way and take the reader there. Consider all the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste).  Let us know how it makes you feel to participate or sit on the sidelines an observe.

Got the idea? Now release it onto the page and send it our way.

Guidelines: Submit up to three poems with a fascinating bio of 35 words or less, not just limited to publication credits, copy/pasted in the body of an e-mail (no attachments, please) to roxy533 at yahoo dot com. Previously published work is ok, as long as authors have retained the copyright, which will be returned to them after publication. Response time will be about three to six months; the expected date of publication is 1-2 years away. Please don’t query. When in doubt, send the submission to roxy533 at yahoo dot com.


Roxanne Hoffman
Publisher/Editor
Poets Wear Prada
Hoboken, NJ




Sorry, we are not accepting unsolicited submissions for poetry chapbooks at the present time.

But please feel free to come over and chat with us
at our upcoming book launches or book fairs about your work!
If you feel obliged to query us please keep the following in mind:
 

  1. We like a collection that feels more like a whole than a sampling of work.  Tell us a story. Think of each poem as a chapter.
  2. At the time of submission 30% of the works included in manuscript needs to be in print or accepted for publication in literary magazines with an editorial policy. (You can't be the editor or publisher of the literary magazine for it to count.) We expect that percentage to be 50% or higher at the time of publication. ( If your work is published in places like SLATE, THE NEW YORKER, or THE NEW YORK TIMES, we might stand up and take notice.)
  3. While we don't have a preference to formal or free verse, we do have a preference to formal queries.  Please include a one-paragraph overview of your book and  a second paragraph that includes a literary bio with previous publication credits and education.  We expect to see a table of contents listing the titles of the works with the associated publications listed if in print or accepted for publication.  (Please include volumes, issue numbers, dates for print magazines, add links for online magazines, editors and publishers for anthologies.) Two to three blurbs from published poets, publishers/editors of literary magazines or other presses, or reading series hosts would certainly put your manuscript in a good light.
  4. We want to sell these books to a mainstream audience.  Please don't baffle us.  And don't send us prose unless your are submitting micro or flash fiction or prose poetry. We like narrative poetry and we like it in a lyrical style.  The audience we are targeting maybe mainstream but they are not illiterate.  They like to buy and read entertaining and well written books. So please no greeting card verse.  But funny and original one-liners will get our attention.
  5. If you perform your poetry on the slam circuit and consider yourself of spoken word artist please don't assume your work won't work on the page too.
  6. We do solicit manuscript submissions from folks who submit to our anthologies.
  7. We're nice people but we're busy putting books out so be considerate and don't waste our time.



Thank you for your interest.