Submissions

POETRY

Poetry will always be the centerpiece and foundation of Sibling Rivalry Press. We will publish multiple chapbooks and/or full-length collections of poetry each year. What we like: LGBT-themed poetry, feminist poetry, narrative poetry, experimental poetry, shocking poetry, political poetry, erotic poetry, prose poetry, poetry paired with art or photography, poetry you wouldn’t want your grandmother to read, poetry rejected by other presses because the poems have been published on a blog, and poetry rejected by other presses because those other presses aren’t as cool as us.

We will re-open for poetry manuscript submissions of any length from March 1, 2012, through June 1, 2012.

How to Submit Poetry Manuscripts. During our open-submission period, email a .pdf of your manuscript to submissions@siblingrivalrypress.com with the subject line “Poetry Manuscript Submission” and your name (“Poetry Submission Jane Cassady,” for example). The title page of your manuscript should include your name, contact information, and a brief (three-to-four line) biography. No cover letter or further text is necessary, because your manuscript will tell us everything we need to know. There are no length requirements. We’re open to chapbooks and full-length collections. It’s cool if you have an MFA, but an academic background or even a history of being published is not required. 

How we’ll do it this year… It’s a Family Thing. At the close of our submission period, all submitted manuscripts will be randomly divided between previously-published SRP authors. Our authors will read their assigned manuscripts, select their top two (through whatever means, methods and terms they define), and then each author’s top two will be sent to the SRP authors as a group. SRP authors will then vote for the two manuscripts which, in their opinion, would be the best fit with SRP. The two manuscripts receiving the highest number of votes from SRP authors will be published by Sibling Rivalry Press in March of 2014.

There are no reading fees or purchase requirements to submit your manuscript, although it certainly helps (and we can’t stress this enough) if you are familiar with our books.

As always, if you are selected for publication by Sibling Rivalry Press, you will be offered a contract to review which details press responsibilities, author responsibilities, and an outline of royalty terms (no advances at this time - you get 30% of the profits, which we believe is a competitive royalty rate). Upon both parties entering into the contract, your manuscript will be inserted into our production schedule, and you will know a date of publication up front, along with dates of royalty payments. You will be provided contact information of the publisher and are free to contact Sibling Rivalry Press at any time. We guarantee prompt response to our authors. You will never be left in the dark. Sibling Rivalry Press was founded on professionalism and respect. You know what you get with us, and if you publish with SRP, you don’t become part of the team - you become part of the family.

The authors chosen through 2011′s open submission period were Matthew Hittinger (Skin Shift - June 2012), Jane Cassady (For the Comfort of Automated Phrases - July 2012), Virginia Bell (From the Belly - September 2012), and Brad Richard (Butcher’s Sugar - October 2012). Watch Bryan Borland announce the authors by clicking here. If you’re  unsure about SRP, contact these authors, or any of our authors, and ask for their honest opinion. You should always get references before entering a business relationship of this magnitude, and we’re proud of our reputation.

SPECIAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

ASSARACUS

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Submissions to Assaracus are accepted during the months of January, May, and September through Submittable (formerly Submishmash). There may, from time to time, be special calls for submissions outside of these months. Watch our Facebook page for these special calls.

Submit to Assaracus: A Journal of Gay Poetry

In order to be considered for publication in Assaracus, click on the above link to  submit 7 – 12 poems (or the equivalent thereof if some of your pieces are longer).  Again, submissions are open in January, May, or September. Work need not be gay themed. The definition of “gay poet” is also subjective. We don’t vet people on their sexuality. Work that has been previously posted on a personal website is welcome. Previously published work is also acceptable so long as you retain the rights to republish.

Each issue will be built around the selected poets and will showcase the variety within the queer poetry community. We’re not looking for any one style or form. In fact, we want each issue to represent multiple poetic forms. The chosen poets will retain all rights to their work, will receive a free print copy of the issue, and will be endlessly promoted throughout the literary universe.

Due to the small number of poets featured in each issue, we cannot accept every submission. Do not let this deter you. Because we’re always working on future issues, submissions that were declined once might be accepted at a later date depending on the “feel” of the issue we’re currently designing.

Please note that poems with lengthy lines may, as is the case in every publication, require editing to fit our page dimensions. As a general rule, however, we will not attempt to edit your work to fit our standards. The purpose of Assaracus is to offer that grand stage for gay poets – not to morph your work into the kind of poetry our editor enjoys. We’ll give you the microphone. You do the singing.

We welcome submissions from gay poets with various publishing experience, from old masters to spring chickens.  We want everyone from Dennis Cooper to the freshman at the University of Ohio who scribbles love poems in Biology 101.

 PROSE

FICTION/NON-FICTION – DIGITAL-EXCLUSIVE LINE OF eBOOKS

We’re looking for quality fiction and non-fiction that will thrive in a digital format. Titles chosen for publication will be produced exclusively as eBooks. We’ll approach these eBooks with the same fire and enthusiasm you’ve come to expect from Sibling Rivalry Press – the same high-quality cover art, the same marketing attention, the same support from a publishing family. Authors whose manuscripts are chosen for e-publication will receive a contract for electronic production with Sibling Rivalry Press, a royalty rate of 50% on all sales, and full distribution through all Sibling Rivalry Press channels of publication.

FICTION/NON-FICTION – PRINT

LIKEWISE, SRP is branching out into traditional print publication of fiction and non-fiction. Titles chosen for publication will be produced as both print and eBooks.  Authors whose manuscripts are chosen for publication will receive a contract for production with Sibling Rivalry Press, a royalty rate of 20% on all print sales and a royalty rate of on 50% on all ebook sales, and full distribution through all Sibling Rivalry Press channels of publication.

HOW TO SUBMIT PROSE

To be considered for PRINT and DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE publication through SRP, submit an outline of your manuscript (fiction, nonfiction, novella, memoir, short stories…) along with a 3-10 page excerpt to submissions@siblingrivalrypress.com with the subject line “Prose Submission” and your name (“Prose Submission John Steinbeck,” for example).  And because electricity can happen anytime… we’ll always accept submissions. There are no reading fees or purchases required (though we strongly suggest you become familiar with a Sibling Rivalry Press title or two to understand our style).  We may offer you a contract for print and digital publication or exclusively as an eBook.

When it comes to prose, what are we looking for? We wanna take outsiders, get ‘em drunk, and crash the literary party. Give us truth. Give us truth mixed with fiction. Give us your fantasies. Give us erotica. Give us the dream you had last night, or the dream you had as a kid. Entertain us. Make us laugh so hard we cry, and make us cry so hard we laugh. There isn’t a formula here, except that we want the unexpected. As we say in every book we publish, we want manuscripts that make our hearts do karaoke in drag.

ABOUT SRP

We’re pretty new as a publishing house, but so far, so good. We’re growing, and we like authors who want to grow with us. Authors who aren’t scared of promoting their work. Authors who have a sense of humor. Authors who want to be actively involved in the production and marketing of their book. Authors who want to be rock stars.

If you want to know what we’re like to work with, track down our authors. Ask them what it’s like to work with SRP. Ask them about Bryan. Ask them if they feel respected, loved, and inappropriately touched at times.  If you want to know the kind of work that captures our attention, buy one of our books. Or two or three.