SUBMISSIONS FOR OUR OPEN READING PERIOD ARE OPEN ANNUALLY JULY 1 - JULY 31.
U.S. PACIFIC NORTHWEST POETS ONLY
If you are looking for submission guidelines for the Airlie Prize, click here.
Annually from July 1 through July 31, we seek full-length manuscripts from poets who reside in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska) who are willing and able to commit to a three-year term of doing the shared work of running a collective press. Entries are accepted via Submittable.
Airlie now accepts submissions from poets previously published by Airlie. In 2024, poets published before 2021 are encouraged to submit a manuscript during our summer submission period. All submissions will be judged alongside those from new poets. Returning poets must commit to a standard three-year agreement.
Members are expected to attend monthly meetings—usually held virtually via Zoom, although we sometimes meet in person for readings and other events. Each member’s book is published in the second year of their term. Authors have the final say about the content and presentation of their books. All profits from the sale of books are returned to the collective for the production and promotion of future books.
We are actively seeking collections from writers of color, trans and nonbinary writers, disabled writers, and others whose voices are underrepresented in literary publishing. As our membership changes continuously, we are open to a wide range of aesthetics in our publications.
Highlights of our publishing protocol include the following:
Authors gain valuable editorial experience throughout their three-year tenure. Press duties usually amount to a few hours each week.
Airlie Press follows a consensus-based model of decision-making (details of this process will be made available to those actively seeking membership).
Authors take an active role in the production of their books, including design and publicity. Certain specialized skills may be assigned to outside professionals when necessary.
Authors receive no money from the sales of their books; profits go toward the publication of work by the next two authors selected by the press.
Each new member spends their first year learning press operations and supporting the production of upcoming titles, the second year producing their own book, and the third year mentoring new members and helping with the current books. There are no monetary requirements for new members.
Press members are also editors. Each manuscript undergoes a thorough reading and editing, but authors have the final say on the design and content of their own books.
Manuscripts should be 48-90 pages in length, excluding front and end matter. Longer entries may require cuts during the editorial process to fit the maximum final length of 96 book-size pages, including front and end matter. The manuscript should be paginated, with a title page, a table of contents, and an acknowledgments page.
If we are interested in publishing your manuscript, we will invite you to a meeting to discuss how the group works and answer your questions. The meeting is a chance for both you and the Press to decide if our collaborative approach is right for you at this point in your writing life. We’ll announce our decision as soon as possible.
STIPEND AVAILABLE!
Airlie strives to be a supportive and inclusive editorial community. We value excellent poetry and seek collaborators with a diverse range of backgrounds and lived experiences. As we survey the history of our press (and literary publishing more generally), we recognize how white supremacy culture, in particular, has created unequal access to publishing opportunities. In response, we are actively engaged in making all aspects of our press accessible and equitable.
As part of this work, we are pleased to offer two one-time stipends for writers who join our editorial collective:
One $1,000 stipend is available to anyone for whom the time and duties associated with serving on our editorial board would present a financial hardship.
One $1,000 stipend is open to anyone who identifies as BIPOC.
To be considered for one of these stipends, please note your interest on the Submittable form.
“When I first came to live in Oregon, I found roots everywhere: big roots tangled and swirling out of trees, tiny roots keeping ferns clutched high in the canopy, roots that burrowed out of cliff sides, far below the hidden branches they nourished. I was taken with them all, realizing that the sight of them captured what I was longing for myself: to find home ground, to dig and grow, to stay. It felt just right too that I wrote my first poem in Oregon, and that the others that followed over the years anchored my work gratefully here. When I read the words cultivating, sustaining, local, and habitat in the Airlie Press mission statement, I felt that same longing for rootedness, that sense that this collective could be beautiful home ground.”