Submission Guidelines

WHAT WE WANT
 
  1. Chapbooks (poetry, micro-fiction, non-fiction): Surprise us with a chapbook-length poem or essay collection, a rollicking long prose poem or gaggle of shorter prose poems, a clutch of micro-fictions, one incredible short story, a chapbook-friendly slice of autobiography, travelogue, art criticism. Bust genre walls. Open our eyes. Make us cry, make us laugh. Do it with well-honed language and attention to craft. 
  2. CHAPBOOK SUBMISSIONS: will be considered once the $15/manuscript reading fee has been received. 
  3. Full length manuscripts occasionally considered: Click on manuscript reading fee above and send us up to 25 pages, or email a BRIEF query.
  4. Special book projects: Limited edition special bindings, unique artist's books, other wackadoodle projects. Query with BRIEF description.
  5. Poet’s Greatest Hits is INVITATION-ONLY by the selection panel. No submissions. No exceptions.
  6. Anthologies: Email cover letter (include contact info and acknowledgments) plus a Word.doc attachment of no more than 2 pages, any genre, specs as below, no reading fee, one submission per author. Currently accepting submissions for MERCURY RETROGRADE: Snarled Communications, Fried Electronics, Transport Mishaps. 

SPECS

  1. Electronic submission. If you live in a cave, query with a compelling explanation and I’ll consider a rare exception. The rest of you, stop cutting down trees till it’s time to go to print!
  2. Proofread carefully before sending. Kattywompus has no  cubicles full of eager, well-paid proofreaders. If your work is accepted, you, the author, will be responsible for proofing the manuscript. Good writing deserves good packaging, so clean it up before you send it.
  3. Chapbook manuscript length: 24 to 36 pages of text. One poem per page (unless it's Haiku or other extremely short pieces—we have no size prejudice). In addition please include cover letter, table of contents, acknowledgments page.
  4. Send all submissions as a standard Word.doc attachment. 
  5. Format in 11 point Times New Roman font. No bold or italics except where needed in the body of the text. Single-space everything including prose unless double-spacing is required for the published version. Except for shaped poems, do not format text. Left-justifiy. Start each poem or prose section on a new page.
  6. Do not paginate anything. In your table of contents, list each poem or piece in the order they appear in the manuscript, with no page numbers.
  7. Submit original writing for which you own copyright or can easily obtain it. We can't chase down copyright permissions. If needed, you are responsible. We seek primarily new, unpublished writing, but where some portions of a collection or manuscript may have appeared in print elsewhere, you must hold or obtain copyright before submitting.
  8. No simultaneous submissions. If we don't get back to you quickly, query us. We don't want to hang you up, but we are a small press. We can't spend time reading manuscripts that are bound elsewhere. We love writers. If you can't wait, let us know and we'll try to accommodate. 

SUBMISSION PROCESS

  1. Review guidelines, above.
  2. Pay the $15 reading fee for chapbook submissions,  http://kattywompuspress.com/content/submission-fee (send BRIEF query first for other submissions).
  3. Send your manuscript as a Word.doc attachment, with SUBMISSION in the subject line, to:  contact@kattywompuspress.com