Manuscript Guidelines

Applicants should follow the guidelines below to submit a writing sample with the online application. Applicants should send their strongest work not yet published in a book form, though submitting writing that has previously appeared in anthologies or journals is acceptable.

Applicants should submit a manuscript of current work up to 4,000 words of fiction or nonfiction, or up to eight pages of poetry. Those accepted will have an opportunity to send a replacement manuscript for workshop critique.

  • The applicant’s name and a page number must appear on each sheet of the manuscript. (For example: YourLastName, p.1.)

     
  • Prose manuscripts must be double-spaced with 12 pt. font and margins of at least 1.25”. The total word count should be noted at the top of the first page. Applicants may include one or more stories as long as the total number of pages is within the 4,000-word limit. Please include a short note to let readers know if the piece is a short story, an excerpt from a novel or nonfiction. Manuscripts excerpted from a longer project should include a one-page synopsis placed at the back of the piece.

     
  • Poetry manuscripts should have 12 pt. font and can be single-spaced or double-spaced. A poem can exceed one page, as long as the complete manuscript submission is within the eight-page limit. Please do not squeeze more than one poem to a page.

     
  • Please do not send children’s or young adult literature, coauthored work, or self-help literature.