Submissions
TRP does not accept unsolicited submissions via mail or email. We only consider manuscripts submitted through Submittable to our Open Reading Period, Contests, and Series.
Current and former TRP authors should contact the press directly when submitting new work.
The X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize
$10,000 + Publication
2023 Judge:
Established in 1998, The X. J. Kennedy Prize highlights one full-length collection of poetry per year. Since 2019 the Prize comes with a $10,000 advance, a standard royalty contract, and 20 copies of the published book.
Submissions open each year on July 1 and close on September 30.
Submission Guidelines and List of Previous Winners
Winner of the 2022 X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize:
GHOST :: SEEDS, by Sebastian Merrill
Selected by Kimiko Hahn
The George Garrett Fiction Prize
$1,000 + Publication
2023 Judge:
Established in 1998, The George Garrett Fiction Prize highlights one book a year for excellence in a short story collection or novel. Since 2019 the Prize comes with a $1,000 advance, a standard royalty contract, and 20 copies of the published book.
Submissions open each year on July 1 and close on September 30.
Guidelines, Submissions, and List of Previous Winners
Winner of the 2022 George Garrett Fiction Prize:
Churn, by Chloe Chun Seim
Selected by Vi Khi Nao
The Robert Phillips Chapbook Prize
$500 + Publication
2023 Judge: Alison Pelegrin
Established in 2001, The Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Prize highlights one book a year that excels in the chapbook format. Since 2019 the Prize comes with $500, a standard royalty contract, and 20 copies of the published book.
Submissions open each year on January 1 and close on March 31.
Guidelines, Submissions, and List of Previous Winners
Winner of the 2022 Robert Phillips Chapbook Prize:
Recovery, by J. L. Conrad
Selected by Taylor Johnson
The Clay Reynolds Novella Prize
$500 + Publication
2023 Judge: Michael Martone
Established in 2001, The Clay Reynolds Novella Prize highlights one book a year that excels in the novella format. Since 2019 the Prize comes with $500, a standard royalty contract, and 20 copies of the published book.
Submissions open each year on January 1 and close on March 31.
Guidelines, Submissions, and List of Previous Winners
Winner of the 2022 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize:
Mon Dieu, Love, by Jane V. Blunschi
Selected by Renee Gladman
Open Reading Period
Submissions open each year on April 1 and close on April 30. Submissions cap at 300.
TRP publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and scholarly works. Topics we are interested in include 20th/21st Century American Poetry, Environmental Writing, Ecopoetics, Contemporary Poetics, Creative Writing Pedagogy, Southern Literature, Southern Issues, Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas/Louisiana Literature, Texas/Louisiana History, Folklore, Cajun-Creole Studies, African-American Literature, African-American Studies, Latinx Literature, Latinx Studies, & Texas/Mexico History.
Poetry, Fiction, and General Interest Nonfiction Proposals should include a title, cover letter, a short author biography, and the complete manuscript.
Scholarly Works Proposals should include a title, cover letter, abstract, 2 sample chapters, an estimated word count, a short author biography, and a CV/Resume. We are not interested in unrevised dissertations; dissertations should be revised for a general audience and formatted in Chicago Style. If interested, the editors will request the entire manuscript.
The Sabine Series in Literature
Series Editor: J. Bruce Fuller
The Sabine Series in Literature highlights work by authors born in or working in Eastern Texas and/or Louisiana. There are no thematic restrictions; TRP seeks the best writing possible by authors from this unique region of the American South.
Submissions open each year on April 1 and close on April 30. Submissions cap at 300.
Books in this series:
- Esteban Rodríguez, Lotería
- Collier Brown, Scrap Bones
- Ron Rozelle, Leaving the Country of Sin
- David Armand, The Lord's Acre
- Cody Smith, Gulf
The Southern Poetry Anthology
Series Editor: William Wright
The Southern Poetry Anthology highlights poetry by authors from each state in the southern U.S.
Guidelines, Submissions, Browse
Books in this series:
- Vol. I: South Carolina (Volume Editor: Stephen Gardner)
- Vol. II: Mississippi (Volume Editor: Stephen Gardner)
- Vol. III: Contemporary Appalachia (Volume Editors: Paul Ruffin & Jesse Graves)
- Vol. IV: Louisiana (Volume Editor: Paul Ruffin)
- Vol. V: Georgia (Volume Editor: Paul Ruffin)
- Vol. VI: Tennessee (Volume Editors: Paul Ruffin & Jesse Graves)
- Vol. VII: North Carolina (Volume Editors: Paul Ruffin & Jesse Graves)
- Vol. VIII: Texas (Volume Editor: Paul Ruffin)
- Vol. IX: Virginia (Volume Editors: J. Bruce Fuller, Amy Wright, Jesse Graves)
- Vol. X: Alabama (Volume Editors: J. Bruce Fuller, Taylor Byas, Adam Vines)
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The TRP Southern Poetry Breakthrough Series
Series Editor: J. Bruce Fuller
The TRP Southern Poetry Breakthrough Series highlights a first full-length collection by emerging authors from each state in the southern U.S.
Submissions open each year on December 1 and close on February 28.
The current state is South Carolina.
The next state will be Kentucky.
Books in this series:
- West Virginia: Kelly McQuain, Scrape the Velvet from Your Antlers
- Arkansas: James Dunlap, Heaven's Burning Porch
- Florida: Caridad Moro-Gronlier, Tortillera
- Georgia: Erin Ganaway, The Waiting Girl
- Texas: Lindsay Illich, Rile & Heave
- Louisiana: Chris Hannan, Alluvial Cities
- Mississippi: Noel Polk, Walking Safari: Or, The Hippo Highway
- North Carolina: Sally Stewart Mohney, Low Country, High Water
- Tennessee: William Kelley Woolfitt, Beauty Strip