Submissions
TRP does not accept unsolicited submissions via mail or email. We only consider manuscripts submitted through Submittable. Our Open Reading Period, Contests, and Series submission schedule is below.
Open Calls for Submissions
Open to all eligible contributors during the scheduled submission windows.
January – March
April
July – September
August – September
Additional details linked and below.
Targeted Calls for Submissions
Open only to select audiences based on role, affiliation, or call criteria.
TRP Authors and SHSU Faculty
Current TRP authors and Sam Houston State University faculty may submit works for consideration outside of our open calls.
Submissions to these forms from writers who are not current TRP Authors or SHSU faculty will not be considered.
SHSU Faculty Submission Portal
Nonfiction/Anthology Proposals
Proposals for Scholarly and Trade Nonfiction Books, Edited Anthologies, and Edited Series may be submitted for consideration outside of our open calls.
Submissions to this form of single-author creative works of poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction will not be considered.
Prizes
The X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize
$10,000 + Publication + Residency at Vermont Studio Center
2025 Judge: Shane McCrae
Submissions open each year on July 1 and close on September 30.
Recent judges include Diane Seuss, Richard Blanco, Kimiko Hahn, Kazim Ali, Maggie Smith, and Marilyn Nelson.
Winner of the 2024 X. J. Kennedy Poetry Prize:
Fenestration, by Othuke Umukoro
Selected by Diane Seuss
The George Garrett Fiction Prize
Winner Receives: $2,000 + Publication
2025 Judge: Fernando A. Flores
Submissions open each year on July 1 and close on September 30.
Recent judges include Kaveh Akbar, Manuel Muñoz, Vi Khi Nao, Selah Saterstrom, Joe Wilkins, and John McNally.
Winner of the 2024 George Garrett Fiction Prize:
About, Above, Around: 50 Prepositions, by Mark Mayer
Selected by Kaveh Akbar
The Robert Phillips Chapbook Prize
$1,000 + Publication
2026 Judge:
Submissions open each year on January 1 and close on March 31.
Recent judges include KB Brookins, Carolyn Hembree, Alison Pelegrin, Taylor Johnson, Benjamin Garcia, and Esther Lin.
Winner of the 2025 Robert Phillips Chapbook Prize:
Living Fossils, by Loren Maria Guay
Selected by KB Brookins
The Clay Reynolds Novella Prize
$1,000 + Publication
2026 Judge:
Submissions open each year on January 1 and close on March 31.
Recent judges include Fatimah Asghar, Steven Dunn, Michael Martone, Renee Gladman, Leslie Jill Patterson, and Hannah Pittard.
Winner of the 2025 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize:
/Cuts, by Ana María Caballero
Selected by Fatimah Asghar
Free Submissions
Open Reading Period
Submissions open each year on April 1 and close on April 30.
Submissions cap at 300.
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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.
The Southern Poetry Anthology
Series Editor: William Wright
The Southern Poetry Anthology highlights poetry by authors from each state in the southern U.S.
VersoFrontera
Series Editor: Octavio Quintanilla
In collaboration with the VersoFrontera Literature and Arts Festival, the VersoFrontera series seeks to publish one debut full-length collection per year by an emerging poet.
Submissions open each year on August 1 and close on September 30.