OUR MISSION

Milkweed Editions is a nonprofit literary press, publishing between 15 and 20 books a year. Founded in 1979, we have published over 200 titles and are dedicated to keeping our books in print. We read each manuscript we receive and consider it for publication according to our mission statement. We believe that literature is a transformative art, and that each book bears a responsibility to convey the essential experiences of the human heart and spirit.

We’re proud to be the publisher of many outstanding authors: Ken Kalfus, Susan Straight, Marilyn Chin, Larry Watson, Bill Holm, Paul Gruchow, Janisse Ray, Pattiann Rogers, and many others, including emerging and mid-career authors. If you aren’t familiar with our books, please click here to read about upcoming and past titles.

WHAT WE PUBLISH

Milkweed Editions publishes literary fiction, nonfiction about the natural world, poetry, and novels for young readers.

Works of fiction (novels, novellas, and short story collections) between 150 and 400 pages. We do not publish genre fiction, by which we mean we are not interested in romance, science fiction, mystery, crime, or westerns.
Works of literary nonfiction that focus on the relationships between human and natural communities. We are not interested in manuscripts written for an academic or scientific audience.

Collections of poetry (single-author collections only, please) that are at least 60 pages long. Please review our previous poetry titles to get a sense for what we’re looking for in a poetry collection. Manuscripts are read bi-annually, in the months of January and June; manuscripts received outside of those months will be held for the next reading period.

Books for young readers (readers between the ages of 8 and 13) that are full-length novels between 90 and 200 pages. We do not consider picture books or poetry collections for young readers.

HOW TO SUBMIT A MANUSCRIPT

Please include a cover letter, complete manuscript, SASE for response, and a stamped mailer if you'd prefer to receive the manuscript back after consideration. If you do not provide a way to return the manuscript, we will recycle the manuscript.

If you prefer to send a proposal or query to Milkweed’s editors, please include a cover letter, manuscript outline, sample chapter(s), SASE for response or a stamped mailer should you prefer to receive the material back. We are only interested in proposals that include writing samples (i.e., sample chapters). Queries that do not include an SASE will not receive a response. Queries and proposals can be sent to the same address as complete manuscripts.

Please address submissions to:
Fiction Reader (or Nonfiction, Poetry, Children's, as appropriate)
Milkweed Editions
1011 Washington Avenue South
Open Book, Suite 300
Minneapolis, MN 55415

We do our best to respond to submissions within six months of receipt. Due to our staff size and the steady flow of manuscript submissions, our review time may take a little longer. Please be patient while we give your manuscript our full consideration. We cannot respond to letters, phone calls, or emails requesting manuscript status. If you'd like to verify manuscript receipt, please include a stamped postcard or purchase delivery confirmation from the post office.

Milkweed does not accept submissions on disc or via email.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Milkweed Editions is happy to accept unsolicited manuscripts from authors of all backgrounds (previously published or not). In return, we ask that you take the time to familiarize yourself with our list in order to determine whether or not Milkweed Editions is a good fit for your manuscript. Many of the unsolicited manuscripts we receive are inappropriate for our press. This includes books that don't meet our manuscript page requirements, books that fall outside our publishing list (picture books, for example, or literary biographies), and works that are clearly not ready for publication. You can ensure that your manuscript will be fully read and considered by taking a little time before submission and making sure it's appropriate for Milkweed Editions.