Milkweed Editions publishes literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and novels for young readers. Learn more about
submitting work.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS
Milkweed Editions is pleased to announce that we are now accepting electronic submissions. We receive several thousand manuscript
submissions each year, and we're happy to do our part to cut down on
the amount of paper used to print manuscripts and the fuel used to
transport them around the country.
For information about using the new Submission Manager, please click here.
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, 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 We do not publish genre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 often 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.
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
We're pleased to announce that authors can now submit and manage their submissions through Milkweed's Submission Manager. If you're a first-time author/submitter, you'll need to fill in a simple form and then follow the instructions for selecting and uploading your manuscript. Please make sure that your manuscript follows the submission guidelines as listed above.
Submission Manager is a new system for us, and we'll probably be working out a few bugs as we come up-to-speed with the software. If you have any problems using Submission Manager, concerns about your manuscript, or general questions, please contact us by email.
What if I want to send in a paper manuscript?
We'd prefer that you use Submission Manager to submit a manuscript, but we understand that everyone doesn't have access to a computer or the internet. If you'd prefer to submit a hard copy of your 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.
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. |