We are now CLOSED for submissions.
Thanks to everyone who ordered books, chapbooks, and/or art prints during our 2022–2023 Support Drive!
We are working our way through the chapbooks selected in the 2021 open period and will not open again until these have all been released.
Please note: Unsolicited submissions are not considered outside of our widely announced open reading periods. We typically run these irregularly, because we don’t have the staff (hi, it’s just me) to manage both making handmade chaps and reading hundreds of submissions at the same time.
If you missed our most Open Reading Period, you should subscribe to our email newsletter (because those folks get early access). We also announce on our social media accounts and blog when the period begins.
OPEN READING PERIOD 2021: POETRY CHAPBOOKS
Bloof will open between October 25 and November 15, 2021 for poetry chapbook submissions. Please follow the guidelines below. (We may cap entries, but will send another newsletter and post on Twitter/Instagram if so!)
This is not a contest. There are no reading fees, no outside judges. Our new support levels are optional and do not affect the status of your submission.
All poets who submit a manuscript that adheres to the guidelines will be considered, responded to, and notified of our final selections. We hope to announce those by January 2022.
Chapbooks will be produced in a limited handmade run of 150 copies. Copies will be sold through our website, at our partner bookstores, and at various events (assuming any can be safely attended next year). The author receives 20 complimentary copies and is paid a royalty on each sale made by Bloof. After the handmades are sold out, the chapbooks are released as free PDFs, and eventually collected into our BOUND paperback compilations, which are distributed as books.
All Bloof collective members are invited to read and discuss submissions, per their availability.
GUIDELINES
1. Read a couple of our books and chapbooks, or look up the poets and read some of their work available online. All of the out-of-print chapbooks are available as free ebook versions on our site. We’ll also be sharing excerpts from current and backlist books and chapbooks on Instagram and Twitter (@BloofBooks for both) throughout the open period. Give us a follow!
While we are theoretically open to reading any style of poetry, we certainly have preferences and even biases. Familiarity with the books we have already published should help you decide whether your work is a good fit. We continue to actively seek work from BIPOC and LGBTQ poets, and poets with disabilities. We’d also love to see more translations, collaborations, and visual poetry.
2. As of 2018: Incoming collective members will be asked to accept our anti-harassment and discrimination policy as a condition of ongoing publication with Bloof.
3. Limit to ONE manuscript per poet. Choose the one you think is the best fit. Also, please do not send updates or corrections once you have submitted your manuscript. (Typos are human. Don’t fret.)
4. Manuscript length: up to 25 pages.
5. Include a cover sheet with name, manuscript title, mailing address, and email address.
6. Format: Please present your work in a standard font (vispo excepted) and send it as a PDF. Include a bio note and acknowledgments (see below) somewhere in the document. Name the file like this: Lastname_TitleOrKeyWords.pdf. For example, Knox_Shame.pdf. (Italics, open field spacing, etc. are fine of course—this is why we want PDFs, to lock in your formatting.)
7. Acknowledgments/permissions: The work should be unpublished in chapbook or book form, as a whole, though some of the individual poems may have appeared in magazines, etc. Please include a list of prior publications, if any. Permissions are required from all collaboration participants, and translators should already have permissions from copyright holder of original work before submitting.
8. Cover letters are encouraged, but optional. (We are not reading anonymously.)
9. Simultaneous submissions are your right. We ask only that you promptly let us know if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
10. Send your PDF as an attachment [email address redacted since we are currently closed]. Hint: it’s helpful to put that address in your contacts, especially if you use Gmail, which often sends our replies to that dumb “promotions” tab.)