Submission Deadline: Airlie Press Summer Reading Period

Airlie Press is a nonprofit poetry collective based in and around Portland, Oregon. We seek manuscripts from Pacific Northwest poets who are willing and able to commit to a three-year term of doing the shared work of running a collective press. As a press, we commit to participate in the ongoing conversation and practice regarding inclusion and equity. To this end, we encourage submissions from underrepresented voices and poets from marginalized communities. Most important editorial decisions are made by consensus.

Airlie Press now accepts submissions from poets previously published by Airlie. In 2021, poets published before 2018 are encouraged to submit a manuscript during our summer submission period. All submissions will be judged alongside those from new poets. Returning poets must commit to a standard three-year agreement.

Airlie Press has been holding monthly meetings virtually during the pandemic. We hope to return to in-person meetings by late summer or early fall 2021. Previous in-person meetings have been in Salem, Oregon. With most of Airlie’s logistics streamlined, we hope to encourage submissions from poets who may find travel difficult but who are available to work on Airlie tasks and advance the press’s goals, and when necessary, are capable of interacting via Skype or Zoom in place of attending a given meeting.

Airlie Press considers full-length poetry manuscripts for publication during our open reading period, June 1 through July 31 of each year. Entries are accepted via Submittable. You must reside in the United States Pacific Northwest to enter. Our goal is to publish 2-3 volumes of poetry a year. For full details on the distribution, sales, marketing, and publicity of our titles, please click here.

Each member’s book is published in the second year of their term. Authors have the final say about the content and presentation of their books. All profits from the sale of books are returned to the collective.

The highlights of our publishing protocol include the following:

• Authors gain valuable editorial experience during the meetings throughout their three-year tenure. Press duties usually amount to a few hours each week.

• Airlie Press follows a consensus-based model of decision making (details of this process will be made available to those actively seeking membership).

• Authors take an active role in the production of their books, including design and publicity. Certain specialized skills may be assigned to outside professionals when necessary.

• Authors receive no money from the sales of their books; profits from sales go toward the publication of the next two authors selected by the press.

• Each new member will spend their first year learning press operations and supporting the production of upcoming titles, the second year producing their own book, and the third year mentoring new members and helping with the current books. There are no monetary requirements for new members.

• Press members are also editors. Each manuscript undergoes a thorough reading and editing, but authors have the final say on the design and content of their own books.

• Manuscripts should be 48-90 pages in length, excluding front and end matter. Longer entries may require cuts during the editorial process to fit the maximum final length of 96 book-size pages, including front and end matter. The manuscript should be paginated, with a title page, a table of contents, and an acknowledgments page.

If we are interested in publishing your manuscript, we will invite you to a meeting to talk about how the group works and to answer your questions. The meeting is a chance for both you and the Press to decide if our collaborative approach is right for you at this point in your writing life.  We’ll announce our decision as soon as possible.

[Submit Here]