First Matter Press is a not-for-profit publishing collective centering community and craft. We invite authors into a creative cohort where they crystallize manuscripts in dialogue with editors and fellow writers and collaborate with featured artists on original cover art.
We are committed to actively practicing bias-awareness, inclusion and equity. We encourage submissions from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors.
Our editors will be reading submissions from May 1 to October 31, 2021. We will publish selected manuscripts in September 2022. We are most interested in the following:
Publishing with First Matter may be a good fit for you if:
Submissions must include the following:
1. A cover letter that introduces yourself and your intentions for your manuscript, answering the questions below:
2. The most current draft of your manuscript and any working title(s). We're most interested in reading manuscripts that are *most of the way there*. If missing significant portions from your intended final version, please include a supplemental explanation or outline about what will change. For an example of a submission-ready document, please click here.
3. A 100-word third-person biography.
To submit, please email firstmatterpress@gmail.com with the subject line “2022 Submission.” Attach your complete submission in a single doc/docx or pdf attachment. We can only consider submissions that include all above elements; we’ll notify you if your submission is incomplete.
Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but please notify us if your manuscript has been accepted elsewhere. Our response time is generally 60 days. If you haven’t received a response by November 1, please contact us.
We are committed to actively practicing bias-awareness, inclusion and equity. We encourage submissions from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ authors.
Our editors will be reading submissions from May 1 to October 31, 2021. We will publish selected manuscripts in September 2022. We are most interested in the following:
- Writers who are *most of the way there* on a manuscript but excited about the potential of engaging with our community to fully realize the intentions of their work
- Poets who have completed (or near completed!) their first chapbook or full-length collection
- Innovative genre-breaking works (from new and previously published writers)
- Previously published writers who have generated a manuscript that is a big departure from past work
- Collaborative work that does not fit standard publishing categories
- Multi-lingual works
- Translations appearing in English for the first time (Translators must have secured publication rights. Please contact us prior to submitting.)
Publishing with First Matter may be a good fit for you if:
- You currently define yourself as an aspiring writer/poet, but are ready to redefine yourself as a published writer/poet
- You enjoy developing your craft through community engagement (workshops, circles, submitting to journals and mags, etc.) or desire to do so
- You crave support and reflection from editors and peers but want to maintain creative autonomy
- You want a shorter timeline to book-in-hand than traditional publishing but more guidance through the book production process than self-publishing offers
- You wish to own 100% of your copyrights and receive 100% of sales royalties but also desire a high-quality professionally team-produced book
Submissions must include the following:
1. A cover letter that introduces yourself and your intentions for your manuscript, answering the questions below:
- Will this be your first published chapbook or book? If not, how does this manuscript depart from your previously published works?
- How have you collaborated in literary community to develop your craft (or how would you like to)?
- If the manuscript you are submitting is a collaboration, please additionally discuss your collaborative process.
2. The most current draft of your manuscript and any working title(s). We're most interested in reading manuscripts that are *most of the way there*. If missing significant portions from your intended final version, please include a supplemental explanation or outline about what will change. For an example of a submission-ready document, please click here.
3. A 100-word third-person biography.
To submit, please email firstmatterpress@gmail.com with the subject line “2022 Submission.” Attach your complete submission in a single doc/docx or pdf attachment. We can only consider submissions that include all above elements; we’ll notify you if your submission is incomplete.
Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but please notify us if your manuscript has been accepted elsewhere. Our response time is generally 60 days. If you haven’t received a response by November 1, please contact us.