Sarabande Books

ABOUT

Sarabande Books is a nonprofit independent press founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1994 by Sarah Gorham and Jeffrey Skinner, publishing poetry, short fiction, and essay collections. It has built its reputation on prize-based discovery of new work, most notably the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry and the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, alongside periodic chapbook prizes; past judges have included figures like Lauren Groff. The press has also become known for author-facing programming beyond the book itself, including free virtual craft workshops (billed as "Zine Lunch") and continued grant-supported general operations as it enters its fourth decade.

For poets, Sarabande does not take unsolicited full-length manuscripts outside of its contests: entry is almost always through the Morton Prize in Poetry, the McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, or a seasonal chapbook prize, each with its own reading window (the site references a Spring Chapbook Prize and hints at an intervening open-reading period, sometimes called the Sarabande Open, for manuscripts that miss a contest deadline). Submissions run through Submittable with a modest entry fee typical of small-press contests; winners receive publication plus a cash award, and the press pays advances and royalties on published titles rather than functioning as a pay-per-poem outlet. Because windows are contest-driven and can close and reopen within the same season, poets should check the site's current calendar rather than assume year-round submissions.