Submissions
Our editors are looking for high quality literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that combine a distinct voice with a distinct vision. Our editors seek out and solicit promising work from authors that they encounter in the pages of magazines, at writing conferences, and in other venues.
Please note that we do not accept unsolicited submissions outside of open periods and contests.
Submission Guidelines
Poetry
Currently we are not open for poetry submissions. Graywolf Press partners with the Academy of American Poets, Cave Canem, and the Poetry Foundation to publish and promote the work of new and emerging writers.
Walt Whitman Award
The Walt Whitman Award is a $5,000 first book publication prize given to an American poet. In addition to publication and promotion by Graywolf Press, the winner receives an all-expenses-paid six-week residency at the Civitella Ranieri Center in Umbria, Italy, and a trip to New York City to attend the American Poets Prizes ceremony. The Academy of American Poets purchases copies of the winning book to distribute to thousands of its members. For more information please visit the Academy of American Poets website. Submissions are accepted between September 1 and November 1 of each year.
Cave Canem Poetry Prize
Graywolf Press is one of the publishers of the Cave Canem Poetry Prize, a first book award dedicated to the discovery of exceptional manuscripts by African American poets. Graywolf publishes every third winner of the prize. More information is available on the Cave Canem website.
Emily Dickinson First Book Award
The Emily Dickinson First Book Award is an occasional award given by the Poetry Foundation that recognizes an American poet over the age of forty who has yet to publish a first book. In addition to publication and promotion of the manuscript by Graywolf Press, the winner will receive a prize of $10,000.
Nonfiction
Agents may submit nonfiction submissions to the appropriate editor for consideration. Graywolf accepts submissions for the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize every other year. The January 2018 submission period is now closed.
We will provide upcoming dates for the next Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize as soon as they are available.
Esmé Weijun Wang was the winner of the 2016 prize for The Collected Schizophrenias, forthcoming in 2019. Previous winners include Angela Palm for Riverine, Leslie Jamison for The Empathy Exams, Kevin Young for The Grey Album, and Eula Biss for Notes from No Man’s Land.
Fiction
Agents may submit fiction submissions to the appropriate editor for consideration. Graywolf accepts submissions for the Graywolf Press Africa Prize every other year. The October 2017 submission period is now closed.
Graywolf Press is pleased to announce that Khadija Abdalla Bajaber has been selected as the first winner of the Graywolf Press Africa Prize, which is awarded for a first novel manuscript by an African author primarily residing in Africa. Bajaber’s manuscript, titled The House of Rust, was chosen from nearly 200 submissions by judge A. Igoni Barrett, author of the acclaimed novel Blackass, in conjunction with the Graywolf editors. Bajaber, who lives in Mombasa, Kenya, will receive a $12,000 advance. In addition, 66th&2nd will publish The House of Rust in Italy, a partnership that will continue with the Graywolf Press Africa Prize going forward.
We will provide upcoming dates for the next Graywolf Press Africa Prize as soon as they are available.
The Craft of Writing
This collection of pieces on the craft of writing are contributed by Graywolf authors and staff members.