Submissions

Essay Press is open for full-length manuscript submissions through April 30, 2026.

Questions about future reading periods can be sent to essaypress@gmail.com.

2026 Open Book Reading Period

During March and April, we will be open for full-length manuscript submissions. We anticipate announcing decisions during the month of June.

The reading period submissions will be read and reviewed by the Essay Press editors, who may select 1-3 books for publication in 2027 onward.

Manuscripts can be any length, though submissions between 80 and 200 pages are preferred.

For additional information about the type of work the editors are looking for, read the “What and How to Submit” section below, or review previous Essay Press publications.

What and How to Submit

Essay Press publishes artful, innovative writing that questions convention and explores issues of significant contemporary relevance. We particularly welcome work that extends or challenges the formal protocols of nonfiction, including, but not limited to: lyric essays and prose poems or poetics; experimental biography and autobiography; innovative approaches to journalism, experimental historiography, criticism, scholarship, and philosophy.

EP uses Submittable to manage our open reading periods and contest submissions. Please check our Submittable page or subscribe to our mailing list to see when we are accepting submissions.

Book Proposals

EP welcomes book proposals for anthologies, reprints, translations, and other projects that exceed the parameters of our regular open reading periods or book contest. Please direct proposals to the Executive Editor at essaypress@gmail.com. Due to the volume of requests and proposals we receive, it may take us a few months to get back to you. If you have not heard from us after 4 months, please contact us.