OVERVIEW:

Three times per year, Tin House offers a two-day submission period for writers to submit their work. Eligible writers must not currently have an agent, and must not have previously published a book (chapbooks okay). Per our schedule below, we accept works of fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry, both originally in English and in translation (please only submit translation projects which the translator has already been granted formal permission to translate), and ask that you do not send us a project unless you have a completed draft.

In particular, we are looking to engage with work by writers from historically underrepresented communities, including—but not limited to—those who are Black, Indigenous, POC, disabled, neurodivergent, trans and LGBTQIA+, debuting after 40, and without an MFA.

SUBMIT:

From September 4th at 12:01 a.m. PT to September 5th at 11:59 p.m. PT, our Submittable link will be live for nonfiction submissions. You can click below then to submit!

submit

SCHEDULE

First weekend in September (9/4–9/5, 2021): Nonfiction (including Memoirs and Graphic nonfiction)

First weekend in January (1/1–1/3, 2022): Debut novels (including Graphic novels)

  • Note: this deadline is extended due to the holiday

First weekend in May (5/7–5/8, 2022): Poetry collections + Essay collections + Short Story collections

 

GUIDELINES

*Please check back later for January’s submission guidelines*

For September’s submission period, we will be accepting works of nonfiction (including memoirs and graphic nonfiction) both originally in English and in translation (please only submit translation projects which the translator has already been granted formal permission to translate). As mentioned above, we ask that you do not send us a project unless you have a completed draft.

Note that writers may submit only once during each submissions period, and that a schedule for other submissions periods is available above. Eligible writers must not currently have an agent, and must not have previously published a book (chapbooks okay).

Please upload the first chapter of your nonfiction project in a PDF or Word document. For graphic submissions, please upload a PDF at 150 dpi. We kindly request that you do not send any additional material beyond a first chapter, and we will contact you if we are interested in seeing more. You will also be asked to provide a short bio and a one-paragraph project overview that describes your manuscript in the submission form.

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Am I eligible to submit work in the upcoming submission period if I’ve previously published a book in a different genre?

A: No—we are looking to publish a writer’s true debut, so for these submission periods, you can’t have previously published a book in any genre (previously published chapbooks are okay though).

Q: Can I submit if my only published work was self-published?

A: Yes—if you have a self-published book but no other published books, then you can submit your work.

Q: Can I submit if my only published work is technical/academic?

A: Yes—you can submit your work if your other publications are technical or scholarly.

Q: Does my hybrid work fit into the genre requirements?

A: We’re broadly defining nonfiction, memoirs, and graphic nonfiction for this submission period, so if you see your project fitting best in this category, we’re excited to read it! We just ask that essay collections hold off until May.

Q: My manuscript isn’t divided in chapters—how many pages can I submit?

A: If your manuscript doesn’t have chapters, please submit no more than the first 25 double spaced pages. Thanks!

Q: Are multiple submissions allowed? 

A: No—we’re asking writers to submit only one manuscript per submission period. Thank you!

Q: Can essay collections be submitted during the September nonfiction period?

A: No—please wait and submit essay collections in May during the essay collection submission period. We appreciate you doing so.