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 May 7th at 12:01 a.m. PT to May 8th at 11:59 p.m. PT, our Submittable link will be live for debut poetry collection, debut essay collection, and debut short story collection submissions. You can click below to submit then!

submit

SCHEDULE

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

First weekend in September (9/3–9/4, 2022): Nonfiction (including Memoirs and Graphic nonfiction)

 

GUIDELINES

For May’s submission period, we will be accepting debut poetry collections, debut essay collections, and debut short story collections; they can be 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 of the full manuscript available upon request.

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).

For Poetry Collections

Please upload the first 20 pages of the poetry collection in a PDF or Word document. No more than one poem per page. We kindly request that you do not send any additional material beyond the first 20 pages, and we will contact you if we are interested in seeing more. You will also be asked in the submission form to provide a short bio and a one-paragraph project overview that describes your manuscript. 

For Essay Collections and Short Story Collections

Please upload the first essay or short story of your collection in a PDF or Word document. If you are including graphic work, please upload as a PDF in 150 dpi. We kindly request that you do not send any additional material beyond a first essay or short story, 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? Am I eligible if I previously published with a smaller press?

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 or with another press (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 the categories for each submission period, so if you see your project fitting best in a given category, we’re excited to read it!

Q: My manuscript isn’t divided into chapters, and/or I write micro or flash prose which means my first story/ essay would be extremely short. How many pages can I submit?

A: If your manuscript falls into one of these categories, please submit no more than the first 25 double spaced pages. Thanks!

Q: Are Young Adult, science fiction, fantasy, horror, or romance collections eligible?

A: Tin House doesn’t explicitly publish YA novels or other genre-specific work; however, if you feel like your story collection fits in the context of our publication list, you’re welcome to submit!

Q: Are multiple submissions allowed? 

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