Submissions Guidelines

Carnegie Mellon University Press was founded by Gerald Costanzo in 1972 as Three Rivers Press. Now publishing for over fifty years, books under the Carnegie Mellon University Press imprint commenced in 1975 and have included titles by Pulitzer Prize-winners Rita Dove, Ted Kooser, Franz Wright, Stephen Dunn, and Peter Balakian.

Carnegie Mellon University Press is pleased to announce an open reading period in September 2024.

We will welcome original volumes of poetry, collections of short fiction, and completed novels from new, emerging, and underrepresented authors.

We will consider poetry translations in 2025 at a time to be determined.

Please send questions to Sharon Dilworth.

Eligibility

Submissions to the Poetry Series are open to any poet writing in English who adheres to the guidelines detailed on Submittable and provides the reading fee.

Manuscripts must be at least 48 pages, exclusive of front matter.

Submissions

Manuscripts for the Poetry Series should be sent during the annual submission period of September 1 – September 30.

All submissions must be sent through our Submittable system (link forthcoming), which allows you to enter your manuscript, provide your contact information, and check the status of your submission.

Submission Fee

Each manuscript must be accompanied by a $25.00 fee, paid through Submittable at the time of your submission.

Simultaneous Submissions

Manuscripts being considered by other publishers are allowed, but if a manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere, please notify the Press, and withdraw your manuscript through Submittable.

Results

The Press receives hundreds of manuscripts during each open period. Each manuscript is read with the care it deserves, but the large number of submissions means that we are unable to provide critiques or enter into correspondence of any sort with writers other than those whose manuscripts are accepted for publication.

If you have any questions about these guidelines, please email Sharon Dilworth.

Eligibility

Collections of short fiction and full length novels will be considered if they meet the following criteria:

• The submitted work must be in English, regardless of the citizenship of the author.
• Eligible submissions include an unpublished manuscript of short stories; two or more novellas (a novella may comprise a maximum of 130 double-spaced typed pages); a combination of one or more novellas and short stories; or a complete novel. Novellas are only accepted as part of a larger collection. Manuscripts may be no fewer than 150 and no more than 300 pages. Prior publication of your manuscript as a whole in any format (including electronic) makes it ineligible.
• Stories or novellas previously published in magazines or journals or in book form as part of an anthology are eligible.

Submissions

Manuscripts for the Fiction Series should be sent during the annual submission period of September 1 – September 30.

All submissions must be sent through our Submittable system (link forthcoming), which allows you to enter your manuscript, provide your contact information, and check the status of your submission.

Submission Fee

Each manuscript must be accompanied by a $25.00 fee, paid through Submittable at the time of your submission.

Simultaneous Submissions

Manuscripts being considered by other publishers are allowed, but if a manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere, please notify the Press, and withdraw your manuscript through Submittable.

Results

The Press receives hundreds of manuscripts during each open period. Each manuscript is read with the care it deserves, but the large number of submissions means that we are unable to provide critiques or enter into correspondence of any sort with writers other than those whose manuscripts are accepted for publication.

If you have any questions about these guidelines, please email Sharon Dilworth.

Nonfiction is considered on a case by case basis at the discretion of the editors.

Please send inquiries directly to Sharon Dilworth. Subject line: Nonfiction Submission