Manuscript call
It's Split/Lip Press's Tenth Anniversary and this year, we're doing an open prose call for our chapbook period, which means we're open for fiction vs. nonfiction vs. hybrid vs. secret fourth options—we want to read it all. Seven members of the SLP editorial team (managing director Caleb, marketing directors Gage and Abby, short story/flash fiction editor Pedro, novel/novella editor Kate, nonfiction/hybrid editor Athena, and director Kristine) will be serving as both your first-round readers and your final editorial team decision-makers, which means there's no "reading team" filter—your chaps are going directly to the top! We will be reading, discussing, and voting democratically as a team to decide on our Tenth Anniversary Chapbook selection.
We are currently looking for previously unpublished prose chapbook manuscripts that are considered complete projects as they stand—we do not view chapbooks as "a taste of a longer work" but, instead, as the beautiful, brief books they are. Collections of individual pieces which gain power through their proximity to one another, or a single, sustained long work—we're open to and interested in both!
Individually published pieces within the manuscript are absolutely fine (and expected!) but the chapbook should not have been published as a BOOK before. Our definition of "chapbook" is under 80pg, but we've got a little flex, so don't let those guidelines exclude your work if you're pretty close to that page count. If your book is significantly longer, keep us in mind during our novel/novella reading period in July, our nonfiction/hybrid full-length reading period in October, or our short story/flash fiction collection reading period in January!
First and foremost, we seek out manuscripts that question boundaries (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional—you get the gist). Our editors are drawn to work with a twist, whether that means blending fact with fiction, employing speculative elements, placing lyricism alongside criticism, and/or image-based work interacting with text.
To get an idea of what we've historically loved, please check out our current chapbook offerings:
Heather Bartel's forthcoming Exit the Body, Tucker Leighty-Phillips' Maybe This is What I Deserve, Claudia Putnam’s Double Negative, Kelly Ann Jacobson's An Inventory of Abandoned Things, Calvin Walds’ Flee, Samantha Edmonds’ The Space Poet, Tyler Barton's The Quiet Part Loud, Shasta Grant's Gather Us Up and Bring Us Home, SJ Sindu’s I Once Met You But You Were Dead, and Kara Vernor's Because I Wanted to Write You a Pop Song.
We'd love it if you'd add a copy of any (/all) of our chapbooks to your submission, and we'll happily throw in free shipping as a thanks!
Historically under-represented perspectives are WELCOME and ENCOURAGED and HIGHLY SOUGHT—we want to help bring your voice to the world!
Our press mission
We publish boundary-breaking fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid books, lifting the transition boards that prevent fluidity and smashing those we cannot pry up. We love work that questions the concept of truth, and work that reinterprets what we think we know. We prize experimentation (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional); we welcome the unanswerable. We want to see the dark and the light side of the moon—or we want to see it obliterated. If your book is a wedge in a crack, Split/Lip Press is the hammer helping you split the wall apart.
All books published at Split/Lip Press have been discovered during our open reading periods—we do not solicit manuscripts and do not accept manuscripts sent outside of our reading periods. Every author has the same opportunity to join us! However, Split/Lip Press does not tolerate manuscripts celebrating racist, homophobic, or misogynistic perspectives, and will discard such manuscripts unread. We believe in breaking boundaries at Split/Lip, but we will not assist agendas of hate.
Basic formatting details
TNR 12 (or similar), double-spaced (unless you are specifically using special formatting—which we'd love to see), and PLEASE remove your name from the manuscript and file name—we want to review your manuscripts without names attached. There is a box on the submission form where, if you choose, you may indicate any information about positionality which may be helpful for the readers to know.
Please note that while we love and welcome work which includes images/diagrams/etc, we are unable to reproduce color images and all images would need to appear in black-and-white within a 6" x 9" printed book, so please keep that in mind when submitting.
Hugs + thanks
We work closely with our authors on all elements of their book, from design to promotion. We are engaged in the literary community, and as writers ourselves, we know how important it is to have a book that you love that is supported by a press that loves you. We'd love for you to be part of the Split/Lip Press family.
Simultaneous submissions are obviously welcome. Our reading process is a process and we move quickly and efficiently, but we also don't interrupt it prematurely. So if another publisher snags you first, we just ask that you withdraw your submission (and congrats to you!).
We intend to reply to all submissions by July 15, 2024, so please do not query about the status of your manuscript before that date. If you haven't seen anything from us by 7/15/24, check your status in Submittable and double-check your email spam filter because Submittable's messages sometimes get stuck there—we will definitely respond!
Thank you for considering Split/Lip Press as the home for your chapbook!