Rack Press Poetry
I have come to hope that a Rack Press pamphlet may be a tiny gift-box of unusually good poems.
Alison Brackenbury, PN Review
Founded in the Welsh Marches in 2006 Rack Press is an award-winning poetry press that produces attractive limited edition pamphlets of contemporary poetry. You can learn more about current events, publications and readings on the Rack Press blog where you can also download the current catalogue.
Below are the notes we offer to those wishing to submit work to us
CAN I BE PUBLISHED BY RACK PRESS?
- Rack Press publishes only four or five short poetry pamphlets a year which means that the scope for publishing unsolicited work is very limited and the overwhelming majority of unsolicited submissions are, regrettably, turned down.
- This is no reflection on the quality of work submitted and no one submitting work should be discouraged. Often we would love to publish your work but we simply don’t have the capacity.
- Rack Press resources are such that we cannot comment in detail on submissions. We regret that you will receive only a standard reply.
- The decision on what to publish is complex and isn’t necessarily a question of ranking submissions in order of assumed merit like a civil service examination list; a publisher will want to think about the nature of each submission, how it relates to others being planned for that year, and how it fits in with other ideas and commissioning plans we might have in order to maintain a rich and varied list.
- That’s another reason why a rejection doesn’t imply a negative judgement on the quality and distinction of your own work.
- If you would like to submit work please obtain a copy of one of the pamphlets and study it carefully so that what you are submitting suits the format and style of Rack Press.
- Poets retain full copyright of their work and will naturally want to include the contents of pamphlets in future collections but if you are planning to publish a book-length collection containing the work, within 12 months of the publication date of your proposed pamphlet, we cannot make an offer to publish.
- Submit only enough poems for a pamphlet not a full-length book collection.
- Rack Press pamphlets are normally 12 pages long which means 10 pages (A5) of poems
- Individually tailored email submissions (but not blanket mailings which are automatically binned) are perfectly acceptable
- Postal submissions should enclose return postage or an email address at which you can be contacted
- Any submission that ignores these guidelines will be rejected.
Submissions to Rack Press: rackpress@nicholasmurray.co.uk