Submit to WWPH

WWPH WRITES, OUR BI-WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT ON POETRY & PROSE FROM THE DMV

POETRY

We are happy to consider never-published original poetry as well as reprints from recent or upcoming published full-length poetry collections or chapbooks (please indicate publication date and press) from writers living in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Submit 1-3 poems not to exceed 5 pages. 12-point type, single-spaced. Please provide a cover letter addressed to the Poetry Editor with a biography of 50 words or less. FREE TO SUBMIT. Please submit here. 

We have over 1,000 readers/subscribers for each issue of WWPH Writes. We give editorial guidance on all the accepted work. We share each issue widely on our social media and nominate for Pushcart Prizes, Best of Small Fiction ( Read Borderland by Myna Chang), Best of the Net, and other awards. In 2023, we nominated Eve Cantler’s evocative flash fiction, The Day We Watched The Seagull Eat the Eel WWPH Writes 27,  and it was accepted for the Best of Small Fiction collection! Unfortunately, at this time, we are not a paying market. Submit and subscribe to WWPH Writes.

See below for an easy way to subscribe! It’s FREE.

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Please join us in congratulating our 2024 manuscript winners!

The Washington Writers’ Publishing House (WWPH) will accept unpublished manuscripts for entry in our 2024 book competitions in our 50th Anniversary Fiction Prize sponsored by Carol Trawick, The Jean Feldman Poetry Prize, and our Creative Nonfiction Prize from September 1-November 1.

Open to all residents of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The contest is open to new, upcoming, and established writers.

All manuscript contests are judged by previous winners who volunteer their time and skills. All manuscripts are read blind. Winners and finalists will be announced by March 1, 2024. Books will be published in the fall of 2024. Some frequently asked questions can be found here.

Although winners can expect to collaborate with a WWPH writer/editor prior to publication, we are seeking completed, polished manuscripts. All manuscripts should be proofed closely prior to submission. We follow The Chicago Manual of Style and the latest edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. An overview of our style expectations can be found here.

All entries are via Submittable. Entry fee is $28.00 via submittable. The Washington Writers’ Publishing House is a cooperative (all-volunteer) organization and all contest fees go to funding the prizes, which is our way, for (almost) fifty years of paying it forward to the literary voices in the DMV.

Prizes include a cash award, publication, 25 author copies, editorial guidance, and launch support to coincide with the Fall, 2024 book publication. Typically, launch support includes readings held at Politics & Prose in its main store in D.C. and at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda. 

IMPORTANT: The winners become members of WWPH and should be prepared to participate actively in the work of the press, including the publication and promotion of their own book. In addition, as part of our cooperative philosophy, we ask our authors to serve for two years following publication in areas such as judging, publicity, distribution, production, and fundraising. The winners should be able to attend at least one in-person press meeting in the D.C. area in 2024. Additional meetings may be held virtually two to three times per year. Our tradition of writers working on behalf of other writers is essential to the continued vitality and success of WWPH. Contest entrants should be willing to make this commitment should their work be selected for publication.

We encourage all entrants to read recent past winners of our contests to understand the Washington Writers’ Publishing House literary sensibility that draws on the culture and diversity of the DMV and seeks to celebrate the literary voices in our region.

50th Anniversary Fiction Prize sponsored

by Carol Trawick

$2,000 award, publication, 25 author copies, editorial guidance, and launch support

Submit a novel or a collection of short stories and/or novellas. Read Len Kruger’s Bad Questions: A Novel (on sale: October 3), Suzanne Feldman’s The Witch Bottle & Other Stories, or Adam Schwartz’s (2021) The Rest of the World for examples of our recent award-winning WWPH fiction.

Manuscripts must be a minimum of 150 pages to a maximum of 250 pages. 12-point type, double-spaced. Times New Roman font. The approximate word count is about 60,000-70,000 words.

Proof work carefully. More details on the WWPH Style sheet, which can be found here. Although winners can expect to collaborate with a WWPH writer/editor prior to publication, we are seeking completed, polished manuscripts.

A one-page synopsis must be included with your work. For more details on how to write a synopsis, see here.

Do not include your name, address, or other identifying information on the submitted documents; manuscripts and synopsis must be anonymous. Multiple submissions are permitted if submitted separately, each with a submission fee. Once submitted, manuscripts cannot be altered.

Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are permitted, but please notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Only writers who have not published books with us are invited to enter this category.

All entries are via Submittable. Entry fee is $28.00 via submittable.

The Jean Feldman Poetry Prize

$1,500 award, publication, 25 author copies, editorial guidance, and launch support

50-80 pages in length, single or 1 1/2 spaced. Read K. Avvirin Berlin’s Leda’s Daughters (on sale: October 3), Tonee (Anthony) Moll’s You Cannot Save Here,or Steven Levya’s The Understudy’s Handbook for examples of our recent award-winning WWPH poetry collections.

Do not include your name, address, or other identifying information on the submitted document; manuscripts must be anonymous.

A table of contents and acknowledgments page (including publications in which poems from the manuscript have appeared previously) should be included.

Proof work carefully. More details on the WWPH Style sheet, which can be found here. Although winners can expect to collaborate with a WWPH writer/editor prior to publication, we are seeking completed, polished manuscripts.

Multiple submissions are permitted if submitted separately, each with a submission fee. Once submitted, manuscripts cannot be altered.

Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are permitted, but please notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere. Only poets who have not published books with us are invited to enter this category.

All entries are via Submittable. Entry fee is $28.00 via submittable.

Creative Nonfiction Prize

$1,500 award, publication, 25 author copies, editorial guidance, and launch support

As of 2023, we are accepting literary creative nonfiction, notably essay collections and memoir. We admire essays collections such as Ann Patchett’s These Precious Days, literary nonfiction narratives such as Anthony Doerr’s Four Seasons in Italy, and memoirs including Kiese Laymon’s Heavy and the winner of our first nonfiction prize Transplant: A Memoir by Bernardine Watson (on sale: October 3).

Manuscripts must be a minimum of 150 pages to a maximum of 250 pages in length. Formatted in 12-point type, New Times Roman font, double-spaced. The approximate word count is about 60,000-70,000 words.

Proof work carefully. More details on the WWPH Style sheet, which can be found here. Although winners can expect to collaborate with a WWPH writer/editor prior to publication, we are seeking completed, polished manuscripts.

A one-page synopsis must be included with your work. For more details on how to write a synopsis, see here.

Do not include your name, address, or other identifying information on the submitted documents; manuscripts and synopsis must be anonymous. Multiple submissions are permitted if submitted separately, each with a submission fee. Once submitted, manuscripts cannot be altered.

Simultaneous submissions to other publishers are permitted, but please notify us immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.

Special note: writers who have books published with WWPH are invited to enter this new category–please note that this exemption applies only to creative nonfiction entries. All entries will be judged blind by WWPH members.

All entries are via Submittable. Entry fee is $28.00 via submittable.

The Washington Writers’ Publishing House reserves the right to not publish a work in any category. Some frequently asked questions can be found here. More questions on our manuscript contests should be sent to wwphpress@gmail.com.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR WORK WITH US!