The prize will be administered by the editors of Longleaf Press. The winning manuscript is to be selected by this year’s judge, Roger Weingarten, and will be published by Longleaf Press in January of 2025.
Along with publication, the winning author will receive a $1000 prize, 25 author copies, and a virtual reading.
The submission deadline is Jan. 15 through Submittable. A decision will be announced by March 15, 2024.
Submission Guidelines
- Please submit an original manuscript in English of 50-80 pages.
- Intimate friends, relatives, or current and former students of judges are not eligible to submit.
- Multiple submissions are acceptable as long as they are submitted separately with separate entry fees.
- Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please be sure to withdraw your submission via Submittable if your work is accepted elsewhere.
- Please update any changes in contact information via your profile on Submittable.
- No revisions to submitted manuscripts will be considered. The author of the winning manuscript will have the opportunity to edit mistakes and suggest revisions prior to publication.
- Be sure that your document is complete and formatted correctly before uploading.
- Individual poems in a manuscript may have been previously published in magazines, journals, anthologies, or chapbooks, but the work as a whole must be unpublished. If applicable, include with your manuscript an acknowledgments page for prior publications.
- There is a non-refundable submission fee of $27 payable through Submittable.
Process and Ethics
Longleaf Press endorses and abides by the Ethical Guidelines of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP): “CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines–defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.”
After the submission deadline, manuscripts will be divided among the Longleaf Press editors, who will select approximately 20 semi-finalist manuscripts. Roger Weingarten will then select the winning manuscript. We will announce the winner by February 1, 2024. The winner will be notified by e-mail or telephone.