Sundress Publications announces its 14th annual e-chapbook contest. Authors of all genres to submit manuscripts during our reading period from March 1st to May 31st, 2025.
We welcome submissions in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid work, as well as visual poetry, poetry comics, and visual hybrid works. Manuscripts must be between twelve to twenty-six (12-26) pages in length, with a page break between individual pieces. Previously published individual pieces are allowed as long as they have not appeared in a full-length collection, including self-published books. Both single-author and collaborative dual-author manuscripts will be considered. Submissions must be primarily in English; translations are not eligible.
All of our chapbooks are available for free digital download on our website, ensuring wide accessibility and readership. Sundress e-chapbooks typically average over 1,000 downloads, with authors receiving a full promotional packet and extensive social media coverage. Please note that print publication is not an option.
From March 1-14th, submissions to this contest are free for one manuscript per writer. Beginning March 15th, the entry fee is $10 per manuscript, though this fee will be waived for writers of color and entrants who purchase or pre-order any Sundress title. Authors may submit multiple manuscripts, provided each is accompanied by a separate reading fee or book purchase/pre-order. Fees and purchases may be processed through our store.
The winner will receive $250 and publication as a full-color PDF available exclusively online. The editor’s choice selection will receive $150 and publication, and runners-up may also be considered for publication.
All manuscripts should include a cover page (title only), table of contents, dedication (if applicable), and acknowledgments for previous publications. These pages will not count toward the total page count. Manuscripts must not contain identifying information. Authors with close relationships to the judge (friends, relatives, colleagues, past or present students) are discouraged from entering.
To submit, follow the instructions here.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but authors must notify Sundress immediately if a manuscript is accepted elsewhere. No revisions are permitted during the judging period. Winners will be announced in fall 2025.
This year’s contest will be judged by Joshua Nguyen. Nguyen is the author of Come Clean (University of Wisconsin Press, 2021), winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry, the Writers’ League of Texas Discovery Award, and the Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters Poetry Award. He is also the author of the chapbooks American Lục Bát for My Mother (Bull City Press, 2021) and Hidden Labor & The Naked Body (Sundress Publications, 2023). He is a Vietnamese-American writer, a collegiate national poetry slam champion (CUPSI), and a native Houstonian. He has received fellowships from Kenyon Review, Tin House, Sundress Academy for the Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center. He is a humor editor for The Offing and received his MFA/PhD from The University of Mississippi. He currently teaches at Tufts University.
