Black Ocean: September 2026 Open Reading Fee: usd $20.00

OPEN READING: FULL-LENGTH POETRY MANUSCRIPTS

We welcome work that is rigorous, daring, and shaped by a commitment to language as a site of transformation. We’re drawn to voices that push against convention—not for its own sake, but in pursuit of something more vital. Work that distills feeling and thought into forms capable of surprise. Work that asks the reader to surrender certainty in order to arrive at something more alive, more expansive.

Whether grounded in lyric intensity, experimental architectures, or formal rupture—we are looking for poetry that leaves a mark. That insists on its necessity. That doesn’t so much declare itself as unfolds its presence, slowly or all at once, with precision and force.

• Entries must be submitted between September 1st and 30th.
• Entries must be accompanied by a $20 reading fee. Upon receipt, submitters will receive a one-time use discount code for 40% off Black Ocean's books.
• Chosen manuscripts will receive a publishing contract that includes an advance against royalties.
• The poems can be previously published in journals or anthologies, but should not have appeared in a previous book, including self-published books.
• Poetry manuscripts should be 48 to 125 pages, single-spaced and on an 8-1/2" x 11" or A4 page only. Submissions are preferred in PDF format. If you cannot make a PDF, then please send it as a Word document.
• We are not accepting unsolicited prose manuscripts or translations at this time.
• Only one manuscript per person.
• Please do not resubmit a manuscript from previous years without truly significant revision.
• Include: a cover letter with a brief biographical note, and an acknowledgments page listing previous publications.
• Manuscript revisions are not permitted during the open reading.