Editor Interview: Berkshire Prize for a First or Second Book of Poetry

Poetry and Hybrid Texts

I'm a great admirer of Omnidawn, Noemi Press, Black Ocean, and Factory Hollow Press--all of these publishers have demonstrated a commitment to showcasing the myriad forms that artistic risk can take.

The writers I admire most include Jill Magi (particularly her text and image projects), as well as Laurie Sheck, Rachel Eliza Griffiths (especially her lyric films), Mary-Kim Arnold, Sandy Florian, and C.S. Giscombe. I love seeing writers push the boundaries of form, genre, and medium.

Tupelo Press actively builds community around the books we select for publication. These efforts encompass course adoption initiatives, in which we create a free suite of curricular materials for educators specifically tailored to each title, as well as innovative social media campaigns and enthusiastic book publicity.

Take risks and break new ground--we love to see work that's unlike anything we've seen before.

The ideal submission would be a work in which the writer has been selective about what poems or hybrid texts are included. In general, our editors are compelled by a concise body of work and a writer who knows exactly what they want to say.

If you are a finalist or semifinalist, but your work is ultimately not chosen for publication, be sure to submit again in the future. Many of our Tupelo Press prizewinners submitted four, five, or even nine times before winning one of our juried book awards.

The Berkshire Prize is judged anonymously, so cover letters are generally not taken into account unless we are deciding if we should extend an additional offer of publication to a finalist or semifinalist. At that point, it's helpful to know if the writer has done the hard work of building an audience for their work.

Each submission is reviewed in its entirety.

Each manuscript is first reviewed by our panel of esteemed preliminary readers--which consists of Fulbright Scholars, Yaddo alumni, and award-winning writers. The preliminary readers assist the editors of Tupelo Press with deciding which manuscripts should be honored as finalists and forwarded to the final judge, who ultimately selects the winner.

A typical day would consist of reading and evaluating submissions, as well as assisting authors with obtaining blurbs/endorsements, offering editorial feedback on accepted manuscripts, recruiting contest judges, developing course adoption materials for new titles in collaboration with other staff, and developing marketing plans for authors.

We work with all authors one-on-one to develop and refine their manuscript. I tell authors to think of my feedback as a resource--it's not compulsory to incorporate every suggestion, but the ideas are there insofar as they are helpful.

Yes, our wonderful Director of Operations, Allison O'Keefe, submits our titles to post-publication book awards throughout the year.

We are a nonprofit funded through earned income such as book sales, as well as donations and grants.

We develop a marketing plan which is tailored to each author, and consists of review venues, interview opportunities, library outreach, and events.