Carnegie Mellon University Press

About

The Carnegie Mellon University Press was founded by Gerald Costanzo, a professor in the Creative Writing program, in 1972 as Three Rivers Press. Now publishing for more than 50 years, the CMU Press was among the first to publish works by poets who would become Pulitzer Prize winners, including Rita Dove, Ted Kooser, Franz Wright, Stephen Dunn and Peter Balakian. In 2024, the Carnegie Mellon University Press brand expanded to include other publishing ventures at the university and through its literary division continues its strong commitment to publishing literary works. The Press publishes regional social history (titles that explore the rich history of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania), art history, the performing arts (original plays and adaptations), literary analysis, education, and university history.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for all submissions. (Note: About 14% of publishers always charge fees.)
The fee is USD $25 (above average for publishers that charge).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States

Established in 1972

Publication Medium

Print Publication Print Publication

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

55 members set this publisher as a Favorite.

Statistics Synopsis

Regular Speed: Carnegie Mellon University Press's overall average response time is within a normal range for publishers.
More Challenging: Carnegie Mellon University Press's overall acceptance rate is lower than most publishers.
More Responsive: Carnegie Mellon University Press's overall rate of non-response is lower than most publishers.

Learn more about our statistics

Collapse section Fiction Open Fee-based

Dates:

Open to fiction submissions through 15 September 2026* (within the next 24 hours).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Novella: 15,000 - 32,500 words; Minimum of 2 pieces.
Novella: 37,500 - 40,000 words.
Fiction Collection: 37,500 - 75,000 words.
Novel: 40,000 - 75,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Unknown advance + Unknown royalties Unknown advance. Unknown royalties.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Open Fee-based

Dates:

Open to nonfiction submissions through 15 September 2026* (within the next 24 hours).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Nonfiction Collection: No specific word count limits known.
Book: No specific word count limits known.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Academic, Critical, Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics including...
Humanities: See guidelines.

Payment:

Unknown advance + Unknown royalties Unknown advance. Unknown royalties.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Poetry Open Fee-based

Dates:

Open to poetry submissions through 15 September 2026* (within the next 24 hours).

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poetry Collection: 48 pages or more.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Open to all/most Topics.

Payment:

Unknown advance + Unknown royalties Unknown advance. Unknown royalties.

Submissions:

Method: Submittable submission manager.
Reprints: Reprints are NOT allowed.
Simultaneous submissions: Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.
* We do not know the time and/or timezone, so we cannot be more precise. Submit early to avoid disappointment.

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Carnegie Mellon University Press Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

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Accuracy

We have received 31 reports from 31 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.

Days Reported

41 min | 94.0 mean avg | 90.0 median | 111 max days (14.2 std dev)

Responses

96.77 %

Acceptances:

0.00 %

Rejections:

96.77 % (94.5 avg. days per rejection) | 6.7 % personal, 73.3 % form, 20.0 % unspecified

Non-Responses

0.00 %

Lost/Returned:

Never Responded:

Withdrawals

3.23 % (41.0 avg. days per withdrawal)

Pending

29 responses are pending (0 min | 16.6 mean avg | 14.0 median | 31 max days waiting | 11.0 std dev) from 29 different members

Other Information

The most common submission fee paid: USD $25.00.
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 05 Dec 2025.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 15 Sep 2025.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 04:44 UTC (5 hours, 3 minutes ago).

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Before Submitting

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Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
For book publishers, it is standard to submit a cover letter, synopsis, and sample instead of the full manuscript. Do this unless otherwise instructed.
Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 27 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.