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Sarabande Books

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About

Sarabande is an award-winning, internationally-distributed, nonprofit, independent literary publishing house founded in 1994 in Louisville, Kentucky. Our catalog is home to more than three-hundred works of poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, and literature in translation. Our authors are Nobel laureates, Pulitzer winners, Guggenheim recipients, and winners of the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and many other awards, honors, and distinctions.

Each year we carefully curate a small list of works to publish with diligence and excellence. Our titles receive in-house editorial, design, publicity, and marketing services. Sarabande titles are distributed nationally and internationally by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, a department of Ingram. We are committed to producing beautiful, lasting editions and to maintaining those works in print. We comply with the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) contest code of ethics.

Fees Notice: This project charges fees (or requires purchases) for all submissions. (Note: About 14% of publishers always charge fees.)
The fee is USD $30 (above average for publishers that charge).

Country of Publication & Year Established

United States
Established in 1994

Publication Medium

Print Publication Print Publication

AI Policy

Unknown AI policy

Statistics Synopsis

Slower
Sarabande Books's overall average response time is slower than most publishers.
More Challenging
Sarabande Books's overall acceptance rate is lower than most publishers.
More Responsive
Sarabande Books's overall rate of non-response is lower than most publishers.

Collapse section Fiction Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 July 2027* (approx. 288 days from now) through 31 July 2027.

1

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Novella: No specific word count limits known (our definition: 15000 to 40000 words).
Fiction Collection: No specific word count limits known.
Novel: No specific word count limits known (our definition: more than 40000 words).

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, 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 Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 July 2027* (approx. 288 days from now) through 31 July 2027.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Lengths:

Nonfiction Collection: 37,500 - 62,500 words.
Book: No specific word count limits known.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, 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 Poetry Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 July 2027* (approx. 288 days from now) through 31 July 2027.

1

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience.

Genres:

General

Lengths:

Poetry Collection: No page limits known.

Poetry Forms:

Open to all/most Forms, including: Experimental poetry, Visual poetry.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Experimental, 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.

Sarabande Books 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.

Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 57 reports from 55 different members within the past 12 months, not including pending responses (see below). The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
7 min | 139.1 mean avg | 134.0 median | 287 max days (92.9 std dev)
Responses
92.98 %
Acceptances:
0.00 % No publication has a 0% acceptance rate. This data is based on submission reports sent to Duotrope, and we have not received reports of any acceptances yet.
Rejections:
92.98 % (140.3 avg. days per rejection) | 0.0 % personal, 67.9 % form, 32.1 % unspecified
Non-Responses
0.00 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
-
Withdrawals
7.02 % (55.5 avg. days per withdrawal)
Pending
55 responses are pending (36 min | 58.5 mean avg | 58.0 median | 76 max days waiting | 155.6 std dev) from 54 different members This only includes pending reports from people who have been active on Duotrope within the past 30 days

Other Information

The most common submission fee paid: USD $30.00.
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 16 Jul 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 02 Oct 2025.
Date compiled: 15 Sep 2026 05:23 UTC (3 hours, 53 minutes ago).

Work submitted here was also submitted to...

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Members accepted here also had work accepted by...

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Your Submissions

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Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry  Charges fees for all submissions
Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction  Charges fees for all submissions
Sarabande Chapbook Prize  Charges fees for all submissions
The Sarabande Prize in the Essay  Charges fees for all submissions

Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

  • 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: 30 Aug 2026

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

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