Red Hen Press is an independent, nonprofit press that publishes about twenty books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry every year. We’re looking for novels, memoir, creative nonfiction, hybrid works, and story, essay, and poetry collections of exceptional literary merit that demonstrate a high level of mastery.

  Red Hen publications are diverse in style and subject, but tend to have in common a certain wildness. Please familiarize yourself with our catalog before submitting. Representative fiction writers include Aimee Liu, Martha Cooley, Donna Hemans, Judy Grahn, Yuvi Zalkow, and Andrew Lam. Representative poets include Chris Abani, Katharine Coles, Camille Dungy, Eloise Klein Healy, Brynn Saito, Peggy Shumaker, Doug Manuel, and Francesca Bell.

  With your submission, be sure to include:

1. A cover letter that includes the author's name, contact information, and a brief synopsis of the work. For award submissions, this should be the only information included in your Cover Letter. For General Submissions, please include the above information and describe the author's background, list any publication credits if applicable, and explain why the work is a fit for Red Hen Press.
2. The work itself. For General Submissions, writers may submit either the full manuscript or a sample of between 20 and 30 pages. Please keep in mind that full manuscripts take longer to review. All manuscripts should include page numbers on every page.

  Given the high volume of submissions we receive, please expect a response time of three to twelve months. We appreciate your patience. Phone calls, emails, and letters will not speed up the process, and are strongly discouraged.