Submissions
Autumn House Press publishes 6-8 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction each year. We accept manuscripts for our annual fiction, nonfiction, and poetry prizes; and through a publishing partnership with the Center for African American Poetry and Poetics.
We encourage writers from all backgrounds to submit; it is our goal at Autumn House to develop a rich and varied literary tradition. Though we are open to a wide variety of styles of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, we suggest you take a moment to read our “About Us” page and familiarize yourself with previous Autumn House publications before submitting your work.
We only accept manuscripts through our submission manager, Duosuma. Please, do not mail or email submissions to us. We will not read or respond to these submissions.
If you have any questions, please check our FAQs page!
Prizes
- Autumn House Prizes
- Fiction: Winners receive publication of their full-length manuscripts. Each winner also receives a $1,000 honorarium and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote the book. The submission period opens on January 1, 2026, and closes on February 28, 2026 (Eastern Time). The final judge is Amber Sparks.
- Nonfiction: Winners receive publication of their full-length manuscripts. Each winner also receives a $1,000 honorarium and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote the book. The submission period opens March 1, 2026, and closes April 30, 2026 (Eastern Time). The final judge is Ira Sukrungruang.
- Poetry Winners of each prize receive publication of their full-length manuscripts. Each winner also receives a $1,000 honorarium and a $1,500 travel/publicity grant to promote the book. The submission period opens May 1, 2026, and closes June 30, 2026 (Eastern Time). The final judge is Felicia Zamora.
Partnership Prizes
- CAAPP Book Prize: Our partnership with The Center for African American Poetry and Poetics allows AHP the opportunity to publish and promote work by a writer of African descent. The prize will be awarded to a first or second book by a writer of African descent and is open to the full range of writers embodying African and African diasporic experience. The winner receives publication by AHP and a $3,000 honorarium. The book can be of any genre that is, or intersects with, poetry, including poetry, hybrid work, speculative prose, and/or translation. The reading period opens on November 5, 2025, and closes on December 15, 2025; the final judge for the 2025 prize is Ladan Osman. To submit online, please visit CAAPP’s online submission manager.
A Note on Publishing with Autumn House
At Autumn House, we see our relationships with our authors as partnerships, and we work closely with our authors to support them during the editorial process and well beyond the book’s release. In this spirit, Autumn House Press offers all our authors:
- Their books will be nominated for numerous book prizes such as the National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize, PEN America Literary Awards, CLMP Firecracker Awards, National Book Critics Circle Awards, and more
- Support and guidance with the promotion of the title
- 50+ print and digital galleys sent to major reviewer outlets 5-6 months before publication
- At least 25+ finished review copies sent to reviewers and review outlets 1-3 months before publication; this list will be compiled with input from the author
- Distribution through the Consortium Book Sales and Distribution
- 35 author copies from the first print run
- 12 percent royalties on print titles and 25 percent on digital*
- 50 percent discount when purchasing additional copies of your title; 40 percent off any additional AHP titles
* royalties are paid on sales that are 50% of the list price or greater, excluding author purchases
