Submission Guidelines

Trio House Press sponsors an Open Reading Period in June each year, two annual poetry awards, one annual novel award, one annual creative nonfiction award, and one award that alternates between poetry (even years) and prose (odd years). Other titles will also be published from selections submitted or re-submitted during the Open Reading period.

The Trio Award for First or Second Book for emerging poets for a book of poems contributing in an innovative and distinct way to American poetry. 

The Louise Bogan Award for poets at any level of publication.

Each award winner receives $1000 and twenty copies of their book, along with assistance in marketing the book.

The Aurora Polaris Creative Nonfiction Award

Award winners receive $1,000 and twenty copies of their book, along with assistance in marketing the book.

The Scott King Award

In even years beginning in 2026, Trio House Press will award The Scott King Award in Eco-Poetry for a poetry collection concerned with ecological, environmental, nature, and/or rural themes. In odd years beginning in 2027, Trio House Press will award The Scott King Award in Environmental Prose for nonfiction concerned with ecological, environmental, nature, and/or rural themes. The judge for 2026 is Anna Lena Phillips Bell. Winners will receive $1,000 and publication.

The Agate Award

Each year beginning in 2027, Trio House Press will award The Agate Award for the Novel. The winner will be chosen be an anonymous panel of readers and the Trio House Press editors. Winners will receive $1,500 and publication.

2026-27 SUBMISSION PERIODS:

August 1 , 2026 - November 7, 2026: The Scott King Award in Eco-Poetry

November 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027: Trio Award and Louise Bogan Award

January 1 - March 31, 2027: Agate Award for the Novel

February 1 - May 15, 2027: Aurora Polaris Award in Creative Nonfiction

June 1 - June 30, 2027: Open Reading Period

August 1, 2027 - November 7, 2027: The Scott King Award in Environmental Prose

Our submissions fee is $25 per manuscript for all award reading periods, except for the Agate Award, which is $30 per manuscript. We do not waive submission fees for contests, but do offer a fee-free option during our open reading period for authors with incomes of $50,000 or less per year.

Judges are forwarded unmarked manuscripts for consideration. Relatives, close friends, and current or former students of contest judges are not eligible for publication. 

 Our submissions process adheres to and supports all ethical standards and guidelines outlined by the CLMP.

GENERAL GUIDELINES (FOR ALL PERIODS/CONTESTS)

All manuscripts must be written primarily in English, and authors must reside in the United States and if published by Trio House Press, commit to significant readings and other appearances in the US regularly throughout the first year of publication of the book.

•  The Trio  Award for First or Second Book is only open to poets submitting their first or second poetry book manuscript. Books and chapbooks with ISBN's are considered  "books". Writers who have published more than two books in other genres but no books of poetry are still eligible for the Trio Award. Those ineligible for the Trio Award are encouraged to enter the Bogan Award.  
•  The Louise Bogan Award for Artistic Merit and Excellence is open to ALL poets, regardless of publication history.  
•  The  Aurora Polaris Award, The Scott King Award, and the Agate Award are all open to all writers, regardless of publication  history. 
• We do not accept submissions of books that have previously been self-published.
• We do not accept submissions of books that have been previously published by other publishers for any of our contests. If the book is out of print and the rights have reverted to the author, these books MAY be submitted during our Open Reading period.
• Translations are only accepted during out Open Reading period, and submissions must identify the rights holder to the work being translated. Submissions where the rights have been acquired by translators are preferred. Translators must meet the US residency and promotional requirements above, and are encouraged to submit a marketing plan.
•  Poetry  manuscripts must be 48-120 pages of poetry (excluding title page, table  of contents, and all front matter), written in English by a poet residing within the U.S.; creative nonfiction manuscripts must be more than 48 pages long, written in English by an author residing within the U.S.  
•  No submissions are accepted that are written by someone who is deceased.  
•  Reading  fees are not waived for contests for any reason, as those funds are used  to pay the costs of the contest and the publication of the winning books. We encourage those who cannot  afford the reading fee to send us work during the Open Reading period in June, when reading fees are waived for those who earn less the $50K per year.  
•  Submissions generated using generative AI, in full or in part, are prohibited. We publish 100% human generated books, and if your submission includes AI, it will be disqualified.  
•  Manuscripts  should be submitted in one Word or PDF file. Trio Award, Bogan Award, and Scott King poetry entries must be stripped of all information identifying the author by first and last name. Aurora Polaris Award manuscripts, Scott King prose manuscripts, Agate manuscripts, and manuscripts submitted during the Open Reading Period need not be stripped of identifying information.  
•  Write a cover letter that gives us an idea of who you are and what your book is about. Other things to include: we like to publish people who are connected and understand their role in promoting books through readings and other methods, so go into detail about how you already do that. We also like to see that it's easy to book you and contact you to set up readings.  To that end, please include links to your webpage,  social media, or other online presences, and make sure you have updated those recently. 
•  Include  an acknowledgement page of individual poems or essays or excerpts published within the  manuscript.  The manuscript as a whole must not be previously published. This includes "publishing" on Substack, Creative Commons, Instagram or other platforms where they are available for viewing/download.  
•  Multiple award submissions are accepted as long as the reading fee accompanies each award submission.  
•  Simultaneous submissions are accepted as long as we are notified immediately if your manuscript is chosen elsewhere, and you withdraw your manuscript on Submittable at that time.  
•  Relatives  and current or former students of judges are not eligible for awards or  publication during our contest submissions period. Authors previously published by Trio House Press are also ineligible to enter our contests, but are welcome to submit outside of our normal submission periods by emailing us directly.  
•  No edits  can be made to manuscripts after you submit your manuscript.  However,  if chosen for award or publication, edits can and likely will be made prior to final  proofs.  
•  In the  unlikely event that, due to unexpected illness or life events, that a  judge is unable to select an award winner, a member of the Trio House  Press Editorial staff will select the award winner for the contests.  
•  Your submission acknowledges that you understand and agree to all guidelines.  
• Entrants will be notified on Submittable of the status of their submissions when finalists are chosen, usually within a month of the closing date of the contest. Finalists and winners will be announced on our website and on social media.