Seren Books, the publishing arm of Poetry Wales Press, are open to submissions for poetry collections (between 55pp & 72pp) and poetry pamphlets (25pp maximum) until 5PM Monday 30th September 2024. Submissions sent after this time will not be able to be considered.
Please note that these submissions are not connected to the magazine Poetry Wales, and all enquiries about them must be directed to poetrysubmissions@serenbooks.com.
Seren’s Poetry Editors are looking for:
- An initial sample of 15-20 pages of poems, along with a description of the poetry collection/pamphlet. See further details below.
- We are open to poets from everywhere, but poets from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or England are more likely to be selected.
For poetry collections:
- We are interested in books that might build on our priorities, such as;
- writing about nature and the ecological crisis;
- poetry from voices traditionally marginalised in publishing including disabled writers, LGBTQ+ writers or writers of the global majority;
- poetry of everyday wonder; or writing about Welsh life and history.
For pamphlets:
- We are interested in publishing new writers from Wales and the UK, and we are especially interested in publishing poets who have not necessarily had a typical route into poetry or the privilege of academic support or mentoring.
Please note that our poetry list is already full for most of 2025, so submissions will be being considered for publication in 2026 and 2027.
To Submit
Email the following requirements to poetrysubmissions@serenbooks.com by 5pm on Monday 30th September 2024 with the subject line ‘2024 Poetry Submission’:
- Your name, email address and phone number
- Working title
- Type of submission e.g. full collection or pamphlet
- Blurb of the collection/pamphlet [maximum 250 words]
- A sample of 15-20 pages of poems
- A biography of the writer or writers [maximum 150 words per lead writer/s and 50 per person thereafter]
- Any endorsements you have for the book already (if applicable)
- What is the core and target reader and bookseller? [maximum 150 words] Outline who would be interested in reading and stocking this book, who might be interested in it, and why. Supporting information will strengthen your case e.g. comparable titles, possible content which would align with this demographic’s interests and values.
- How would you support a marketing campaign? [maximum 100 words] Seren is a small independent publisher with limited access to advertising funds. Marketing books often relies upon active writers, in-person and online. Tell us about any existing networks or communities you belong to and (realistic!) promotional ideas you might have.
Terms and Conditions
- We respect the intellectual property of your book ideas and will never act upon or share these outside the submission process.
- We cannot accept paper submissions – any posted submissions received will not be considered or acknowledged.
- We cannot read content supplied which exceeds the word count indicated. Any additional word count will not be considered.
- We can only consider submissions from writers aged eighteen or over.
- We are a small team and cannot discuss submissions on an individual level.
- We will not consider submissions received after 5pm on Monday 30thSeptember 2024.
- Submissions will only be considered if they fulfil all the criteria and requirements, as outlined in the call-out brief. We will be unable to follow-up missing elements.
- We will acknowledge receipt of your emailed submission and the outcome of the commissioning process. Due to the anticipated popularity of this opportunity, if unsuccessful, we will be unable to correspond further about the outcome.
- Book ideas which are selected for development are subject to additional commissioning processes, including proposal to the Seren Books Publications Sub-committee. Book publication is not agreed until writers are contracted. Terms within all issued contracts apply.
- We cannot accept simultaneous submissions or pursue book ideas which are in development elsewhere. You must notify us if you submit the idea to other opportunities or publishers so we can withdraw it from our commissioning process.
- We will store and use your contact data and submission content in compliance with Data Protection legislation. We will never share it with third parties.
- We will never ask you to contribute financially to a book’s publication. Please do not respond to communications asking for money, unless you have pre-agreed purchasing printed copies from us.