Submissions

Our main social media platform is X (formerly twitter), please do follow us on @vpresspoetry. (We appreciate that X (formerly twitter) may not be an author's main social media platform. But we do expect our authors to have an X (twitter) account which they use, so that we can tag them in on posts and mutually support each other's promotion of their V. Press title.  Obviously, for anyone considering submitting to V. Press, following and engaging with us and V. Press authors is also a good way of getting to know us and how we work, as is reading our titles and the 'Structuring a Pamphlet' pdf detailed further down this page.

When submitting, please do take care to read and follow all the guidelines below. Thank you. 

V.PRESS is generally open to expressions of interest from authors/editors who wish to recommend another writer or be a V. Press guest editor for a specific chapbook (pamphlet) title. These should be from authors/editors already known to V. Press/V. Press M.D. Sarah Leavesley. Please send a short outline email initially to vpresspoetryAThotmailDOTcom. (Please bear in mind how fast we're able to reply, and what we're able to consider when, will be subject to workload and scheduling. Some approaches may come at a better time than others.) 

If you are not currently published by V. Press and wish to submit your manuscript (poetry pamphlets/poetry collections/flash fiction pamphlets only) to V. Press, please make sure you submit within our relevant submissions window or that you have already emailed to agree a potential submission date with Sarah Leavesley. When sending your submission, please make that you have read and followed our submission guidelines (below). We look forward to reading your work.

One further requirement in addition to those listed below is that authors include a short paragraph about one (or more) V. Press publication and why they liked it. This should help submitting authors to create a very, very statement that fits with V. Press, as well as presenting their own work at its best. (V. Press titles may be bought through this website, found at The Poetry Library at Southbank Centre and there are also sample poems, blurbs, reviews and recommendations for our titles on this website.)


GENERAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES, PRESENTATION OF WORK & CONDITIONS 

Stage 1: Submissions of a small sample of poems/flashes from the complete pamphlet/collection (depending on what the particular submission window is open for) should be made as detailed below. From this a longlist will be drawn. Once those on the longlist have been contacted, they will have a month to submit their full pamphlet/collection.

Stage 2: A shortlist will be drawn up, from which we will select those poetry pamphlets/collections that  we are able to offer publication to. A standard publishing contract, author discount, and expected publication date will then be discussed and agreed on an individual basis with the selected authors.

NB Please do not submit your work if you are not prepared to discuss possible editing suggestions. While we have no wish to be heavy-handed with authors on this front, we will not publish anything that we are not happy with in terms of the quality.

Stage 1 Submission

1)      A sample of ten single-sided A4 pages of poetry or single-sided pages of flash fiction from a finished manuscript should be sent via email as one MS Word document (unless an accompanying pdf submission has also already been agreed), with a front page stating all the poem/flash fiction titles for the whole manuscript (not just the sample) and the title of the overall pamphlet/collection. If you are submitting poetry, please specify whether the submission is for a chapbook/pamphlet (32-36 pages in total when published, including non-poetry pages) or a full collection (40+ pages of poetry).

2)  The front page should also include a 200-300 statement about what makes the complete pamphlet/collection ‘very very’. This is the author’s chance to sell both the work (as might, for example, be found on the back of the book or in a blurb for the V. Press website) and also outline what makes it the right fit for V. Press’s list. This list is open to be defined by the books that we publish, so please do impress, surprise and wow us.

3)      General conditions also apply (see below).

4)      Email to: vpresspoetryAThotmailDOTcom during relevant submission windows (or during the period agreed with V. Press in advance) only.

5)      Please read these guidelines and conditions carefully. Any submissions that do not follow them are likely to be returned unread, or may not receive a reply at all.

General Conditions

1) POETRY: The maximum number of lines of poetry per page is 30 lines, not including titles/stanza breaks. The poetry may be in any style but only one poem per page.

2) FLASH FICTION. The absolute maximum word count for each flash fiction is 1000 words. However, it is worth noting that our general preferences tend to be towards shorter flash fictions. Please double space flash fiction submissions.

3)  Each submission should include a cover email with the author’s name, pamphlet/collection title and full contact details (postal address, email address, contact telephone, real name and the name under which the pamphlet/collection would be published, if this is different to the poet’s real name).

4)  The author’s name should not appear anywhere else on the manuscript.

5)  Manuscripts should be sent as one attachment in MS Word (unless an accompanying pdf submission has also already been agreed) format to: vpresspoetryAThotmailDOTcom.

6) The work must be original and written in English.

7)  At this stage, the author must be a U.K. resident and CURRENTLY LIVING in the U.K. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE A C/O OR FAMILY MEMBER'S ADDRESS IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY MOSTLY BASED ABROAD.  

8) Individual poems/flash fictions included may have been published elsewhere, but no more than 50 % of the individual poems/flashes should have previously been published elsewhere individually, and no more than 5 poems/flashes should previously have been published together in one place/book.

9) All poems/flash fictions submitted must be original work by the submitter. The submitter must be the copyright holder.

9b) Work submitted to and published by V. Press should not be AI generated or AI edited.

[If you are a poet working experimentally and using AI as part of that process (such as with Oulipo n+7 generators or mesostic generators) then please email us first to check if we are able to consider this.]

10) Translated, illustrated and posthumous work is not currently eligible for consideration.

11) Submissions which are collaborative or written by several authors won't be considered.

12) Writers aged under 18 should include their age with their submission.

13) Submission is deemed as acceptance of these conditions.


An interview with V. Press M.D. and editor Sarah Leavesley can also be found at Six Questions For... here.

'Structuring a Pamphlet'

Sarah Leavesley has also put together a short (eight A4 pages) guidance sheet on 'Structuring a Pamphlet'. The advice and points to consider are based on Sarah's own experience as a writer putting together her pamphlets and collections, as well as her work as an editor reading and working on other writers' manuscripts. This guidance sheet is mainly intended for those putting together a poetry pamphlet. But some of the points on it may also be useful for flash pamphlets and full collections. This guide is free, though a voluntary Tip-jar donation of £2 is invited.

For a pdf copy of 'Structuring a Pamphlet', please either email Sarah at vpresspoetry@hotmail.com or click on the paypal Tip-jar donation button below.

F.A.Q.

I'm based overseas, will you consider my collection?

Historically, our answer to this has been no, not just for the press's sake but for the benefit for the poets as logistics/distribution/posting internationally can be expensive and tricky. For a submission from an author based outside of the U.K., we would definitely expect them to have good following of readers/book-buyers in the UK and ideas on how to market and sale the book without live U.K. readings, particularly with poetry. For flash authors based internationally, we might potentially consider a short-run publication with accompanying e-book version for overseas sale.