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Word Works [1]

Basic Information
Address: 
P.O. Box 42164
Zip / Postal Code: 
20015
Submission Guidelines: 
https://wordworksbooks.org/submissions [2]
City: 
Washington
Website: 
https://wordworksbooks.org [3]
Logo or Cover Image (Choose a file, then click upload.): 
State: 
District of Columbia
Country: 
United States
Contact Information
Contact Title: 
President
Contact First Name: 
Nancy
White
Contact E-mail: 
Details
Genres Published: 
Poetry
Translation
Publishes Through Contests Only: 
No
Reading Periods: 
Thursday, January 15, 2026 to Sunday, March 15, 2026
Sunday, March 15, 2026 to Friday, May 15, 2026
Thursday, May 1, 2025 to Sunday, June 15, 2025
Sunday, June 1, 2025 to Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Response Time: 
Greater than 6 months
Book Types: 
Essay collections
Poetry collections
Formats: 
Paperback
Audio
Charges Reading Fee: 
Yes
Accepts Unsolicited Submissions: 
Yes
Accepts Simultaneous Submissions: 
Yes
Distributors: 
Ingram, Baker & Taylor
Tips From the Editor: 

The Word Works seeks brave, well-crafted work that is doing something new. For the Washington Prize (March 15 deadline), poets at all stages of their career may submit. The Hilary Tham Capital Collection (May 15 deadline) is reserved for poets who volunteer for literary nonprofits; nomination form available at our website. The Tenth Gate Prize, open to poets with at least 2 published full-length collections, accepts manuscripts June 1-July 15. Series Editor Jennifer Barber works with a new judge each year. May/June is an open reading period for all poets writing in English. Accepts all full-length collections including collaborations, New & Selected, and hybrid work. Check website for guidelines and a link to online submission manager. 

Titles per Year: 
11 to 20
Editorial Focus: 

Word Works looks for dynamically arranged manuscripts of well crafted poems. No subject, style, or form restrictions. Manuscripts are read anonymously by poet-readers, editors, and (sometimes) judges, all of whom care about strong voice and original work.

Representative Authors: 

Jennifer Barber, Chee Brossy, Cheryl Clarke, Deborah Kuan, Fred Marchant, Kevin McLellan, Jay Rogoff, Julie Marie Wade.

How many authors debut in each issue?: 
4-8
Publishing type: 
print only [4]

Source URL:https://www.pw.org/small_presses/the_word_works

Links
[1] https://www.pw.org/small_presses/the_word_works [2] https://wordworksbooks.org/submissions [3] https://wordworksbooks.org [4] https://www.pw.org/category/publishing_type/print_only