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bitteroleander.com

Bitter Oleander Press

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About the press

Bitter Oleander Press is an independent literary publisher and biannual journal founded in 1974 by Paul B. Roth. From its base in Fayetteville, New York, the press has maintained a singular commitment to poetry in translation and to voices that resist easy categorization. Its ethos is one of patient, hands-on editorial engagement: Roth and his small team often work closely with poets whose primary language is not English, publishing bilingual editions and championing work that might otherwise remain invisible to Anglophone readers. The journal and book series share a taste for the lyrical, the surreal, and the spiritually searching—qualities that have earned the press a devoted readership rather than broad commercial attention.

Publishing focus

Books by the Bitter Oleander Press represent some of the best of contemporary poetry published in English and in translation. Although their concentration is primarily on contemporary poets in translation, they offer an annual competition for books of poetry in English as well. As a press, they seek out any language, uncommitted to the mediocre and the commonplace while being more integrated in the natural world. A language that helps define the same particulars in nature that exist in all of them and which have not been socialized out of them.

PoetryTranslationPoetry Collections

Selected authors
Duane Locke, Patty Dickson Pieczka, Alan Britt, Anthony Seidman, Silvia Scheibli, Rob Cook, Serena Fusek, Shawn Fawson, George Kalamaras, Paul B. Roth, Lara Gularte, Katherine Sánchez Espano, Patrick Lawler, Stephanie Dickinson, Jeff Royce, Carol Dine, Andrea Moorhead, Steve Barfield, Ray Keifetz, Christien Gholson, John Taylor, Stephanie Dickinson, Laurie Blauner, Sean Thomas Dougherty, Ye Chun, Tom Holmes, Shawn Fawson, Paul B. Roth, Christine Boyka Kluge, Ye Chun, David Chorlton, Austin LaGrone, Joyce Mansour, Benjamin Péret, Alberto Blanco, Jacques Dupin, André du Bouchet, Ana Minga, Hai Zi, Nora Ioga, Christine Lavant, Franca Mancinelli, Carsten René Nielsen, Marie Lundquist, Riad Saleh Hussein, Pierre Voélin, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Salvador Novo, Salgado Maranhao, José-Flore Tappy, and Béatrice Douvre.

Calls & opportunities

3 listed
ClosedDeadline · 2026-10-01

Bitter Oleander Press — Submissions

View opportunity Official listing
ClosedDeadline · 2026-10-01

Bitter Oleander Press — Submissions

View opportunity Official listing
ClosedDeadline · 2026-10-01

Bitter Oleander Press — Submissions

View opportunity Official listing

Manuscript submissions

Reading periodOct 1 to Mar 31
Reading feeNo
Response timeLess than 3 months
Simultaneous submissionsYes
Unsolicited submissionsNo

Before submitting, read several issues of the journal or a recent book from the press to understand its aesthetic range—favoring lyric, translation, and work with a mythic or dreamlike sensibility. The press accepts poetry, short fiction, and essays, but poetry and translation are central. Submit via postal mail unless the website specifies otherwise; simultaneous submissions are generally discouraged. Include a brief cover letter and a self-addressed stamped envelope for response. Response times can be long (several months), so patience is essential. Do not query about status before three months have passed. The press does not charge reading fees, but it also offers limited payment—often contributor copies—so submit with an understanding of small-press economics.

Please inquire before sending a full manuscript. We normally have an open reading period for translated manuscripts between October 1 through March 31 of each year with no reading fee. However, this year's open reading period has been suspended.

Read official guidelines
2 items

Explore titles from the press’s catalogue.

Inhabit the Brief Halt by Béatrice Douvre

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Bitter Oleander pubslihed issues books poetry

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