Grand River Poetry Press

Manuscript submissions

Before submitting, read at least two recent titles from the press to understand its aesthetic range. The press accepts full-length manuscripts and chapbooks during open reading periods, typically announced on its website and social media. Include a brief cover letter that contextualizes your work and its relationship to place or community, but avoid over-explaining. Simultaneous submissions are accepted with immediate notification. The editors value poems that are polished but not sterile, and they appreciate a clear sense of the manuscript as a cohesive whole. Response times vary, but queries after three months are welcome.

We celebrate and build community by elevating genuine voices. Reaching the manuscript stage is hard work—and worth celebrating. With a Michigan regional focus, we foster poets who read, learn from, and support one another through craft discussion and thoughtful responses. We operate as a collective, bartering skills to publish books with equitable arrangements for poets; proceeds fund the publication of more titles. Submit a complete poetry manuscript (typically 60–90 pages) with a brief cover letter and short bio. We launch titles through a Grand Rapids reading series and also publish the online journal The River.