Frequently Asked Questions

How do I send a manuscript to you for publication?

We only accept submissions through our prizes and submission periods each year. Most of the year our time is dedicated to the books we have signed.

Can I pitch my unfinished book to you in an email?

No. We only consider finished manuscripts, and we never consider manuscripts sent to us through email.

your guidelines list the number of pages that a manuscript should be, but how many words is that?

As long as your manuscript is the appropriate number of pages, for either the fiction, essay, or poetry requirements, is double-spaced (for fiction and essay), and in 12-point standard font, it will be considered for the prize. In fiction, you can generally count on 250-300 words per manuscript page. We don’t check page count before we begin reading, but if the page count is over, it will weigh in our ultimate decision.

I submitted a manuscript to one of your Prizes/reading periods and have not heard anything back yet. When can I expect to hear something?

Regarding our Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and the Sarabande Prize in The Essay, our judges reach their decision by July, and everyone is informed shortly thereafter. Regarding our open reading periods, all of the reading is done in-house. We try to get an answer back to everyone as soon as we can, but encourage you to reach out if it’s been longer than six months after the period has closed.

Will finalists be considered for publication even if they do not win the prize?

Yes, they will. Sarabande generally publishes one or two additional manuscripts from the prize finalists. You are a finalist if you receive a letter telling you so. Finalists also receive free entry to the next year’s prize. If your collection is not a finalist, you are welcome to try again next year, as we use a new set of readers and a new judge. Decisions regarding additional publication of finalists are made later in the year, according to need. If we decide to publish your manuscript, you will hear from us by telephone.