Founded in 2003, Steel Toe Books has published 30 books and is excited to add prose (fiction and nonfiction) books to our diverse catalog of upcoming titles. 

Steel Toe Books

Steel Toe Books looks to publish full length books from our open submission pool, selected by the editors and other staff each year. Our open submission period will be looked at with a different eye, favoring connection and personal criteria.  We offer 15 copies and a standard publication contract, with invitations to events and readings. All books are sold via BookShop, Amazon, and other venues.
Submissions may be declined or accepted on a rolling basis. It will generally take us 9-12 months to reply, sometimes less and occasionally more. With our quarterly system of open submissions, we do aim to only be 2 quarters behind at a time. If it's been 12 months or you have an offer and would like to check the status of your manuscript, please reach us through the Submittable interface or through social media.
Submission Guidelines:           Please include a short bio in the section below and attach your submission separately with no identifying marks.  We encourage all identities, peoples, and positive beliefs to submit!
Manuscript Formatting Guidelines:              12 point font, single space in any standard font style.                 ***please remove author name and other author identifying remarks from the submission***                 Submissions may be accepted or declined on a rolling basis.
Deadline:          April 1, 2026
We organize reading on a quarterly system. We use the quarterly system to announce when we are reading to help ourselves organize periods and in order to help writers with gauging our reading periods.

Full-length Open: Nonfiction

Full-length Open: Fiction

Full-length Open: Poetry

$500 award and publication for a full-length poetry collection. No maximum page count. All manuscripts are considered for standard publication in addition to the prize. Longlist, shortlist, and the award are announced in December 2025. The selection will also receive a $1,000 promotional campaign across social media and other ad networks.
Deadline: August 31, 2026
Reading:
Our policy is to read submissions blind. Also, we follow the CLMP Contest Code of Ethics.
Submission Guidelines:
Please include a short bio in the section below and attach your submission separately with no identifying marks.            Manuscript Formatting Guidelines:         12 pt font, single space.         ***please remove author name and other author identifying remarks from the submission***         We encourage all identities, peoples, and positive beliefs to submit!               Please see our previous award winners and announcements for insight into our selection process:
2025 Award Selections and Lists
2024 Award Selections and Lists
2023 Award Selections and Lists
2022 Award Selections and Lists
2021 Award Selections and Lists
2020 Award Selections and Lists
*All awards are an advance and against royalties.

Prize in Poetry

$500 award and publication for a full-length collection of prose in the form of Novel, Short Story, Essay, Creative Nonfiction, Memoir and hybrid forms. No maximum page count. All manuscripts are considered for standard publication in addition to the prize. Longlist, shortlist, and award are announced in December 2025. The selection will also receive a $1,000 promotional campaign across social media and other ad networks.
Deadline:
August 31
Reading:

     Our policy is to read submissions blind. Also, we follow the CLMP Contest Code of Ethics.

 

 Submission Guidelines:

      Include a summary of the book as well as a longer synopsis (250 words max) in the section below and submit the    manuscript separately with no identifying marks.  Please also include a short bio.
Manuscript Formatting Guidelines:

       12 pt font, double spaced.

        ***please remove all identifying marks from the submission***

       We encourage all identities, peoples, and positive beliefs to submit!

 

       Please see our previous award winners and announcements for insight into our selection process:
2025 Award Selections and Lists
2023 Award Selections and Lists

 2022 Award Selections and Lists

 2021 Award Selections and Lists

 2020 Award Selections and Lists
*Award is an advance against royalties.

Steel Toe Books

Highlights

About

Featured Call

Prize in Poetry