Tulipwood works with poets to develop and publish their poetry manuscript, transforming a project idea into a book. After its release, we support this book in bookstores, book fairs, and events with the author and their community. Plus royalties.

Tulipwood Books is a collaborative poetry press. 

We strive to cultivate a literary community that rejects competition and encourages poets to thrive through voice and craft.

We imagine a poetry industry in which poets can write, develop, and publish their work in community with other poets. Unlike those presses who tell you to send your best, then accept or reject, Tulipwood understands that a poem changes and grows throughout its life. We choose projects that spark with us and poets who remind us how to be human. 

As a press, our poetics celebrate the poetic image and the music of language. The poems we admire reach down into us and show us something we’ve always known but were previously unable to express. Rhythm and meter are tools of the poet, as are rhyme and other incarnations of sound. We hold that poetry is a living thing—full of (as Eduardo C. Corral puts it) emotional, intellectual, and linguistic pleasures.

Our work condemns the commoditization of poetry. There is no drive toward celebrity here, only poems in various stages of completion. No one poet is better than any other poet. We believe that poetry is an art form that requires at least two collaborators—the poet and the reader—and we seek to elevate this communication which transcends our very lives. 

Simply put, every poem is a collaboration.


Submissions are open to adults who live in the United States (this is for legal and tax reasons).

Tulipwood Books

Tulipwood Books is a developmental-editing poetry press. We work with authors to develop a manuscript toward publication, and we're excited to get the chance to collaborate with you. Please read more about the press at our website: tulipwood.org

We read on a rolling basis. All poems are considered individually for publication in our annual journal, seedfall. All poems receive editorial feedback. If you wish to forgo feedback, please indicate this in your cover letter. 

Please send 10 pages of poetry and a 500-word description of the project, along with any questions that you might have for us, via our Submittable portal. 

This is not a hybrid publisher or vanity press—we develop poetry, not product. Our focus is on collaboration with poets to co-create works of literary art. 

We do not consider previously-published work.

Poetry Manuscript In-Progress

<b>We invite you to submit work on this year's theme: Lore.</b><div><br></div><div>Lore is story—both true and imagined. Lore carries connotations of family myth-making, of cultural wisdom, of shared ethics. It is knowledge gained through study. “Lore” shares a root with “learn.” Mythology travels alongside lore, with elements of whimsy, memoir, and otherworldliness.</div><div><br></div><div>In the tradition of “Turn of the Screw,” tell us a story within a story. Bring us into the hand-told tale passed down from generations, the anecdote, the vignette sanded smooth by Time, where the act of remembering and retelling, with no strict allegiance to fact or to fiction, is our resistance.</div><div><br></div><div>What customs and experiences have shaped you? Send us your musings on fact versus fiction, your own personal mythologies and the secrets you have been waiting to share. We can create our own lore just as easily as we can live by another’s. To quote bell hooks, “We chart our lives by everything we remember—from the mundane moment to the majestic. We know ourselves through the art and act of remembering.”</div><div><br></div><div><b>Tulipwood Books is a developmental-editing press.</b> We work with authors to develop work toward publication, and we're excited to get the chance to collaborate with you.</div><div><br></div><div><b>For <i>seedfall</i>, we only consider work from women and trans and nonbinary people</b>. Please respect this constraint. See our other submission calls for opportunities open to people of all genders.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Submissions</b></div><div><ul><li>Please send only previously unpublished work: 3-5 poems (totaling no more than 10 pages), or one prose piece (and 3000 words or less), along with a cover letter, short bio, and any questions that you might have for us, via our Submittable portal.</li><li>.docx or .pdf format for writing</li><li>Please start each new poem on a new page.</li><li>Use a 12-point font or larger, and a standard typeface like Times New Roman or Aptos.</li><li>Please submit writing that you are willing to develop with an editor.</li></ul></div><div><br></div><div><b>Collaboration</b></div><div>If your work is chosen for publication, we will notify you via Submittable and contact you via email with our edits.</div><div>Your work will not be published until all edits are approved by both author and editor.</div><div><br></div><div>Please consider buying a back issue to get a sense of what we publish. Find out more about the journal and the press at our website: tulipwood.org</div><div><br></div><div><b>Policies</b></div><div><ul><li>Tulipwood Books retains North American First Serial Rights for accepted work. Rights revert to the author upon publication.</li><li>We do consider previously-published work, but you must provide acknowledgement and written proof that you retain the rights to the work.</li><li>We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately If your work is accepted elsewhere. Once we accept your work, we expect that you will withdraw it from consideration elsewhere.</li><li>There is no guarantee of publication.</li></ul></div><div><br></div><div><b>Terms of Use</b></div><div><ul><li>No hate speech. This includes: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, ableism, or any other oppressive or shameful language of any kind.</li><li>No sexual violence. Other violence is also not recommended.</li><li>No depictions of self-harm, suicide, or suicidal ideation. No exceptions.</li><li>No AI-generated or AI-collaborated work. This should go without saying.</li></ul></div>

seedfall: LORE — Fiction

<b>We invite you to submit work on this year's theme: Lore.</b><div><br></div><div>Lore is story—both true and imagined. Lore carries connotations of family myth-making, of cultural wisdom, of shared ethics. It is knowledge gained through study. “Lore” shares a root with “learn.” Mythology travels alongside lore, with elements of whimsy, memoir, and otherworldliness.</div><div><br></div><div>In the tradition of “Turn of the Screw,” tell us a story within a story. Bring us into the hand-told tale passed down from generations, the anecdote, the vignette sanded smooth by Time, where the act of remembering and retelling, with no strict allegiance to fact or to fiction, is our resistance.</div><div><br></div><div>What customs and experiences have shaped you? Send us your musings on fact versus fiction, your own personal mythologies and the secrets you have been waiting to share. We can create our own lore just as easily as we can live by another’s. To quote bell hooks, “We chart our lives by everything we remember—from the mundane moment to the majestic. We know ourselves through the art and act of remembering.”</div><div><br></div><div><b>Tulipwood Books is a developmental-editing press.</b> We work with authors to develop work toward publication, and we're excited to get the chance to collaborate with you.</div><div>For seedfall, we only consider work from women and trans and nonbinary people. Please respect this constraint. See our other submission calls for opportunities open to people of all genders.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Submissions</b></div><div><ul><li>Please send only previously unpublished work: 3-5 poems (totaling no more than 10 pages), or one prose piece (and 3000 words or less), along with a cover letter, short bio, and any questions that you might have for us, via our Submittable portal.</li><li>.docx or .pdf format for writing</li><li>Please start each new poem on a new page.</li><li>Use a 12-point font or larger, and a standard typeface like Times New Roman or Aptos.</li><li>Please submit writing that you are willing to develop with an editor.</li></ul></div><div><br></div><div><b>Collaboration</b></div><div>If your work is chosen for publication, we will notify you via Submittable and contact you via email with our edits.</div><div>Your work will not be published until all edits are approved by both author and editor.</div><div><br></div><div>Please consider buying a back issue to get a sense of what we publish. Find out more about the journal and the press at our website: tulipwood.org</div><div><br></div><div><b>Policies</b></div><div><ul><li>Tulipwood Books retains North American First Serial Rights for all accepted work. Rights revert to the author upon publication.</li><li>We do consider previously-published work, but you must provide acknowledgement and written proof that you retain the rights to the work.</li><li>We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please <b>notify us immediately If your work is accepted elsewhere</b>. Once we accept your work, we expect that you will withdraw it from consideration elsewhere.</li><li>There is no guarantee of publication.</li></ul></div><div><br></div><div><b>Terms of Use</b></div><div><ul><li>No hate speech. This includes: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, ableism, or any other oppressive or shameful language of any kind.</li><li>No sexual violence. Other violence is also not recommended.</li><li>No depictions of self-harm, suicide, or suicidal ideation. No exceptions.</li><li>No AI-generated or AI-collaborated work. This should go without saying.</li></ul></div>

seedfall: LORE — Nonfiction

<b>We invite you to submit work on this year's theme: Lore.</b><div>
Lore is story—both true and imagined. Lore carries connotations of family myth-making, of cultural wisdom, of shared ethics. It is knowledge gained through study. “Lore” shares a root with “learn.” Mythology travels alongside lore, with elements of whimsy, memoir, and otherworldliness.</div><div>
In the tradition of “Turn of the Screw,” tell us a story within a story. Bring us into the hand-told tale passed down from generations, the anecdote, the vignette sanded smooth by Time, where the act of remembering and retelling, with no strict allegiance to fact or to fiction, is our resistance.</div><div>
What customs and experiences have shaped you? Send us your musings on fact versus fiction, your own personal mythologies and the secrets you have been waiting to share. We can create our own lore just as easily as we can live by another’s. To quote bell hooks, “We chart our lives by everything we remember—from the mundane moment to the majestic. We know ourselves through the art and act of remembering.”</div><div>
<b>Tulipwood Books is a developmental-editing press.</b> We work with authors to develop work toward publication, and we're excited to get the chance to collaborate with you.</div><div>
<b>For <i>seedfall</i>, we only consider work from women and trans and nonbinary people</b>. Please respect this constraint. See our other submission calls for opportunities open to people of all genders.</div><div>
<b>Submissions</b>
<ul><li>Please send only previously unpublished work: 3-5 poems (totaling no more than 10 pages), or one prose piece (and 3000 words or less), along with a cover letter, short bio, and any questions that you might have for us, via our Submittable portal.</li><li>.docx or .pdf format for writing</li><li>Please start each new poem on a new page.</li><li>Use a 12-point font or larger, and a standard typeface like Times New Roman or Aptos.</li><li>Please submit writing that you are willing to develop with an editor.
</li></ul><br></div><div><b>Collaboration</b>
If your work is chosen for publication, we will notify you via Submittable and contact you via email with our edits.
Your work will not be published until all edits are approved by both author and editor.
<br></div><div>Please consider buying a back issue to get a sense of what we publish. Find out more about the journal and the press at our website: tulipwood.org
<br></div><div><b>Policies</b>
<ul><li>Tulipwood Books retains North American First Serial Rights for all accepted work. Rights revert to the author upon publication.</li><li>We do consider previously-published work, but you must provide acknowledgement and written proof that you retain the rights to the work.</li><li>We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately If your work is accepted elsewhere. Once we accept your work, we expect that you will withdraw it from consideration elsewhere.
</li><li>There is no guarantee of publication.
</li></ul><br></div><div><b>Terms of Use</b>
<ul><li>No hate speech. This includes: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, ableism, or any other oppressive or shameful language of any kind.</li><li>No sexual violence. Other violence is also not recommended.
</li><li>No depictions of self-harm, suicide, or suicidal ideation. No exceptions.</li><li>No AI-generated or AI-collaborated work. This should go without saying.</li></ul></div>

seedfall: LORE — Poetry

We invite you to submit work on this year's theme: Lore.
Lore is story—both true and imagined. Lore carries connotations of family myth-making, of cultural wisdom, of shared ethics. It is knowledge gained through study. “Lore” shares a root with “learn.” Mythology travels alongside lore, with elements of whimsy, memoir, and otherworldliness.
In the tradition of “Turn of the Screw,” show us a story within a story. Bring us into the hand-told image passed down from generations, the anecdote, the vignette sanded smooth by Time, where the act of remembering and retelling, with no strict allegiance to fact or to fiction, is our resistance.
What customs and experiences have shaped you? Send us your take on fact versus fiction, your own personal mythologies and the secrets you have been waiting to share. We can create our own lore just as easily as we can live by another’s. To quote bell hooks, “We chart our lives by everything we remember—from the mundane moment to the majestic. We know ourselves through the art and act of remembering.”
For seedfall, we only consider work from women and trans and nonbinary people. Please respect this constraint. See our other submission calls for opportunities open to people of all genders.
Submissions
Please send 3-5 pieces, along with a cover letter, short bio, and any questions that you might have for us, via our Submittable portal.
We print seedfall at 8" x 8”, with .125” bleed
300 dpi, full color
Collaboration
Please indicate in your cover letter if you're comfortable with text overlay with your image. For example, our design team might see potential in a broadside to appear in our pages or on its own. You will be consulted and have final approval of any collaboration.
Policies
We do accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us immediately If your work is accepted elsewhere. Once we accept your work, we expect that you will withdraw it from consideration elsewhere.
Tulipwood Books retains North American First Serial Rights for all accepted work. Rights revert to the author upon publication.
We do consider previously-published work, but you must provide acknowledgment and written proof that you retain the rights to the work.
There is no guarantee of publication.
A few rules about submissions.
This submission call is for work by writers who are 18 years of age and older.
Work that was self-published on social media is fine, but we are unable to consider work previously published in a journal or magazine.
No hate speech. This includes: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, ableism, cultural appropriation, or any other oppressive or shameful language of any kind.
No sexual violence. Other violence is also not recommended.
No depictions of self-harm, suicide, or suicidal ideation. No exceptions.
No AI-generated or AI-collaborated work. This should go without saying.
Please make sure that you've read and understand the policies above. Any work that violates these policies is not eligible for publication.

Tulipwood Books

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seedfall: LORE — Fiction