Contact/Submissions

readings. reviews. interviews. events.

• For all events, contact the author via her or his book page. If this doesn’t work, contact BYP at plbigyes@gmail.com.

book facts.

PLEASE NOTE: BIG YES PRESS is not ACCEPTING ANY NEW BOOK SUBMISSIONS IN 2024.

• BYPs serves every book with care.  This can take months, start to release, so if you are in a hurry, consider your options. 

• BYP makes no money from the sale of BYP books.  We do this because we want to do this!  

• All BYP books have a print run of in-the-hand books.  

• BYP is committed to authors owning their print runs and copyrights.  There is no pre-order or minimum copies sold.   

• BYP is a proud member of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP).  You can read more about CLMP at https://www.clmp.org/about/what-we-believe/ 

Unsolicited queries from established and emerging poets are welcome in 2025 according to these steps:

1. BE READY! HAVE a titled complete book length (minimum of 64-120 pages for poetry, longer in other genres) manuscript of ordered poetry or writing ready to submit before you query. NO chapbooks.

2. WHEN YOU ARE READY, send your query to plbigyes@gmail.com. Your query should include a brief book synopsis, short bio, and 3-5 poem sample or first chapter to plbigyes@gmail.com. Tell us how you heard about BYP and why you want to publish with BYP. We care that you are publishing in journals, reading in communities, etc. We care how you feed your writing. AND this part is important: Tell us who you want to have read your book and how you intend to promote your book to reach those readers. Books in boxes are a loss to you and readers. BYP wants books in hand! Have a plan.

3. BYP lets you know we received your query. Then several of us will read what you sent and talk about your work. We will provide you with the feedback from our discussion as a courtesy to you (no form letters). If it’s a match, we will then ask you to send us your manuscript and tell you more about how we work.

4. Kindly do not send a manuscript in whole or part until BYP asks you to do so.

5. Samples and manuscripts should be written in English. If your book will be in translation, let us know this, but only include the manuscript in English for BYP consideration.

6. If any of your writing or poems have been previously published, you must have rights to publish these in your own book.

HERE ARE TIPS to prepare a manuscript for submission, particularly for first book writers.

1. Gather work ready for publication. Look for common elements and themes.

2. Offer strong writing from start to end. Set a tone to bring us in and through.

3. Is your book a collection? Using sections can be helpful. Is it a coming of age or hero’s journey collection in that you or your cast grow and challenge obstacles? If so, consider, even for poetry, how you might start with a call to the journey, move across a course of change, and come to a kind of resolution.

4. All BYP poetry books must be at least 80 bound pages to have a spine. All BYP books have spines. So a manuscript has a minimum of 60 poems assuming that poems are 1-2 pages each. Story collections or anthologies will be at least 80 pages or longer.

5. Treat your work with love and affection. Many favorite stories or poems will not make the cut into this book but may find their way into another book. Be bold. If you have a poem that you really love, put it in and be willing to fight for it!

6. Most BYP books use a 6” x 9” format because this is “hand worthy.”

7. THIS IS IMPORTANT: You and We need to see YOUR WRITING/POETRY ON A PUBLISHED PAGE when you submit your manuscript. SO BYP asks that you format your manuscript into a 6” x 9” format with 1.25” margins all around (unless you have asked for a different format for your book). The font size for the poem should be 12 with poem titles at the top of the page. Doing this is critical because it helps YOU adjust your line lengths and stanza breaks to fit the published page. At the end of each poem, be sure to insert a page break. Remember, your work is copyrighted to you. Doing all of this takes time. But you and we will not regret this labor. It will speed the process of publication.

8. Manuscripts that do not proceed with BYP will be deleted from BYP’s records.