We are pleased to announce that Pecan Grove Press will begin reading submissions again on November 1!!!  It's taken a while, but we are now caught up with our backlog.

By the end of 2008 Pecan Grove Press will have published right at 20 books and chapbooks (mostly full-length books) to fulfill promises to poets whose manuscripts we had accepted and loved (and continue to love).  In the future, PGP will restrict itself to no more than eight (8) books each year to avoid amassing yet another huge backlog.

A reminder:  we do not require a reading fee, but we do expect writers to include a SASE if they want a response.

While we publish chapbooks outside of our competition, we do have a national chapbook competition that requires a $15 fee.  The deadline for that varies, so do check our competition guidelines.   Everyone who enters the competition receives a copy of the winning chapbook.   Before submitting a chapbook manuscript, please do two things:

1.  Go to the chapbook competition guidelines at http://library.stmarytx.edu/pgpress/contest/index.html and read the guidelines carefully, and

2.  Go to my blog site to get some useful information about what I think a chapbook should be and do:  You can find it at Pecan Grove Press and Me.  Feel free to comment on anything in the blog.

We are not at all certain that it helps to read a magazine thoroughly before you submit a manuscript to it, nor do we suggest that you should purchase one of our books prior to submitting to PGP.  Each of our books is an individual work of art by a poet and we hope it does not resemble any of the others.  If you emulate one of those books, your chances of having your manuscript accepted are probably going to be diminished instead of improved.  We think you should buy one (or even a complete set) of our books because you love poetry and not because you think you will learn some arcane secret that will improve your chances of having a PGP book.  We happily publish books by poets regardless of their race, gender or other individual characteristics.  Unfortunately, we rarely have time to comment on our response notes to poets.

About our publication terms:

If we offer to publish your manuscript, the following will be contractual requirements:

—First, under no circumstances will we discuss with a poet the possibility of publishing her or his manuscript in advance of our formally accepting it for publication.  In other words, do not call or email to “pitch” a book.

—Email submissions will not be read.  We will change that but have not yet done so.

—You will need to assign all rights to the book to Pecan Grove Press unless the press allows the book to go out of print for a full year.  At that point rights in the book (but not the book cover) may revert to the poet should she or he request them and the press not offer to reprint.  Individual poems in the book continue to belong to the author, but the press requires acknowledgment in any future publication of individual poems that appear in the book.

— Pecan Grove Press does not and will not negotiate to pay advances.

— Pecan Grove Press authors will receive 10 free copies of their books unless otherwise stipulated in the contract.

— Pecan Grove Press authors may purchase additional copies of their books at the following discounts:

1.  If purchased in advance of publication authors will receive a 50% discount. (Note: A $10 book purchased in advance of release would cost the poet $5 (plus shipping).
2.  If purchased after publication, authors will receive a 40% discount. (Note:  A $10 book purchased by the poet after publication would cost the poet $6.00 (plus shipping)

— Pecan Grove Press will not ask poets for subventions nor should you offer to pay to have Pecan Grove Press publish your book.

— We welcome submissions from authors from all over the world.  To date, we have published writers from Canada, the United States and Mexico.  Unless a reputable translation can be supplied with the manuscript, the press cannot consider non-English language poetry. 

—Reply to United States submissions will be via the poet’s SAE only.  We will not return manuscripts nor will we reply to poets’ submissions via email. If no SAE is supplied, no notification will be sent to the poet unless the MS is accepted.

—Reply to all international poetry submissions will be by email only.  This means manuscripts will not, under any circumstance, be returned.  So, please do not send International Reply Coupons.  Our university Mail Room does not have the capability of handling them.

— We will not pay permission fees. If your poem was published in a review that requires such fees, you must either pay it yourself or ask, in writing, that the fee be waived. All permission documents must be sent to Pecan Grove Press.

— If you do not hear back from us within four months, please feel free to make an email or postal mail inquiry.  Postal queries must include an SAE.

— We will not respond to queries about why a manuscript was rejected.

— We will do our best to work with poets on cover designs, but the final decision is ours.

— We do not have an advertising budget and will be unable to promote your book other than sending review copies and flyers out.

NOTE:  We continue to be somewhat old-fashioned and will not read manuscripts submitted via email.   We have also decided that we will not return your manuscript whether it is accepted or not.  We will recycle them properly but do not have the time to run down to the P.O. to return complete manuscripts (they do not fit in our mailbox!).

Thanks so much for taking the time to read all this carefully.   If you intend to submit a manuscript, be aware that we publish about 3% of what we receive and that we receive them at the following address:

H. Palmer Hall, editor

Pecan Grove Press
Box AL
1 Camino Santa Maria
San Antonio, TX 78228-8608

If all this seems less than kind, please do be aware that Pecan Grove Press remains a non-profit corporation and pays neither its editor nor its business manager. You will, by purchaisng at either a 50% or 40% discount and reselling your books at full price, earn vastly more than does either of the two people who make the press happen.

Copyright © Pecan Grove Press,
1997-2003
For further information contact
H. Palmer Hall.
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