Hub City Press, the publishing arm of the Hub City Writers Project, publishes books of literary fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, regional nonfiction, nature, and art. We are seeking new and extraordinary voices from the American South who have written well-crafted, high-quality works. We are committed to spotlighting lesser-heard Southern voices including: people of color, members of LGBTQ and gender diverse communities, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, as well as ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities. Hub City is a small press, publishing eight to ten titles per year. In general, our publication schedule operates at least 12-18 months in advance of release.
Hub City publishes writers living in or from the South. What's the South? A complicated issue, to say the least, but the short answer for our purposes: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
SUBMISSION SCHEDULE FOR 2025
March 14-16: Novels
July 11-13: Single-narrative nonfiction books
October 17-19: Second novels
What to know
Writers without agent representation may send to our open submission calls. Please refer to the schedule above.
For all our open calls, Hub City Press is eager to engage with work by writers from historically underrepresented communities, including—but not limited to—those who are Black; Indigenous; Latino, Asian, and Arab American; from immigrant backgrounds; disabled; neurodivergent; trans and LGBTQ+; debuting after 40; and without an MFA.
Please review our guidelines before submitting. We ask that writers provide their full manuscript and a brief query letter. Because of the small size of our staff and the volume of queries we receive, you might not hear back from us directly. Timeline for query response is usually within six months of the close of the submission period.
We recommend that you familiarize yourself with our catalog before submitting. We cannot accept unagented queries via email, calls, or snail mail. Please do not call regarding submissions or submission status. Voicemails will not be returned.
Dos and don'ts
In your query, please tell us all standard info about your manuscript (title, word count, genre specifics) and a brief synopsis. If you have specific expertise on your subject, please let us know. If you are simultaneously submitting to other presses or querying agents, indicate this in your letter.
Please do not submit more than one manuscript. Please do not submit books that have already been self-published. Manuscripts that do not comply with the submission period guidelines will be removed unread.
What to expect from us once you have submitted
Due to the size of our staff and the volume of queries we receive, you might not hear back from us directly. We will be in touch with you if we have interest in your work. If you have not heard back within six months of your query or your manuscript submission if we have asked for it, assume your manuscript was not a good fit for us.
All open submission opportunities are below
Deep South Convening Application | Birmingham, AL May 24, 2025
Mission
This event convenes writers, literary nonprofits, journal publishers, book publishers, writing programs, and funders. Our aim is to listen to writers speak about what they need to thrive, understand the work that organizations and funders already do to support that goal, and synthesize findings to develop and grow bold new initiatives that nurture and embolden writers who live or work in the American South.
A note as of March 10, 2025: We are thrilled by the incredible number of applications we have received and are working diligently to review them in a timely manner. Please note that our current focus is on applications from the following groups: organizations that fund the literary arts, representatives from literary organizations, literary magazines, presses, residency programs, and educators.
Rationale
The Deep South has historically lagged other regions in terms of literary infrastructure, including access to publishing houses, agents, journals, and residency programs. In an era where storytelling has the power to unite and inspire or divide and demean, our goal is to take one big step to overcoming the historical and contemporary challenges that writers in the South face while gathering and amplifying a diverse array of voices from the region.
Attendance
100 people will attend by way of invitation or application. No one will pay registration fees. Applications will be available on Submittable. Writers and organizers working in the South are encouraged to apply to attend the convening.
A successful applicant will demonstrate a commitment to building literary community in the South and a commitment to active participation in the convening, bringing expertise from their work in their own communities.
Organizers
- Ashley M. Jones, Poet Laureate of Alabama, Executive Director of Magic City Poetry Festival
- Meg Reid, Executive Director, Publisher, Hub City Press
- John T Edge, Developer, Greenfield Farm Writers Residency, University of Mississippi
2025 Judge: Derrick Austin
Eligibility:
Submitters must currently reside in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia or West Virginia and have resided there for a minimum of 24 consecutive months. (Residency will be verified before prize winner is announced.)
Submitters may have published no more than one previous book or have no more than one book under contract at another publisher.
Submitters must not be affiliated with Hub City Press or Hub City Writers Project as a staff member or volunteer or as previously published Hub City author. Close friends, relatives, students or former students of the final judge are not eligible.
Submission Guidelines:
Hub City Press will accept typed poetry manuscript submissions between January 1 and 11:59PM April 18. The winner is announced in the summer.
Manuscripts should be 48-120 pages, 12 point Times New Roman or similar typeface.
Simultaneous submissions of the same manuscript to other publishers or contests are acceptable but please notify us by email (submit@hubcity.org) if your manuscript has been accepted elsewhere.
While translations and manuscripts in languages other than English are not acceptable, manuscripts that occasionally use words from other languages are acceptable and welcome.
No revisions of submitted manuscripts will be allowed during the contest.
This contest is read blind. Do not include a bio or acknowledgements page with your manuscript. All manuscripts must be read anonymously by our readers, editors, and judge. Manuscripts should include one title page with the manuscript’s title only. You may also include a table of contents. Manuscripts that do not adhere to this guideline will be immediately eliminated.
FAQ
I have never published a collection of poetry before. Am I eligible?
Yes! The New Southern Voices Poetry Book Prize is meant for emerging writers who either have never published a collection or have a maximum of one previously published poetry collection.
I was born in / grew up in / attended school in one of the 11 states listed, but have since moved away. Am I eligible?
Unfortunately, no. The contest is open only to writers currently living in the Southern states listed in the guidelines. If you don't currently live in one of those states you are ineligible for the prize. You must currently live in one of the listed Southern states and have lived there for 24 consecutive months.
I have lived in two of the listed states (for example: North and South Carolina) in the last 24 months. Am I eligible?
Yes! As long as you've lived in the South, moving between states is fine.
Questions?
If your question is not answered above, email kate@hubcity.org.
Deadline: March 20, 2025
The Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Fiction, supported by the Penelope Coker Hall/Eliza Wilson Ingle Fund of Central Carolina Community Foundation and sponsored by the South Carolina Academy of Authors, recognizes the talent of fiction writers in the state of South Carolina.
The award is $1,250 and an invitation to be honored at a future SCAA event.
There is no restriction on content, but submissions may not exceed 15 pages double-spaced and must be either one original, unpublished short story or one excerpt from a longer, unpublished work. You may submit multiple entries, but each entry must be accompanied with an entry fee.
The entry fee is $20 per entry.
We will accept entries in doc, docx, rtf, and pdf file formats.
Applicants must be full-time residents of South Carolina and must not have won this fellowship in the previous three years.
Your name should not appear anywhere on the pages submitted. Include contact information in the appropriate fields along with a brief bio in the cover letter field on the submission manager.
This year’s final judge will be John Dufresne.
Contact Jo Angela Edwins at JEdwins@fmarion.edu with any questions.
Deadline: March 20, 2025
The Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Student Prize in Short Fiction, supported by the Penelope Coker Hall/Eliza Wilson Ingle Fund of Central Carolina Community Foundation and sponsored by the South Carolina Academy of Authors, recognizes the talent of college student fiction writers in the state of South Carolina.
The award is $250 and an invitation to be honored at a future SCAA event.
There is no restriction on form or content, but submissions may not exceed 15 pages double-spaced and must be either one original, unpublished short story or one excerpt from a longer, unpublished work. You may submit multiple entries, but each entry must be accompanied with an entry fee.
Entry is free.
We will accept entries in doc, docx, rtf, and pdf file formats.
Applicants must be 18-25 years old at the time of submission and enrolled full time as an undergraduate at a private or public South Carolina institution of higher education. In a change to the contest from previous years, applicants may now have an out-of-state permanent address, but they must be currently living full-time in South Carolina while attending a South Carolina institution of higher learning (applicants will be required to list a South Carolina student address). Applicants also must not have won this prize in the previous three years.
Your name should not appear anywhere on the poems submitted. Include contact information in the appropriate fields along with a brief bio in the cover letter field on the submission manager.
This year’s final judge will be John Dufresne.
Contact Jo Angela Edwins at JEdwins@fmarion.edu with any questions.
Deadline: March 20, 2025
The Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fellowship in Poetry, supported by the Penelope Coker Hall/Eliza Wilson Ingle Fund of Central Carolina Community Foundation and sponsored by the South Carolina Academy of Authors, recognizes the talent of poets in the state of South Carolina.
The award is $1,250 and an invitation to be honored at a future SCAA event.
There is no restriction on form or content. Submit up to 5 unpublished poems (totaling no more than 10 pages). You may submit multiple entries, but each entry must be accompanied with entry fee.
The entry fee is $20 per entry.
We will accept entries in doc, docx, rtf, and pdf file formats.
Applicants must be full-time residents of South Carolina and must not have won this fellowship (previously known as the Carrie McCray Nickens Fellowship in Poetry) in the previous three years.
Your name should not appear anywhere on the poems submitted. Include contact information in the appropriate fields along with a brief bio in the cover letter field on the submission manager.
This year’s final judge will be Kristin Robertson.
Contact Jo Angela Edwins at JEdwins@fmarion.edu with any questions.
Deadline: March 20, 2025
The Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Student Prize in Poetry, supported by the Penelope Coker Hall/Eliza Wilson Ingle Fund of Central Carolina Community Foundation and sponsored by the South Carolina Academy of Authors, recognizes the talent of college student poets in the state of South Carolina.
The award is $250 and an invitation to be honored at a future SCAA event.
There is no restriction on form or content. Submit up to 5 unpublished poems (totaling no more than 10 pages).
Entry is free.
We will accept entries in doc, docx, rtf, and pdf file formats.
Applicants must be 18-25 years old at the time of submission and enrolled full time as an undergraduate at a private or public South Carolina institution of higher education. In a change to the contest from previous years, applicants may now have an out-of-state permanent address, but they must be currently living full-time in South Carolina while attending a South Carolina institution of higher learning (applicants will be required to list a South Carolina student address). Applicants also must not have won this prize in the previous three years.
Your name should not appear elsewhere on the poems submitted. Include contact information in the appropriate fields along with a brief bio in the cover letter field on the submission manager.
This year’s final judge will be Kristin Robertson.
Contact Jo Angela Edwins at JEdwins@fmarion.edu with any questions.