Mission Beginning in 2011, Cormorant will be publishing four poetry books a year, all to be released in the spring. At least one of the four will be an anthology or a reissue. At least two will be new collections by living poets. While open to poets at all stages, at the moment we are particularly interested in seeing new manuscripts from poets under 35 who have already published a book.
The kinds of poetry Editor Robyn Sarah will be looking for are best summed up in her statement about the new poetry line: “I will be looking for poetry that is poetry before it is anything else—whatever its subject matter, style or form. I like poems that have lasting resonance, that invite re-reading and reading aloud, that balance sound with sense, and that go beyond mere personal biography or the topicalities of the day to evoke universal human questions and emotions. I look for honesty in poetry. I look for language that is original, surprising, playful, yet also disciplined. I look for poems that rise above their own surface “aboutness” to a higher plane, whether of metaphor, myth, or sheer melody—poems that deliver truth beautifully and beauty truthfully. In short, the values I look for in contemporary poetry are the same ones that have allowed great poems to survive centuries and to transcend languages and cultures.”
Submission Guidelines During the months of February and March only (February 1 to March 31), we will be receiving electronic submissions.
If you are interested in making a submission, please follow these instructions—otherwise, your poems will not be read.
1. Subject line of your email should read SUBMISSION + your name.
2. Your cover email should include the following:
- your name, postal mailing address, telephone number;
- two or three sentences about your background, include date of birth;
- a note about previous publications, including titles of any previously published books; and
- list of poems you are submitting, noting if any have been previously published, and where.
3. Your submission should consist of the following, sent as a SINGLE attachment:
- 15 to 20 poems (please do not exceed 25 pages), presented as ONE document;
- MSWord or Rich Text format;
- Please insert PAGE BREAKS between poems;
- Save and send document under the title [YOUR NAME] + Cormorant 2010.
4. Email your submission to r.sarah@cormorantbooks.com
Please DO NOT send full manuscripts unsolicited, and do not send manuscripts by post. We will contact you if we want to see a full manuscript.
