Submissions for the Keystone Chapbook Series are considered annually from June 1 – July 15. Thank you for your interest in Seven Kitchens Press and our longest-running chapbook series. Manuscripts are currently being read by the editors, and updates will be posted here.

Last year’s Keystone chapbooks, “Among the Other Dead” by Deborah Burnham of Philadelphia, PA, and “Leaving Erebus” by William Varner of South Berwick, Maine, were selected by Marjorie Maddox, author of  What She Was Saying (Fomite Press) and of the chapbook, Wives’ Tales (Seven Kitchens Press). Both titles are due out this summer. 

Official guidelines: the Keystone Chapbook Series seeks original, unpublished poetry manuscripts in English by Pennsylvania writers:

• Two manuscripts, one by a writer with, and one by a writer without, previous book or chapbook publication, will be selected for publication in the Keystone Chapbook Series in a limited edition of 100 copies.
• Each winning poet will receive 25 copies of her chapbook, which will be designed, printed, and hand-assembled by Seven Kitchens Press. Additionally, the publisher will distribute ten review copies to reviewers, libraries, and organizations at the author’s recommendation.
• The 2018 reading period will extend from June 1 – July 15, and the selected title(s) will be scheduled for publication in February, 2019. 
• There is no reading fee; however, we cannot continue our mission without your support. Therefore, we humbly beg you for a donation, in any amount, to help fund this series. Seriously: any amount. It’s super-easy to donate through Paypal or even directly to me, Ron, through Facebook. Even better: buy a chapbook!
• We consider a “Pennsylvania writer” as one who was born in, or has lived in, Pennsylvania, as well as any writer with a self-defined “Pennsylvania connection.” The manuscript need not address Pennsylvania themes, though such work is welcome.
• Readers for this year’s series selections are Ron Mohring and Steve Bellin-Oka, who has joined Seven Kitchens Press as co-editor of the Keystone Chapbook Series.
  • The editors and judge may, at their discretion, choose not to award publication in either category. It is also possible that more than one manuscript in either category may be offered publication. Please send your very best work.
• Submit a paginated manuscript of 16-24 pages (not including front matter), with no more than one poem per page. Include a cover page providing the manuscript title, author name, address, e-mail and phone number. NEW: There is no need to send a second file. We seek work from a diverse range of voices and backgrounds; feel free to introduce yourself in your biographical note.
• Include a table of contents page.
• Include, if applicable, an acknowledgments page for work previously published.
• Include a brief (one paragraph) biographical note, including a statement of any previous or pending book or chapbook publication. (We need this information in order to read your manuscript in its proper category; we are very open to work by new writers and this series is designed to showcase both emerging and established poets.)
• Submissions must be postmarked or e-mailed between June 1 and July 15, 2018.
• Manuscripts will not be returned. E-mailed submission is preferred, but you may send via regular mail.
• Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please notify us promptly if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere by sending an e-mail to sevenkitchenspress at gmail dot com.
• If sending by mail, please use a binder clip and mail flat in an 8.5 x 11 envelope to Ron Mohring, Publisher; Seven Kitchens Press; PO Box 492; Loveland OH 45140.
• If sending by e-mail, please send your manuscript in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx file); include the words “Keystone Chapbook” in the subject line of your e-mail, and please title your document KEYSTONE_YOUR TITLE. Send to sevenkitchenspress at gmail dot com.
• Please do not send images.
• Manuscript titles will be posted, alphabetically by title, on the Seven Kitchens Press site (remember to refresh this page to see the most current information).
• There is no reading fee for the Keystone Chapbook Series. However, we will gratefully accept any donation that you wish to make in support of this series. Checks may be made out to Ron Mohring; Paypal donations may be sent to sevenkitchenspress at gmail dot com. You can even send funds directly to me, Ron, through Facebook. (Seriously: supporting our micropress could not be any simpler.)
• Please consider puchasing titles in this series. For a modest donation of $10 with your manuscript entry, you may select a complimentary copy of any title in this series; just indicate in your cover material if you wish to do so. 
• Please notify us of any changes in your contact information, especially your e-mail address!

All previous titles in the Keystone Series are available for purchase. Please support these poets:

• Underground Singing by Harry Humes
• Still by Deborah Burnham
• Long Corridor by Lisa Sewell
• Spring Melt by Katherine Bode-Lang
• Soot by Jeff Walt
• The Schwenkfelders by Rebecca Lauren
• Braids & Other Sestinas by Leonard Kress
• Never a Note Forfeit by Catherine Staples
• Breakdown: Banjo Poems by Dave Bonta
• The Salvager’s Arts by William Woolfitt
• Wooden Boys by Michael Hurley
• Field Trip to the Underworld by Hayden Saunier
• R by Tammy Robacker
• Cruel Folklore by Eric Schwerer
• Remorse Code by Erin Murphy
• Among the Other Dead by Deborah Burnham (forthcoming, summer 2018)
• Leaving Erebus by William Varner (forthcoming, summer 2018)

We also highly recommend the anthology Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania, edited by Marjorie Maddox and Jerry Wemple and published by Penn State University Press.