Resources for Writers

Sapling is a weekly newsletter for writers, specifically those actively publishing and trying to get published by literary journals, small presses, and independent publishers.

Many resources (some very good, others not so helpful) exist to point writers toward possible venues for their work in the small press world. As a writer seeking publication, you are probably familiar with many of them. Sapling is not meant to replace a large directory of publishers or a listing of every open call on Submittable. But unlike lengthy directories and databases, Sapling is curated by a human being every week. We strive to feature publishers and journals with a wide variety of missions, tastes, and styles, and those we choose to profile will always be currently open to work.

Over Sapling’s fifteen years and 780+ issues, we’ve spoken to the editors and publishers of Feminist Press, Two Dollar Radio, and Kenyon Review, and emerging authors Shane McCrae, Ben Mirov, Nicole Steinberg, Keisha Bush, Monica Drake, and many more.

Our commitment to you: curated content, in your inbox weekly.

Sign up for Sapling here.

During the month of January, MJ Jones is on board to critique poetry.

Michal ‘MJ’ Jones (they/he)  is an award-winning poet, parent, and editor living in Oakland, CA. Their poetry has appeared in the American Academy of Poets, Obsidian, Split This Rock, Muzzle Magazine, TriQuarterly Review, ANMLY, & elsewhere. Their debut collection of poetry, HOOD VACATIONS, won the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Poetry. They are also the author of a chapbook, SOFT ARMOR (2023), from Black Lawrence Press. Often addressing the troubling and haunting aspects of life, violence, and identity, MJ’s poetry blends lyrical, documentary, and confessional modes.

MJ will provide detailed comments on your manuscript as well as a cover letter. After receiving these files, participants who submit chapbooks and full-length manuscripts may also book phone/video conferences with them at no additional charge.

MJ is accepting single poems, folios, chapbooks, and full-length collections for critique. Follow this link to work with MJ.

Our January fiction consultant, Adam Prince, is accepting everything from flash to full-length collections and novellas.

Recipient of the 2021 William Peden Prize in fiction, Adam Prince earned his B.A. from Vassar College, his M.F.A. from the University of Arkansas, and his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. His award-winning fiction has appeared in The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, Narrative Magazine, and Sewanee Review among others. Bret Anthony Johnston described his short story collection, The Beautiful Wishes of Ugly Men as an example of “the power and sweep of what short stories can do.” His novel-in-progress earned him a 2024 Individual Artist Fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Currently, he serves as a Visiting Writer for the Stokes Center for Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama and is a freelance editor.

Adam will provide detailed comments on your manuscript as well as a cover letter. After receiving these files, participants who submit chapbooks and full-length manuscripts may also book phone/video conferences with Adam at no additional charge.

Follow this link to send Adam your manuscript.

Poetry manuals, at their most essential, are aimed at demystifying aspects of poetry, in order to make poetry less daunting – especially for beginner poets. Such manuals are also reminders that poetry itself is a discipline with a landscape and a history. Far Villages builds on the body of work in this tradition by bringing a number of established and emerging poets together in a single volume to welcome new and beginner poets to the art of poetry, its craft, and the long journey within it.

Join us on the second Tuesday of each month for a free Zoom writing workshop.

Advice on how to find the right press for your project and how to prep your submission.

Jeanann Verlee discusses poetry about mental health from, offering commentary on both craft and advocacy.