Porkbelly Press is an independent chapbook press based in Cincinnati, Ohio (where pigs fly). We print chapbooks, micro chapbooks, anthologies, zines (such as the body image zine Love Me, Love My Belly), and literary magazine Sugared Water.
We welcome works from writers all along the identity spectrum; we're queer-friendly & feminist. No hate speech.
Our catalog favors lit & poetry leaning heavily toward fabulism, folklore, & magic—often confessional or intimate poems or personal lyric essay. All work should be tightly linked.
Full guidelines: porkbellypress.com or click the market you're interested in under subs:
SUBMISSION PERIODS
- chapbooks : January 1 – 31
- charcuterie (second chance books) : Feb 14 - Feb 28
- love me, love my belly : May 1 - May 31
- micro chapbooks : July 1 – July 31
- sugared water : October 1 - 31
- anthologies : varies
- broadsides : varies
- reviews : varies
NOTES
Sugared Water is transitioning to an online magazine with occasional mini-print issues. Issues 001 - 007 are print. Issue 008 on are digital-only. See porkbellypress.com for more information & updates.
Charcuterie is our effort to help bring out-of-print chapbooks (poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction), either orphaned after printing, or books that were accepted but never released by shuttered presses. Submissions are open for a couple of weeks each year.
Simultaneous Submissions are fine by us, but do let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere and needs to be withdrawn in part (please use submittable's messages feature). Submittable's "withdraw" button will take the entire packet out of consideration.
Need to make an edit? Please request an edit rather than withdrawing.
We will read up to 5 poems at a time, preferring at least 3. Each poem should somehow be grounded in (or reference) body.
Rhyming poetry is a difficult sell for us, as is an abundance of alliteration.
Include all of your poems in one document.
We sometimes leave the jar open between regular reading periods, allowing for submissions slipped under our doors whilst we're huddled at the proofing table.
Though tipping doesn't mean we'll treat your submission differently than others during the selection process, it does garner our good thoughts, thanks, and some good vibes sent out into the universe in your name.
Please be sure to make a note of your genre when submitting via the jar!