Submission Guidelines

About the U.P. Reader

The U.P. Reader is an annual publication that represents the cross-section of writers that are the membership of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. This annual anthology will be used as a vehicle to showcase and promote the writers of the Upper Peninsula. Each issue is released in paperback, hardcover, and eBook editions at the Spring membership meeting. Copies of the U.P. Reader will be made available to booksellers, UPPAA members, libraries, and news services. The U.P. Reader has received more media coverage this year since the inclusion of the Dandelion Cottage Award, We hope the U.P. Reader will be a great place for you to showcase original short works too!

After reading ALL the instructions on this page, you may submit your work through our submissions gateway which is https://www.uppaa.org/submit/   If you email your submission, you may be asked to re-send it through the gateway.

Submission Guidelines

  • Don’t wait until the last minute!  In case of problems with your submission, it is better to submit at least 5 days before the deadline.
  • Email submissions are no longer allowed. Period. Use the submissions gateway
  • Please read and follow our U.P. Reader Style Sheet.  In case of disagreements with the author, the Style Guide will prevail.
  • Submissions will receive a receipt that the submission has been received. If a receipt is not received within three business days of submission either resubmit or contact editor@UPReader.org
  • Must be a current member of the UPPAA to submit.
  • Submissions must be original with no prior appearance on the web or print.  Submissions will be accepted for up to 5,000 words.  Writers who submit work that has previously appeared in blog posts, web pages, eBooks, or in print will be disqualified.
  • Submissions can be any genre: fiction, nonfiction (memoirs, history, essays, feature articles, interviews, opinions), and poetry.
  • All submissions will be reviewed by a jury and the submissions will be chosen through this process. Writers will be notified as to acceptance or rejection, but reasons for rejection will not be discussed.
  • We prefer Microsoft Word Document(.DOC, .DOCX).  An additional choice is .TXT files.  PDF files will automatically be rejected from the submission site. Additional photos can be attached (up to 3 in .JPG format)
  • Please include a 50-75-word bio at the end of your document. Bios longer than 75 words will be trimmed by the editor. Any web address or email address in bios must be the most simplified form possible. (Do not include the http://)
  • Authors may only submit photos as part of a written submission with the understanding that they will be converted to black-and-white.  We reserve the right to limit the number of photos per story that will be used. Photos should be at least 300 DPI and no smaller than 2 inches on a side (i.e. 600px minimum). If the Author is not the photographer, we may ask for a simple one-page “Photo Release” form to be sent in. Contact us in advance if you think you need more than 3 photos for your story.  Author headshots are neither required nor used.
  • No more than 3 submissions will be accepted from one person. If more than 3 are received, the jury may choose to disregard all of them. We are looking for quality, not quantity.
  • Poetry submissions count as one submission per poem.
    • If a poem cycle is submitted it needs to be formatted either as one poem with multiple sections or as separate poems not numbering more than three.
    • Exception:  a set of 5 Haiku can be sent as a SINGLE submission. If you have more than 5, each must be broken into a separate submission file.

The U.P. Reader will require FIRST-time rights in all formats, including but not limited to print, eBook, and audiobook for 12 months after publication.  After 12 months, the author may use the work in any form they desire, including on the internet, print, and digital media. UPPAA retains the right to use it in perpetuity.  For Example, we anticipate a “Best of U.P. Reader” to be issued for the 10th anniversary.

Submit to U.P. Reader

Publication Schedule for U.P. Reader Volume #9

  • Submission window opens June 1st, 2024.  Submissions sent before June 1st, 2023 will not be recognized.
  • Submission deadline: Nov. 10th, 2024
    Jury / peer-review process begins
  • Jan 15th, 2025 announcement of selected submissions
  • April 1st, 2025  official on-sale date

 

Comments are closed.