Slapering Hol Press, founded in 1990, is one of the oldest chapbook presses in the United States. The covers are letterpress and the bindings are hand-sewn. Slapering Hol Press is known for its close attention to design and for mentoring its poets, who frequently go on to win book prizes, publish full length books with other small quality literary presses, and contribute in many ways to the literary community. They are currently running their chapbook contest for poets who have never published a collection of poems in book or chapbook form. They are encouraging BIPOC poets to submit for no fee via mail or $2 via Submittable. All other poets pay a $15 by mail fee or $17 by Submittable fee. The winner receives a $500 cash award, publication, ten copies, a reading at the Hudson Valley Writers Center, plus travel expenses up to $500 if needed and if reading is in person. Winning poets are also offered editorial and marketing advice. For more information see my interview with their staff Margo Taft Stever, Susana H. Case, and Mervyn Taylor with a link to submission guidelines below.

HOPKINSON: How/why was Slapering Hol Press originally started? 

STAFF: When I (Margo Taft Stever, founding editor) was a college student in 1968-69, I participated in a poetry workshop taught at MIT by Denise Levertov. She put together a chapbook comprised of her poems about each of the workshop students and gave it to us as a gift. The tactile sensuality of the paper, the sense of the hand-sewn binding, and the overall thoughtfulness and beauty of the chapbook made a long-lasting impression on me. Over the years, I was also dismayed at how difficult it is for poets, in particular, to get a start in publishing. After I founded the Hudson Valley Writers Center, I was particularly interested in establishing a small press that provides opportunities for poets who have not previously published in book form. Aside from the SHP chapbook contest, the press has also initiated the Conversation series in which well-known women poets choose emerging poets to appear in the same chapbook with a conversation at the end. Hot off the press this winter is The Mothers, by Dorianne Laux and Leila Chatti. Slapering Hol Press continues to be a mini-micro-press, but the quality of the poets whom we have had the honor of discovering and publishing have made a disproportionately significant impact. 

HOPKINSON: Who is your target reader audience? 

STAFF: All people who are interested in modern poetry.

HOPKINSON: What type of work are you looking for? 

STAFF: Slapering Hol Press is eclectic in terms of styles, but the editors are interested in poetry that is not only musical, but also meaningful. Manuscripts are judged anonymously. We would like to read manuscripts that reflect the urgency of the times in which we live, and we are blessed to receive them every year, but our primary criterion is the quality of the poetry.

HOPKINSON: What do you wish you’d see submitted, but rarely comes in? 

STAFF: We would like to do a better job with getting the word out about the press and how Slapering Hol Press authors generally proceed to publish first books and become important members of the literary community. Other than that, the range of what is submitted is substantial. We would like to see more work from underrepresented communities and have altered our submission fee structure to support this goal (free submission or $2 on Submittable for BIPOC poets)

HOPKINSON: What are some of your favorite lit mags/journals?

STAFF: Plant-Human Quarterly, Verse Daily, Rattle, upstreet, Salamander, Plume Literary Journal

HOPKINSON: What is your favorite part of being on staff with the Slapering Hol Press?

STAFF: Slapering Hol Press is a community of poets, and we all value the significant connections that SHP poets make with each other and to the literary community at large.

HOPKINSON: Where can we send submissions? 

STAFF: www.writerscenter.org. The submission deadline is June 15th. 

HOPKINSON: If someone has a question, how can they contact you? 

STAFF: They can contact us via the Hudson Valley Writers Center website contact form.

Click here to read submission guidelines.

• SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June 15, 2022
• THEME(S): There are no themes, but manuscripts should be 16-20 pages of poetry. Submissions are welcome from anywhere in the world.
• FORMAT: print
• SUBMISSION FEE: $15 submission fee. If you are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color) you may submit your chapbook for free (hardcopy) or for $2 on Submittable.
• PAYMENT: $500 Award, ten copies, invitation to read at Hudson Valley Writers Center, and up to $500 in travel expenses if reading is in person.
• CONTEST FREQUENCY: Once a year.
• AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME: Three to five months.
• SUBMISSION METHOD: Submittable or postal
• SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Yes, but please inform immediately if chapbook is accepted by another press.
• FORMS: Poetry 
• SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

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