Call for Submissions

LET'S MAKE A CHAPBOOK TOGETHER

JackPine Press is looking for chapbook proposals that feature visual content, excellent writing, and great book design. Our mandate is to print literary bookworks; this includes graphic novels, poetry, short essays, or whatever your incredible brain deems worth putting permanently in ink on bound paper. Attention to literary merit, typography, and binding techniques are considered.

JackPine Press welcomes and encourages works by under-represented and marginalized communities, including 2SLGBTQ+, disabled, neurodivergent, and BIPOC authors and artists!

Successful Proposals:

Successful proposals will receive funding ($1500) to make a limited edition chapbook. You’ll also receive a reading fee to present your work at either a virtual chapbook launch or a launch in Saskatoon, the Paris of the Prairies. Our chapbook projects are produced in limited edition runs of 75, and are sold for $30.

Submission Guidelines:

JackPine Press loves working with authors and artists to break the boundaries of what a book can be! You can check out www.jackpinepress.com to see what projects we’ve done in the past. If you have an amazing idea to propose but aren’t sure if it fits JackPine’s Guidelines, shoot us an email with your concept ideas at jackpinepress@gmail.com.

Complete submissions must include:

    1. Manuscript:
      1. .doc, .docx or .pdf file of your full manuscript.
    2. Prototype:
      1. We need an idea of what your book will look like. A physical prototype is ideal, since we need to be able to assess whether the proposed project is doable and feasible. If you’re submitting your work online instead of through the mail, please send detailed photos and/or videos of your prototype from multiple angles, including close-ups of book binding techniques.
    3. A Creative Vision Statement: 
      1. Please provide us with a thorough explanation of the design proposal for your chapbook. What is your vision for this project? How does the physical design of the book add to the written work within? Please also use this space to explain the design elements you have implemented in your chapbook prototype. What kind of book-binding techniques are you using? Is there significance behind your paper choice? Please indicate what style of binding you would like for you book as this may also factor into printing/construction costs.
      2. It is the author’s responsibility to find the appropriate designer/constructer for their project if the author is not designing/constructing their own project. JackPine Press can recommend some places to look for an artist collaborator if you find yourself stuck! Please feel free to email us with any questions.
    4. A Budget:
        1. Project your costs for producing 75 copies of whatever your book design entails.
        2. for example, consider paper type, binding material, staples, additional crafting materials, etc.
        3. Most printers will be able to provide you with a quote for printing costs. This will help us get an idea of the feasibility of the project.
    5. Your CV:
      1. Please provide us with an up-to-date author/artist CV. Newly established authors are always welcome!

Because of the hand-made labour-of-love nature of  JackPine Press chapbooks, the submission to publication process can be quite time consuming. Projects typically take between 6 months to 2 years to complete depending on complexity of the design concept.

Submit your proposal prototype to: JackPine Press, PO Box 7731, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 0K8, or through our website https://jackpinepress.com/guidelines/