Submission Guidelines

Broken Bridge Folio Series | Broken Bridge High School Poetry Prize | Open Reading Period

Broken Bridge Folio Series

The Broken Bridge Folio Series is a quarterly contest meant to carry on the spirit of the now defunct Broken Bridge Review, whose mission was “to provide emerging writers with a venue for publication at once competitive, respected, edgy, and beautiful.” At the time of its demise, BBR had moved from an annual review of poetry and fiction to a quarterly folio series. When BBR’s editor, Brad Davis, offered LS&S the opportunity to continue the series, we said yes without hesitation.

A folio lives somewhere between a broadside and a chapbook, containing 10-16 pages of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. The Broken Bridge Folio Series is open to collaborative and co-written work as well as to work that defies clear genre distinctions—so long as you can in good conscious claim that your work belongs among the genre to which it is submitted, that is enough for us.

We publish four folios each year. Three are selected through contest submissions, on a rotating genre basis (see below); the fourth folio contains the winner and finalists of the annual Broken Bridge High School Poetry Prize (details below).

Please note: due to our having only recently acquired this series, the Broken Bridge Folio Series from LS&S Press will begin with the 2009 fiction folio, with a November 1 deadline. As a result, there will be no poetry folio in 2009. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Part or all of the material in a folio manuscripts can have been previously published, so long as it has not been published as a single collection, part of a previously published book-length or chapbook collection, and you include an appropriate acknowledgements page with your submission. All pertinent contact information will be collected by our submission manager (see below) and should otherwise be left off of your manuscript, except in cases of aesthetic necessity (essayists, we’re mostly looking at you here; the rest of you do with this as you see fit).

Finalists are selected by the LS&S Press staff and passed to an outside, nationally recognized writer in the applicable genre, who will choose a winner from those finalists. The final judge will receive manuscripts anonymously and alert us to any work he or she recognizes, has worked with, or that was written by a student, colleague, or friend. These “tainted manuscripts” will be removed from consideration and returned to their author along with the submission fee. Judges will originate from a wide geographic and aesthetic range to help ensure fair and open contests.

The winning author(s) will receive $150; 50 copies of their winning folio; one each of the three other folios published in the same calendar year; and may purchase additional copies of their winning folio at cost. All contest entrants will receive one copy of the winning folio of the specific contest to which they applied. Selections from the winning manuscript will also be published in our online literary journal, Suss, near the time of the folio's publication. Finalist manuscripts will be eligible for publication in Suss or for other wonderful things, following at least one email volley between the editor(s) and the author(s).

All submissions and payments must be made through our online submission page. You may submit to any of the contests year-round. Any work received after the deadline will be considered an entry to the following year's contest.

All results will be announced no later than two months after the submission deadline.

The Broken Bridge High School Poetry Prize

The Broken Bridge High School Poetry Prize is awarded annually for a single poem written by a student who is enrolled at an accredited US high school at the time of submission. The submission deadline each year is February 1, though submissions are accepted year-round. The resulting folio will consist of the winning poem, the poems of the finalists, and an introduction by the contest's judge. Specifics:

1. Submit 1-3 original poems no later than 11:59 pm EST, February 1st.
2. Eligible poets must be enrolled in an accredited US high school at the time of their submission.
3. All submissions must be made through the submissions page specifically for this contest. It can be found here. (*Please note, this is a different page than that used for other LS&S Press submissions.)
4. There is no submission fee.
5. All results will be anounced by May 1.
6. Winners will receive $150, publication in a special folio from LS&S Press with an introduction by the contest's judge, and publication of the winning poem in our online literary journal Suss following the folio's publication.
7. Finalists' poems will also be published in the folio alongside the winning poet.
8. Finalists will be chosen from all eligible entrants by the LS&S Press editors and passed along to a final judge.
9. The final judge will change each year; he or she will be a poet of national acclaim and be chosen from a wide geographic and aesthetic range year-to-year to help ensure fair and open contests.
10. If you are unable to submit electronically for any reason, please email us. Other arrangements can be made if the situation necessitates it.

Open Reading Period

At this time, outside of the Broken Bridge Folio Series, we are only accepting solicited materials for full-length manuscript publication. This will change going forward. Please check back for details.