We publish: two issues of Passager Journal each year; books of poetry, short stories, and memoir; and a biennial book prize for a new poet over 70.
Please see our guidelines for each series below.
Passager Journal | Poetry Contest Issue Guidelines
Poetry Contest
Submission period: February 15 – April 15
Publication: August/September
Accepted genres: poetry only
Up to 5 poems, 40-line max ea.
$20 reading fee, includes 1-year subscription to Passager*
Winner receives $1000 prize plus publication and featured interview.
All honorable mentions published.
Not accepting submissions at this time.
Congratulations to the 2023 Passager Poet, George Drew, and all our honorable mentions! See the full list here. A big thank you to everyone who sent us poems.
Writers must be age 50 or older by September 1, 2024 to submit to the next contest.
We prefer hard copy submissions, but for your convenience, you may also submit online via Submittable.
Passager
7401 Park Heights Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21208
Include a cover letter and brief bio.
Include your name and contact information on each page (even when submitting online).
Checks for the reading fee should be made out to “Passager.” *Due to the costs of international shipping, submissions outside the U.S. will receive a 1-year digital subscription to Passager with their reading fee.
No previously published work will be considered.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere!
No email entries accepted.
Unfortunately, we are unable to return submitted work to you.
Work received outside of the submission period will not be considered.
Additionally:
Passager has always been about welcoming new voices and giving readers a broad range of the best work by older writers. We wish we could afford to print all the poems and prose we love. Since we can’t, we often (reluctantly!) must make hard choices.
So, if you have had work in a recent issue of Passager, please read on.
You may submit to the Poetry Contest without interruption each year. However, if your poem has appeared in the most recent Winter Issue (76) or Poetry Contest Issue (75), you will only be eligible to win the prize and become the new Passager Poet. You are not eligible for Honorable Mention (the publication of a single poem).
We urge you to become familiar with Passager before submitting. Read samples of past issues or order sample copies.
Have a question that wasn’t covered here? Please check our FAQs page.
Passager Journal | Winter Issue Guidelines
Winter Issue (Poetry & Prose)
Submission period: July 15 – September 15
Publication: January/February
Accepted genres: poetry, memoir, short fiction
Up to 5 poems, 40-line max ea. OR 4,000 words of prose
$5 reading fee for Submittable (hard copy submissions are free)
Not accepting submissions at this time.
Please note:
Passager has always been about welcoming new voices and giving readers a broad range of the best work by older writers. We wish we could afford to print all the poems and prose we love. Since we can’t, we often (reluctantly!) must make hard choices.
So, if you have had work in a recent issue of Passager, please read on.
When submitting to the Winter Issue, please wait 2 issue cycles (a year and a half) before submitting again. If you were published in the 2023 Winter Issue on Ancestral Trauma (#74) or the 2023 Poetry Contest issue (#75), you would not submit to this issue. We’ll be happy to see your work again next year.
Writers must be age 50 or older by February 1, 2024 to submit.
We prefer hard copy submissions, but for your convenience, you may also submit online via Submittable.
Passager
7401 Park Heights Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21208
Include a cover letter and brief bio.
Include your name and contact information on each page (even when submitting online).
No previously published work will be considered.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but notify us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere!
No email entries accepted.
Unfortunately, we are unable to return submitted work to you.
Work received outside of the submission period will not be considered.
We urge you to become familiar with Passager before submitting. Read samples of past issues or order sample copies.
Contributors in this issue will receive a complimentary copy upon publication. Due to the recent surges in international shipping, contributors outside the U.S. will receive a digital copy.
Have a question that wasn’t covered here? Please check our FAQs page.
Passager Books Call for Queries
Passager will be accepting book queries during the month of February to select a new title for publication in the next year (2023-2024).
To be eligible for publication, you must:
• Be a U.S. resident
• Be age 50 or older by September 1, 2023
• Have already been published in a print issue of Passager Journal
• Have a completed, previously unpublished manuscript of poetry, short stories, memoir, or personal essays.
If we have already published a book of yours, you are not eligible to submit, unfortunately.
If you meet these criteria, please send:
- A query letter. In it:
• Introduce yourself (more than as a list of publications)
• Describe the book (50-100 words)
• Explain why you’d like Passager to publish your book / why you think Passager is a good fit for your book - A sample from the manuscript. Do not include piece(s) published in Passager Journal in your sample. Please see genre specifics below:
• Poetry: 10 poems, single-spaced
• Prose: 3,750-5,000 words, double-spaced. (Note: The prose sample does not need to be the first 5,000 words of the book.)
• Please number the pages and include your name and contact info on each page.
• Submissions of poetry or prose with illustrations are accepted. - An acknowledgements page, if any of the pieces have appeared elsewhere
- A $15 reading fee (checks made out to “Passager”)
- A SASE or email address for notification only
Submit online via Submittable or mail hard copies to:
Passager
7401 Park Heights Ave
Baltimore, MD 21208
Postmark Deadline: February 28, 2023
We will review queries on a rolling basis. If yours is selected for further consideration, we will contact you to send the full manuscript. All writers will be notified of a decision by June 1.
Other requirements:
One submission allowed per person.
We consider a completed manuscript to be 50-60 pages of poetry, or 35,000-55,000 words of prose.
We are currently not accepting translations, posthumous submissions, or previously published books.
We consider previously published to mean:
• If a book has been for sale at any venue it is ineligible.
• If a book has been self-published and sold on the internet (Amazon, for example, or an author’s website) it is ineligible.
However,
• If some of the poems have appeared in a chapbook, of 25 poems or less, it is eligible.
• If the poems have been printed by a vanity press and given to family and friends, it is eligible.
The 2024 Henry Morgenthau III First Book Poetry Prize for a writer age 70 or older
Reading Period: November 1, 2023 – January 15, 2024
Prize: $3,000 plus publication
Judge: Grace Cavalieri
Applicant must be a U.S. Resident.
Applicant must be a living poet, age 70 or older, who has neither published, nor committed to publish a book-length collection of poems (30 poems or more) with a registered ISBN, either in the United States or abroad.
Here are some more detailed guidelines on the subject of what counts as an eligible — and ineligible — manuscript:
- If some of the poems have appeared in a chapbook of 25 poems or less, it is eligible.
- If the poems have been printed by a vanity press and given to family and friends, it is eligible.
- If a book has been for sale at any venue it is ineligible.
- If a book has been self-published and sold on the internet (Amazon, for example, or an author’s website) it is ineligible.
Manuscript must be of original poetry, in English, by one poet. There are no restrictions on the style of poetry or subject matter. No translations.
Individual poems may have been previously published in journals or on the web.
Only one manuscript may be submitted per applicant.
Poets who will be age 70 by April 1, 2024, are eligible.
Poets are not eligible to apply if they have studied poetry with the judge within the last three years.
Manuscript must be between 50-65 pages*, typed 12 pt single-spaced (unless the poems are meant to be presented using non-standard spacing). Multiple poems may not appear on a single page.
Manuscript must be paginated and contain a Table of Contents.
*Front and back-matter pages such as the Table of Contents, Acknowledgements pages, title pages, dedications, etc. do not count towards the 50-65 page count.
Online and hard copy submissions are accepted.
Hard copy manuscripts must use .doc or .docx files. Online manuscripts must be .pdf files.
The entry fee is $25. Hard copy applicants should include a check with their manuscript, made out to Passager/Henry Morgenthau Prize.
To assure anonymity:
For hard copy submissions: Include two title pages, one with the manuscript title only, and one with the title, author’s name, address, phone and email. The manuscript itself should not contain any information that would reveal the identity of its author. An acknowledgements page may be included.
Please do not include: explanatory statements, autobiographical statements, photographs, illustrations, or artwork.
Hard copy applicants may include a self-addressed postcard with postage to verify the manuscript has been received.
For online submissions: Use Submittable. All contact information will be entered separately in the applicant’s Submittable account. The manuscript itself should not contain any information that would reveal the identity of its author. Acknowledgements may be included by using the “Acknowledgements” field of the submission manager.
Online applicants may verify the receipt of their manuscript by logging into Submittable. Passager assumes no responsibility for manuscripts not received due to user error.
Applicants may submit manuscripts elsewhere simultaneously but must notify Passager immediately if a manuscript is accepted for publication by another publisher.
Passager cannot consider manuscript revisions during the course of the contest. The winning poet will have an opportunity to revise before publication.
All applicants will be notified of the award results by email by April 1, 2024.
Passager will publish the winning manuscript in a paperback edition within one year of the judge’s decision.
All correspondence concerning the contest should be addressed to Passager, 7401 Park Heights Ave. Baltimore, MD 21208. Or email: editors@passagerbooks.com
The Henry Morgenthau III First Book Poetry Prize is awarded biennially to a poet 70 or older. Read more about Henry Morgenthau III and his legacy.