Sudden Valley Press

We believe that much good, even excellent, poetry remains uncollected mainly because of the cost of publishing.

Sudden Valley Press operates on a collaborative model, with the costs of production being shared between author and SVP.

We are not a vanity press, or an author mill – we’re very selective about the books we choose to publish, and even after acceptance they will need to pass through a rigorous editing process.

While make every attempt to secure funding for our books, our authors are required to underwrite the costs of production if this is unsuccessful. In acknowledgement of this, profits are also shared at a much more equitable rate than is usual. (It really is a collaboration.)

Sudden Valley Press provides a guarantee of quality (through its assessment and editorial processes); guidance through the details of production, publicity, and distribution; and a website, postal address and bank account to take care of the business side.

Our Process

When a manuscript is submitted to us, it is assessed by our editors (David Gregory, Joanna Preston & Jeni Curtis).  After assessment, we make one of four responses.

  • An acceptance – this means we definitely want to publish it, and think that the manuscript is already of publishable standard. Congratulations!

    There will still be an editing process to go through, and you’re likely looking at 6 to 12 months before your book will be out in the world, but this is a definite YES.

  • A resubmit request – if we generally like what we see and the manuscript is close, or close-ish, to being publishable, we will send it back to you for revision. This is where the services of an experienced poetry editor is likely to be very helpful.

    When the manuscript has been revised, you can resubmit it for consideration. It will still need to be reassessed by SVP editors, and we do not make any guarantees of publication. But this answer is a definite (and positive) MAYBE.

  • Not a manuscript we want now, but interesting. We can’t publish everything, and sometimes a good manuscript will just not do it for us personally. Or perhaps it feels too early – you are likely to have a publishable manuscript in two or three years’ time, but aren’t there yet. We’ll remember your name for the future, but for now it’s a NO.

  • Not generally of a publishable quality – means we think you’ve got quite a bit more development to do before you’ll be ready for this step. Read more. Write more. Polish your skills, and test your work in public – magazines, competitions, open mic sessions, writers’ groups. It comes with our best wishes for your progress, but is a definite NO.

We will only consider unsolicited manuscripts during May, or as part of the biennial John O’Connor Award. Submissions outside these times will be discarded unread.

For information on how to submit work to Sudden Valley Press, please click here.

For information on the John O’Connor Award for a First Collection, click here.

To see (and buy) our beautiful books, click here.

For any other questions, please contact us.