innovative. daring. beautiful.
Rockwood Press makes right-sized poetry chapbooks for people who need poems.
We believe chapbooks are an art form as much as a literary form, perfectly suited for revolution, protest, political change, and social critique. They can be both haunting and hauntingly beautiful.
We believe in emerging and established poets and aim to make room for all kinds of mighty voices in teeny books that might not otherwise find their way into the world.
We believe that a work doesn’t have to be full-length to have a full life. That’s why almost all of our releases are open editions.
Poetry pushes readers to pause for a closer look at life. It is an invitation to encounter the ordinary and extraordinary with wonder, awe, and sometimes even a little humorous irreverence. The poems in this debut collection by Scott McConnaha do just that. Whether it be the celebration of simple pleasures, the crimes of childhood, longing for change, living through loss, or even challenging the faith that seemed so certain just a short time ago, McConnaha’s poignantly gripping poems call us to be fully attentive to all that life brings and to accept that some questions may never be answered.
Scott McConnaha’s poems are reflective of the many directions life has taken him. Now living in Wisconsin, he grew up on the Great Plains of Nebraska, served as a U.S. Army infantryman, studied in the seminary, taught high school English and Spanish, was a reporter and editor, healthcare mission leader, and ultimately became the CEO of a health system overseeing hospitals and nursing homes. He and his wife, Colleen, have four children and two grandchildren. His articles, essays, and poems have appeared in numerous publications.
Without a Prayer
Without a Prayer
Recent titles
From the Bowels of Molluscs by Carlie Daley, coming February 3!
On Music: Collected Poems by Nancy Dillingham
Without a Prayer by Scott McConnaha
Confirm Humanity by El Bentivegna
Prayer of Scalpel & Ash by Amy Riddell
Prayers Are the Kites We Fly by Toni Ortner
Spotting the Rise by Richard Jordan
advance directives by Dani Gabriel
Biloxi Back Bay by Rob Greene
Talking by Stephanie Staab
View all our available chapbooks
submissions
We select manuscripts through an open submissions process that occurs year-round.
Manuscripts should be tightly linked collections of ten to thirty poems or up to forty pages, submitted in .rtf, .doc, or .docx formats only. All submissions should be made via email. We do not accept unsolicited paper submissions.
Eligibility: Poets writing in English are eligible. Previous book publication is not a consideration. Simultaneous submissions are permissible, but entrants are asked to notify Rockwood Press immediately if a manuscript becomes committed elsewhere.
There is no open submission fee.
We do our best to reply to submissions within one month, but the time can vary depending on submission volume. If your work has not been accepted or declined, it’s still under consideration. Every submission is considered thoroughly before a response is made.
All submissions are eligible for publication by Rockwood Press with a standard royalty contract.
submissions at Rockwood Press dot com
If we seem familiar
That’s because, Rockwood Press, a not-for-profit literary imprint, is a project of Fernwood Press and its parent company, Barclay Press. For years, we’ve made our books and full-length poetry collections available through POD services, but we wanted to produce more books in-house where we have control over color, texture, paper quality, and the overall shape each project takes.
We’ve also seen a ten-fold increase in poetry submissions over the last year and sensed from our conversations with writers that it’s getting harder and harder to find homes for good work.
The project of Rockwood Press is to bring more great poetry into the world in smaller, focused collections that can be produced locally, quickly, and beautifully.
