book query submission guidelines

Passager will be accepting book queries during the month of November 2026 to select a new title for publication by Passager Books in 2027-2028.

To be eligible for publication, you must:

• Be a U.S. resident
• Be age 50 or older by September 1, 2027
• Have already published a piece of poetry, fiction or memoir 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• Have a completed, previously unpublished manuscript of poetry, short stories, memoir, or personal essays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:

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. An acknowledgements page, if any of the pieces have appeared elsewhere
  4. A $15 reading fee

Deadline: November 30, 2026

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 April 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

About AI: Passager celebrates the creative imagination and originality of writers over 50 and does not accept work generated or assisted by AI.

How to Submit:

Submit Online via Submittable

Or mail hard copies to:

Passager
7401 Park Heights Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21207

Checks should be made payable to Passager

Questions? Email Johnny at editors@passagerbooks.com