Since 2008, Seven Kitchens Press has proudly sponsored the annual Robin Becker Chapbook Series for original, unpublished poetry manuscripts by writers identifying as LGBTQ+. To date, we have published 30 titles in the series; 29 are still in print. Our series editor is Steve Bellin-Oka. Won’t you send us your work?
Hi. Ron here. I want to be fully transparent about our selection process for the Allison Joseph Series, and to invite folks to help out if they can.
Our first two published chapbooks in the series, by Paloma Martinez-Cruz and Asani Charles, have been well supported (thank you). Last spring, however, we received no manuscripts. It was a shock, because I fully believe in this series and feel that it absolutely represents our commitment to publishing a diverse range of poets. So I decided to move the window to November, which would give me time to reach out individually to hundreds of poets of color–which I did, by email, in hopes of spreading the word and bringing in new work.
In November, we received seven manuscripts. Three have now been accepted for publication elsewhere. I would have gladly published one or two of them, but that’s not possible now.
How, you might wonder, does it take three months to decide among seven manuscripts? The answer: it shouldn’t. But this has not been an ideal year for me or for our series editor–we’ve both had personal challenges–I am okay to talk about my own but that’s all I will say publicly.
So we are left with four manuscripts, each with promise, but none at the level of the first year’s selections (I am so sorry to say). I can’t in good faith promote publication of any of the remaining four manuscripts.
I am reopening the submission window for the Allison Joseph Series for the month of March. I am enlisting the help of two new readers. If you would like to be a reader, please contact me at sevenkitchenspress@gmail.com. If you would like to send work, we would love to consider it. If you could share this opportunity with eligible poets (BIPOC women writers), thank you.
I welcome your comments, well-wishes, critical input. If Seven Kitchens has failed to adequately promote and support this series, the fault would be mine.
We’re excited to announce the release of two new chapbooks this week:
American Parade Routes by Tim Moder is Number 21 in our Rane Arroyo Series.
The Something We Make from Nothing by Terry Hall Bodine is Number 4 in our A.V. Christie Series.
Click the links above to learn more about both these new titles. Please join us in welcoming Tim and Terry to the Seven Kitchens Press family!
Seven Kitchens Press is proud to sponsor the annual A.V. Christie Chapbook Series for an original, unpublished poetry manuscript by a woman writer over the age of 50. This series honors the vision of poet & teacher A.V. Christie and was launched in 2022 thanks to the generous donations of A.V.’s friends and colleagues. We are especially proud to offer this series in her memory as part of our long-term commitment to publish women and other traditionally underrepresented voices, with the goal of making them a significant majority of our catalog.
Manuscripts are considered annually during the month of February. Full guidelines may be found here.
Our second title of 2024 is a reissue of Joshua’s Summer Kitchen Series chapbook, which sold out pretty much overnight back in August of 2022. We are thrilled to offer this title in a fresh, new edition. Please join us in congratulating Josh and celebrating his work!
We’re thrilled to announce the selections for the 2023 Rane Arroyo Series: Robert Carr‘s Phallus Sprouting Leaves and Diane Scholl‘s Shipbuilding. Both manuscripts will be published late this spring.
Robert Carr is the author of Amaranth, published by Indolent Books, and two full-length
collections published by 3: A Taos Press – The Unbuttoned Eye and The Heavy of Human
Clouds. His poetry appears in many journals and magazines including the Greensboro Review, Lana Turner Journal, the Massachusetts Review and Shenandoah. He is the recipient of a 2022 artist residency at Monson Arts and a 2023 guest instructor at The Millay House Rockland.
Diane Scholl is Professor Emerita of English at Luther College, in Decorah, Iowa, where she taught American and modern British literature, poetry courses, and literature by women. Her poems have been published in Louisville Review, Cider Press Review, Cold Mountain Review, Ruminate, and Spoon River Poetry Review, among other places. In 2019 her chapbook, Salt, was published by Seven Kitchens Press. A native of Brooklyn, New York, she misses its tree-lined streets and multi-cultural neighborhoods, but has learned to love hiking and biking among the scenic bluffs of NE Iowa.
We proudly introduce our first chapbook of 2024: Deborah A. Miranda‘s Pilgrimage, selected as Number 12 in Volume 5 of our Editor’s Series. Please join us in celebrating this new publication and welcoming Deborah to the Seven Kitchens family.
The title pretty much says it all: new year, new round of opportunities to send your poetry manuscripts to Seven Kitchens Press. Leading us off during the month of January, we are hoping to select two manuscripts for our annual, limited-edition, Summer Kitchen Series (published this coming summer, natch). Please check out the full guidelines here, and please consider purchasing an available title (listed on the guidelines page) to support the press.
Some images of available titles:
We are so proud to announce our final chapbook of 2023: Liz Ahl‘s A Stanza Is a Place to Stand, selected as Number 3 in our A.V. Christie Series. This is Liz’s third chapbook with Seven Kitchens: how lucky is that? Please join us in celebrating this new publication.
We are heartbroken to share news of the passing of Jeff Oaks: teacher, poet, artist, and one of the finest humans to walk this earth.
Seven Kitchens Press 