The 42 Miles Press Poetry Award was created in an effort to bring urgent and original voices to the poetry reading public. The prize is offered annually to any poet writing in English, including poets who have never published a full-length book as well as poets who have published several. New and Selected collections of poems are also welcome.  

Manuscripts submitted for the 42 Miles Press Poetry Award should exhibit an awareness of the contemporary “voice” in American poetry, an awareness of our moment in time as poets. We are excited to receive poetry that is experimental as well as work of a more formalist bent, as long as it reflects a complexity and sophistication of thought and language. Urgency, yes; melodrama, not so much. Our tastes are truly eclectic. (Past winners include Betsy Andrews, Carrie Oeding, Allan Peterson, Erica Bernheim, Mary Ann Samyn, Bill Razmovicz, Tracey Knapp, William Stobb, Elly Bookman, Jake Bauer, Bryce Berkowitz, and others) 

The winning poet will receive $1,000, publication of their book, and 50 author copies. The winner will also be invited to give a reading at Indiana University South Bend as part of the release of the book. The final selection will be made by the Series Editor. Current or former students or employees of Indiana University South Bend, as well as friends of the Series Editor, are not eligible for the prize.  

Winners will be announced via our website in late fall of 2025. We will also announce the winner in major magazines such as Poets & Writers.   

Manuscripts will be accepted from February 1st, 2025 to June 15th, 2025.     

      Guidelines

• There is a $25, non-refundable, entry fee.
• Your cover sheet should include name, address, phone number, and e-mail.
• The manuscript should be paginated (between 50 and 120 pp.) and include a table of contents and acknowledgments page.
• There is no limit on the number of entries an author may submit.
• Simultaneous submissions are fine (in fact they are encouraged), but please withdraw your manuscript if it gets taken for publication elsewhere.
• No manuscripts will be returned. 

The Glacier is looking for work for our fourth issue. We will try to respond to submissions within four months, although we sometimes respond in under a week. The Glacier appears once a year, at the end of the year. We publish poetry, fiction, nonfiction and visual art. We cannot at this time pay for accepted work. Please wait to hear back from us regarding your current submission before sending more work. If we have accepted your work in the past, unless requested, please wait at least one year from the date your work appears before sending another submission. We prefer Word Docs over PDFs. Students of Indiana University South Bend are not eligible (yet). Please include a cover letter with your submission.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

We want to be knocked for a loop by the writing you send. Make it absurd. Surprise us and scare us. Defy our expectations. We want to see work from BIPOC, disabled, and queer writers. We want to see work you’ve returned to, because it keeps you awake at night. We like work that shouldn't logically make sense but somehow does. We want to see work that is unafraid to be different. If other magazines have rejected work you have believed in for years, send it to us.

POETRY

The Glacier prefers lyric/associative poetry over straight narrative, but do not have a house style. We appreciate funny poems and poetry that is surreal. If you want to get a better understanding of the kind of work we like, read an earlier issue. If it's riveting, we will always consider it. Send up to seven poems, all within a single file. We accept simultaneous submissions but if your work is accepted elsewhere, please add a note withdrawing poem(s) from your submission. Previously published poems are not accepted. Contributors retain rights but are asked to acknowledge The Glacier as first publisher when poems appear elsewhere.

FICTION

Again, here at The Glacier, we prefer more experimental work to straight narrative. We like fiction that gets to the point and that keeps burning in a reader’s mind after the last word is read . . . 1300 words max. Occasionally, exceptions may be made for exceptional work. Send up to three stories. Single-or double-spaced is fine. We accept simultaneous submissions but if your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know using the notes feature on Submittable. Previously published work not accepted. Contributors retain rights but are asked to acknowledge The Glacier as first publisher when stories appear elsewhere.

NONFICTION

The Glacier seeks nonfiction that grips us from the first sentence and doesn’t let go (again, try to keep it under 1300 words). We’re looking for essays and true stories that flabbergast—work that startles with its honesty, ingenuity, or sheer audacity. Show us the world through your eyes with observations so sharp they cut and truths so profound they resonate long after the final word. We want writing that doesn’t just recount but reveals—delving deep into the unexpected corners of experience. Bring us pieces that are engaging, necessary, and alive, whether through humor, heartbreak, or hard-earned insight. Above all, we want work that stays with us, work that matters. Contributors retain rights but are asked to acknowledge The Glacier as first publisher when poems appear elsewhere.

VISUAL ART

The Glacier prefers collage and mixed media artwork, though we are open to painting, drawing, photography, and other visual mediums. We don’t particularly appreciate submissions that aren't cohesive or appear to be doodles of various styles with nothing linking them. Send up to 8 images. We accept simultaneous submissions but if your work is accepted elsewhere, please let us know using the notes feature on Submittable. Previously published work not accepted. Contributors retain rights but are asked to acknowledge The Glacier as first publisher when artworks appear elsewhere.