Minneapolis, Minnesota is one of the most vibrant literary and creative communities in the country. Thinking about Minnesota might call to mind images of lakes, Paul Bunyan, and ice storms, but it’s also home to several of Submittable’s outstanding clients in literary publishing and arts advocacy. They’re collaborative, creative organizations, and we’re thrilled to highlight their great work.
Coffee House Press
Uses Submittable for: publishing
Known for its innovative publishing and commitment to creative community-building, Coffee House Press is an outstanding independent publisher and arts nonprofit. They’ve used Submittable to manage manuscript submissions of all genres—novels, story collections, poetry, creative nonfiction, and collections of essays.
A 2018 title members of the Submittable team have enjoyed is Anna Moschovakis’ Eleanor or The Rejection of the Progress of Love. For more of Coffee House’s story, read up here.
Graywolf Press
Uses Submittable for: contests, fellowships, publishing
Graywolf Press is an independent publisher of books “committed to the discovery and energetic publication of contemporary American and international literature.” A nonprofit, they host several prestigious literary publishing contests and accept manuscript submissions through Submittable. They also use the software to review fellowship applications and manage book prizes.
Among their initiatives are the Graywolf Press Citizen Literary Fellowship, which offers a paid, ten-month fellowship to a person interested in the field of literary publishing who would not otherwise have access to publishing, and the Graywolf Press Africa Prize, a publishing contract for a first novel manuscript by an African author. To learn more about Graywolf’s projects and initiatives, visit their website.
Milkweed Editions
Uses Submittable for: contests, HR, internships, publishing
Milkweed Editions is an independent literary publisher primarily interested in promoting debut and experimental writers. They use Submittable for manuscript submission collection and for their manuscript contests as well as HR, accepting internship and job applications through the platform to review collaboratively.
The Max Ritvo Poetry Prize is Milkweed’s award for debut poetry manuscripts. Honoring the legacy of poet Max Ritvo, Milkweed invites guest judges to select debut manuscripts for publication and a $10,000 award. Check out the inaugural winner of this prize, North American Stadiums by Grady Chambers, selected by judge Henri Cole.
The Loft Literary Center
Uses Submittable for: contests, fellowships, grants, HR, internships, proposals
Milkweed shares their space in Minneapolis with the Loft Literary Center. The Loft’s mission is “to advance the artistic development of writers, foster a thriving literary community, and inspire a passion for literature.” The Loft is home to writing classes, community events, and initiatives that support writers, including mentorships and grants.
The Loft uses Submittable for as many uses as they have projects. Their Submittable account accepts class proposals and teacher information, mentorship, internship and job applications, and event proposals. They’ve used Submittable to run writing contests, and they use it to manage applications for their McKnight Artist Fellowships for Writers and Spoken Word Immersion Fellowship, as well as the Minnesota Emerging Writers Grant.
Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Uses Submittable for: fellowships, proposals, residencies
The building that houses Milkweed and the Loft is also home to the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, which offers a variety of initiatives in conjunction with their mission: advancing the book as an evolving art form. Youth and adults can take classes at the MCBA such as pop-up book making, papermaking, and binding.
They also accept mentorship applications, artist-in-residence applications, and class proposals through Submittable. Mentorships are geared toward artists who primarily work in a discipline other than bookmaking and provide mentees with stipends for supplies, free tuition for bookmaking workshops, and meetings with their mentor. The summer 2018 artist-in-residence was Kelly Taylor Mitchell, an installation, book, and print artist. Read more about Mitchell’s residency project here.
Jerome Foundation
Uses Submittable for: fellowships, grants
The MCBA’s fellowships and mentorships are affiliated with the Jerome Foundation, which manages its applications through Submittable. The Jerome Foundation’s artist fellowships and grants provide support for early career individual artists in Minnesota and New York, as well as organizations.
For example, the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowships provide early career artists with funding to pursue the disciplines of dance, film & new media, literature, music, theater, and visual arts. The first cohort of Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship grantees will be announced in Spring 2019.
The Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Uses Submittable for: fellowships, grants
MCAD is one of Submittable’s newest Minneapolis creative clients, and they administer McKnight Fellowships too. They’ll use Submittable to manage artist grant applications. The Visual Arts Fellowships provide support for mid-career artists to participate in critical discussions and professional development opportunities.
The 2018 Visual Art Fellows, selected from 229 applicants, work in a variety of mediums with a range of focuses. Eight fellowships of $25,000 are awarded each year, and the next application cycle will open in January 2019.
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At Submittable, many of our team members are also writers, readers, and artists. Whether helping organizations manage their current projects or hosting new initiatives and contests, Submittable is proud to engineer meaningful connections and support creative collaboration between organizations and individuals.
Interested in using Submittable for your own literary or arts advocacy project? Please be in touch.
Anna Zumbahlen lives in Missoula, where she works behind the scenes at Submittable, teaches poetry in the schools, and edits Carve, a quarterly literary magazine.