Submissions

Two Lines Press is open for submissions.

Press General Submissions
Calico Series: Poetry and Flash Fiction on Sex

Press General Submissions

As part of our mission to seek out languages, authors, and translators traditionally undervalued or undersupported in English-language publishing, Two Lines Press is open for general submissions. As always, there is no fee to submit your work.

This call is open to translations of novels, novellas, story collections, and literary nonfiction.
Translations may be from any language into English.
We highly encourage submissions of work from less-represented languages and from BIPOC, woman-identifying, and/or queer authors and translators.

SUBMISSIONS CLOSE: August 2, 2026

SUBMIT TO OPEN CALL

SUBMISSIONS PROCESS:

We have updated our submission process to lessen the burden on translators and our staff. To submit, please fill out this form(opens in a new tab). Here’s what you need to submit:

Brief bios of author and translator.
A 5-page sample translation from the book (unpublished or previously published).
A cover letter. The cover letter should include:
- a 1-paragraph description of the project;
- 1-2 sentences about why you feel this project is relevant to contemporary English-language readers now; and
- 2-3 books published in the past two years in the US (translations or not) whose audience you feel your project appeals to.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:

Two Lines Press will make 5 awards of $400/each to support translators in creating a longer sample based on their submission (minimum 5,000 words). Translators may opt-in to funding consideration on the submission form. Requests for funding are completely separate from the submissions process. Being selected for funding has no bearing on editorial decisions. While all requests for funding will be honored, we ask that translators for whom creating a sample will not create a financial burden refrain from requesting funding.

TIMELINE:

All submitters will receive a response from Two Lines Press within eight weeks of the end of the submissions period. At that point, we will notify recipients of financial support and will invite some translators to submit a longer sample and synopsis.

GENERAL SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES:

We strongly encourage translators to familiarize themselves with Two Lines’s aesthetic and list before submitting.
We are primarily interested in contemporary work or work that will engage with and expand upon the contemporary American literary landscape.
We do not consider retranslations of previously translated work unless there is a very compelling reason for the retranslation and the original translation is not currently in print.
Translators must identify and obtain contact information for copyright holders or the original author’s agent before submitting. We strongly encourage translators to contact rightsholders before spending any time translating.
The translator cannot also be the author of the book.
Two Lines Press’s mission is to highlight and celebrate the artistry of human translators. We do not accept submissions made with, or made in collaboration with, AI tools. Translators who publish with the press will be contractually obligated to make either no, or at most de minimis, use of artificial intelligence tools in authoring the translation.
Because we publish very few books each year, we are forced to pass on many projects we admire and that we hope to (and often do) read from other publishers.

PLEASE NOTE: We are testing a new system for submissions. If you have any trouble with the submissions form, or feedback on ways to improve the process for translators, please send an email to info@twolinespress.com(opens in a new tab).

SUBMIT TO OPEN CALL

Calico Series: Poetry and Flash Fiction on Sex

It’s notoriously hard to write well about sex, and yet we’re taking up the challenge of putting together a Calico dedicated to sex in translation. We’re looking for poems and short pieces of flash fiction that take risks to deliver a fresh take on the erotic, avoiding the usual pitfalls of cliche. A poet might find the erotic anywhere, even in everyday objects. But these pieces don’t need to be focused on pleasure—we encourage work that explores disgust, humor, apathy, etc. Above all we’re looking for exceptional writing and translations that celebrate language and form.

This call is open to translations from any language into English.
For poetry, please send us 8–15 pages of translated poetry.
For flash, please send us 5–8 pages. We define flash as prose of 1,000 words or under.

Read Senior Editor Sarah Coolidge’s interview about this submissions call(opens in a new tab).

SUBMISSIONS CLOSE: August 2, 2026

SUBMIT TO CALICO

CALICO SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES:

Translators are expected to have identified the original copyright holder and obtained confirmation that the translation rights are available before submitting.
We only consider previously unpublished translations. If a piece has been published anywhere, including on a personal blog, please submit something else.
We acquire first serial rights, and the rights revert to the translator upon publication.
The translator cannot also be the author of the piece (unless it is a co-translation).
Two Lines Press’s mission is to highlight and celebrate the artistry of human translators. We do not accept submissions made with, or made in collaboration with, AI tools. Translators who publish with the press will be contractually obligated to make either no, or at most de minimis, use of artificial intelligence tools in authoring the translation.

If selected, contributors will:

Be notified by January 1, 2027.
Be paid using our Calico payment rubric: $200 for the first printed page of the translation and $25 for each subsequent printed page, up to a maximum of $500.
We will also send you a copy of the Calico print edition in which your submission is published. You may purchase additional copies of print editions of the Translation at 50% off the cover price, on the condition that additional copies purchased by you shall not be for resale.

SUBMIT TO CALICO