The Rootstock Publishing Poetry Series
Books in our Poetry Series:
The Poetry Society of Vermont
June 16, 2026
The Poetry Society of Vermont has been publishing The Mountain Troubadour for its members since 1949.
Edited by Sharon Darrow
April 21, 2026
“An affirmation of faith and decency and a powerful pushback against the darkness and violence…”
—John Steffler, Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate (2006-08)
Finalist, Poetry Anthology, CIPA EVVY Awards
Joan M. White
April 1, 2026
“A gem, full of spirit and love …”
—Sue D. Burton, author of BOX
Nancy Gordon
October 14, 2025
“Clear-eyed and wise…”
—James Crews, author of Love Is for All of Us and Unlocking the Heart
Finalist, Poetry Chapbook, CIPA EVVY Awards
The Poetry Society of Vermont
June 12, 2025
“The poems herein represent generations of poets and different perspectives in conversation with each other.”
—Erika Nichols-Frazer, editor and author of Staring Too Closely: Poems
Kellogg-Hubbard Library / Vermont Poets
April 1, 2025
“PoemCity connects art and the everyday in community.”
–Julia Barstow, East Montpelier
David Budbill
April 15, 2025
“A delight and a comfort.”
—Wendell Berry, award-winning novelist, poet, essayist, and environmental activist
Meghan A. Patricia Wentworth
April 4, 2025
“Profoundly healing for survivors...”
—Diana Whitney, poet, editor, and author of Dark Beds
Joyce Thomas
March 4, 2025
“Fresh, surprising and often startling…”
—J.Carter Merwin, artist and author of thirteen books
Toussaint St.Negritude
October 22, 2024
“Full of sweet sounds and surprises.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks, late US Poet Laureate (1985-86)
Poetry Winner, 2025 International Firebird Book Awards
Reuben Jackson
August 31, 2024
“A heart-wrenching parting gift from one of our great bards.”
—Abdul Ali, author of Trouble Sleeping
Kellogg-Hubbard Library / Vermont Poets
April 26, 2024
“This is poetry for the people...”
–George Longenecker, The Montpelier Bridge
Kim Ward
April 16, 2024
“A fresh voice to Vermont’s poetic landscape.”
–Linda Quinlan, author of Chelsea Creek
Mary Elder Jacobsen
April 9, 2024
“A remarkable book, fluent, fluid, formal, and fresh.”
–Elizabeth Spires, author of A Memory of the Future
Silver, Poetry, 2024 IPNE Award
Amy Allen
April 2, 2024
“Radiant with natural light.”
–Jardine Libaire, author of White Fur and Here Kitty Kitty
Betty Nadine Thomas
November 14, 2023
“Brave, raw, and empowering...”
–Nicole Alyssa Gabert, Poetry Battles Champion
Nancy Stone
October 16, 2023
“A heartfelt meditation in haiku and visual poetry...”
–David Yandell, Professor Emeritus of Pathology at University of Vermont
Silver, Poetry, 2024 IBPA Ben Franklin Award
Kellogg-Hubbard Library / Vermont Poets
April 18, 2023
“PoemCity is a feast that I like to savor.”
–Cynthia Liepmann, Middlesex
2023 IPNE Award Finalist, Poetry
Doug Stanfield
June 8, 2021
“A lovely, relatable set of poems for the heartbroken and helpless romantics.” —Kirkus Reviews
2021 IPNE Finalist, Poetry
Eva Zimet
December 15, 2020
“A collection of poems that will surprise you.” —Mary Dingee Fillmore, author of An Address in Amsterdam
2021 IPNE Finalist, Poetry
Scudder H. Parker
June 9, 2020
“An enchanting collection. Tenderly observant and rewarding poetry.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
2020 Independent Publishers of New England (IPNE) Award for Best Poetry
Christina Fulton
May 5, 2020
“A fine collection that gives grief the tonic sting of saltwater.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2020
Grow Your Poetry with Rootstock
Rootstock Publishing’s Poetry Series offers a publishing partnership to grow your book from poems on a page to a beautifully designed, edited, and printed book and ebook that are available for purchase where all books and ebooks are sold.
What do we look for in a book of poetry? Language that sings, poems that engage, and words that grow in the reader’s imagination. We are looking for highly polished poems that create a collection. How to know if your collection is ready for publication: Do your poems stand alone and also tell a story together? Does your collection follow an arc, allowing the reader to see a story in the book, as a whole? Once you have reached this stage, we look forward to helping you through the rest of the process.
Submission Guidelines
Now Accepting Chapbooks! Also Accepting Full-Length Manuscripts.
Full-length manuscript should have between 50 and 100 pages of poetry.
Chapbook manuscripts should have between 25 and 50 pages of poetry.
Poetry can be defined as broadly as the author decides. Prose poems, hybrid form, songs, spoken word, and performance poetry pieces are all accepted, as well as traditional and abstract forms of poetry.
Individual poems in the manuscript may have been previously published.
Except for when needed to express creative elements within a poem, we expect the manuscript to be in a common font (Times, Times New Roman, Georgia, etc.), in 12-point font size, with one poem on each page.
Title page included.
Page numbers included.
Table of Contents included.
Acknowledgments page included, if applicable.
Submit through Submittable or see below.
A $15 reading fee must be included with each submission. If sending through postal mail, please make checks out to Rootstock Publishing and email info@rootstockpublishing.com for the mailing address. Your $15 reading fee will help pay for our professional staff of readers, as well as cover costs of Submittable.
Poetry Series Hybrid Fee Structure: $3,000 for Chapbooks (under 50 pages) or $4,000 for Full-Length (50-100 pages), with a 10% discount given for members of the Poetry Society of Vermont. The author retains an 80% royalty rate. Your contract includes Full-Service Publishing & Marketing. Printing is paid for by the author, however print runs can be small because of our POD, or Print on Demand, publishing system. Please see this page to understand which services are covered.
Polly Giantonio
August 11, 2026
“A deeply personal exploration of memory, family, and the fleeting moments that shape our lives.”
—Jim Bennett, managing editor of PoetryKit.org