River River Books

River River Books Submissions open June 1-July 31, 2022.

Inspired by the idea that you cannot step in the same river twice, at River River Books, two poetry editors join together to publish two exceptional poetry titles a year.

Beyond delighted to see E.G. Cunningham’s brilliant Field Notes on this list.
12/13/2025

Beyond delighted to see E.G. Cunningham’s brilliant Field Notes on this list.

We've added our own "best of" list to the internet! We see many many books at Bookmobile and Itasca, see what our our favorites have been this year at https://na2.hubs.ly/H02wNWQ0

Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts River River Books Graywolf Press Sming Sming Books Sarabande

12/13/2025
Another cover to show off! Preeti Vangani's brilliant poetry collection Fifty Mothers is part of our rocking spring line...
12/10/2025

Another cover to show off! Preeti Vangani's brilliant poetry collection Fifty Mothers is part of our rocking spring lineup, and this cover (designed by Alban Fischer) is stunning.

Preorder link in first comment!

10/03/2025

Printed at Bookmobile and distributed by Itasca Books, Encounters for the Living and the Dead, Poems by Jameela F. Dallis--a sensual journey that sweeps the tangible world and the poet's beloveds into its arms--published by River River Books.

Buy at https://na2.hubs.ly/H01bSKd0

So proud of Jameela Fay Dallis and her amazing book!
10/01/2025

So proud of Jameela Fay Dallis and her amazing book!

Reports are in and here's the Itasca Books top-selling titles of September 2025! All available from Itasca Books at https://bit.ly/46zObcA A division of Bookmobile, Itasca provides dropship services and print distribution to the trade.

Nodin Press Rose Metal Press Jaded Ibis Press Wise Ink River River Books Literati Press Comics & Novels

Our 2025 Summer Open Reading Period & Finalist list is here! We continue to receive more submissions every year. This ye...
08/06/2025

Our 2025 Summer Open Reading Period & Finalist list is here! We continue to receive more submissions every year. This year we received 425.

As we noted last year, we think it says something good about the world and about the poetry community that there are so many poets out there writing and putting books together. Our submissions remain fee optional, with no required payment. But we do accept tip jar donations, and this year, 275 of our submitters (about 65 percent) donated about $3800, an average of around $13 per donor.

We are beyond grateful for this generosity—honestly, we could not maintain the press without this kind of community support. A small press is a labor of love, certainly, but so many things we do require money: distribution, paying our amazing designer, giving our authors a small initial payment, printing, shipping, attending conferences like AWP, and more.

We read so many incredible manuscripts this summer, and here are our top twenty finalists, not including the four we have selected for publication (which we will announce soon!)—thank you for the chance to read your beautiful poems, images, lines. Seriously, we are still talking about some of your poems, and you made our final decisions so difficult! Thank you, amazing poets. Although these manuscripts were not our choices this time, we encourage you to watch for these books, and read these writers, because these titles will be on the bookstore shelves before you know it:

Thomas Snarsky
a few small muscles

Jasmine Khaliq
Somewhere Horses

Marilyn Johnson
Silent Car

Maureen Thorson
gloss

Monika Cassel
Long Line

Jennifer K. Sweeney
Redwood Communal

Amelie Langland
Alabama Tulip

Amanda Roth
Elegy for My Father’s God

Eli Rahm
Megafauna

Gauri Awasthi
The Mother Wound

Amish Trivedi
The Depression Era

Cynthia White
One Life to Live

Chris Corlew
LAKESHORE MONK

Megan Leonard
Mercy

Hannah Bonner
The Ordering of Vision

Emily Holland
Notifications On

Lawrence Di Stefano
AERATING THE FIELD

J-T Kelly
A Lighter Sentence

Tara Burke
Soft Neglect

Ja’net Danielo
Eclipse

Our summer reading period is open for five (5) more days (counting today). We want to read your poetry manuscript. Yes, ...
06/26/2025

Our summer reading period is open for five (5) more days (counting today). We want to read your poetry manuscript. Yes, yours! Yes, those poems!

No mandatory reading fee, a careful read from two thoughtful editors, the chance to join our growing catalog. Give us a shot!

A week and a half left in this reading period! We want to read your amazing poetry manuscript!
06/21/2025

A week and a half left in this reading period! We want to read your amazing poetry manuscript!

We're open for 20 more days (counting today)!

If you're looking for a small press with two editors who will care deeply for your book, do give us a try. We're looking for (at least) two poetry collections to join our growing catalog.

We're open for 20 more days (counting today)! If you're looking for a small press with two editors who will care deeply ...
06/11/2025

We're open for 20 more days (counting today)!

If you're looking for a small press with two editors who will care deeply for your book, do give us a try. We're looking for (at least) two poetry collections to join our growing catalog.

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Durham, NC
27707

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