A 501(c)(3) non-profit literary press collective founded in 2000, Sundress Publications is entirely volunteer-run, publishes chapbooks and full-length works in both print and digital formats, and hosts a variety of online journals. Our mission is to champion great work—especially by persons under-represented in literary publishing—and we welcome writers and artists regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, religion, class, veteran status, and educational background.
We are firm believers in fostering artists whose work is worthy of recognition. Sundress Publications works closely with its authors, artists, and contributors, providing feedback and assistance through every stage of the publication process. For this reason, we do not and cannot publish works we do not love whole-heartedly.
Our aesthetic sensibilities run the gamut from traditional to innovative; we do not align ourselves with a single school or style. We seek works in all genres by intelligent, creative humans that speak to other intelligent, creative humans. In many ways, Sundress Publications envisions the manuscripts we publish as concept albums, not merely as collections of hot singles. We are most interested in the overall effect created by the artist, how the parts act in concert to create the whole.
Sundress Publications is the umbrella site of the publications The Best of the Net Anthology, Stirring, Rogue Agent, Pretty Owl Poetry, cahoodadoodaling, Doubleback Review, and beestung as well as a non-profit literary press. Stirring : A Literary Collection was founded by Erin Elizabeth Smith in September of 1999 and is one of the longest continually publishing journal on the internet. Rogue Agent is a journal dedicated to publishing poetry and art that depicts the myriad experiences of living in the body. They are especially interested in receiving submissions from marginalized / underrepresented voices. Pretty Owl Poetry is an online quarterly journal that publishes new, emerging, and established writers in poetry, flash fiction, and the visual arts. cahoodaloodaling is a collaborative publication whose themed quarterly issues are shaped by an eclectic staff and a revolving guest editor. beestung is a quarterly online micro-magazine for non-binary and two-spirit writers and readers, with an emphasis on intracommunity sensibilities. Doubleback Review solely publishes work from now-defunct journals. beestung is a quarterly online micro-magazine for non-binary and two-spirit writers and readers, with an emphasis on intracommunity sensibilities, resisting the canon and all forms of bigotry. Finally, the Gone Dark Archives seeks to preserve now-defunct online journals so that the work of their editors and authors does not disappear when their funding runs dry.
In 2013, Sundress founded the Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) at Firefly Farms, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Nestled in an old-fashioned “holler” just twenty minutes from downtown, this picturesque 45-acre farm is the perfect writers’ residency where visitors can hone their creative crafts as they escape the routine of modern life. Currently, SAFTA runs a series of weekend workshops centered on writing in all genres—poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting, journalism, academic writing and more—where the staff encourages artists of all skill levels and experience to work with peers and professionals to learn a host of new skills in order to enrich their work. SAFTA is now open for writers’ residency applications year-round.
Above all, we are dedicated to publishing creative work and promoting the arts in a way that makes our authors, artists, readers, and staff proud to be a part of Sundress.