River River Books

@riverriverbooks

Where Poetry Moves. Two editors, publishing (at least) two exceptional poetry titles a year & the Plainwater Nonfiction Series. Poetry submissions open in May. Posts by editors @hanvanderhart.bsky.social and @amorak.bsky.social

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River River Books@riverriverbooks· 1d

AH! We forgot to note that these will be SIGNED broadsides! 📚💙 #poetry #art Read more about our anthology kickstarter here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/riv...

Unsigned version of broadside:

What can be said of rivers and poetry

That language seems to remember itself best in the river of poetry: breaks free of, spills over these glinting flashes: the artificial, superficial, imposed, official, political, commodified, transactional, and fascist constraints of its use.
That to rush a poem is to rush a living thing: to rush a poem is to rush a river. As if a river could be rushed instead of rushing.

Molly Spencer

From "My Rivers," published in A River Runs Through It: Essays on Form & Water
No.
/75

River River Books@riverriverbooks· 3d

The anthology and broadside bundle features an excerpt from Molly Spencer’s essay “My Rivers”! 📚❤️🎉 Back our project here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/riv...

A river runs through it anthology cover and What can be said of rivers and poetry broadside (pink and teal) with the text:

What can be said of rivers and poetry
That language seems to remember itself best in the river of poetry: breaks free of, spills over these glinting flashes: the artificial, superficial, imposed, official, political, commodified, transactional, and fascist constraints of its use.
That to rush a poem is to rush a living thing: to rush a poem is to rush a river. As if a river could be rushed instead of rushing.
Molly Spencer

River River Books@riverriverbooks· 3d

Cover design by @alban-fischer.bsky.social, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT features 29 essays by contemporary writers on their place among rivers and writing. Back it here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/riv...

A River Runs Through It: Essays on Form & Water, cover featuring a blue and green waterscape with ripples

River River Books@riverriverbooks· 5d

Preorder Snails of the Apocalypse today! Use code SNAILS at checkout for free shipping 📚🐌 ☄️ riverriverbooks.org/store/Snails...

Snails of the Apocalypse book cover—Greg with yellow snail trails

River River Books@riverriverbooks· 5d

“I write from language, approximately never from subject matter. Words and phrases flap about us all the time like pterodactyls, I should be so lucky if one starts up a nest in my hair.” Martha Zweig 📚👉 Read more here: riverriverbooks.beehiiv.com/p/five-quest...

Martha Zweig standing beside a glacial lagoon in Iceland, wearing a hooded, red plaid shawl.

River River Books@riverriverbooks· 9d

Come prowl. Lest we forget how keenly we loved… Martha Zweig riverriverbooks.org/store/Snails...

Poem text in full:

FINALE

When in doubt, do mischief.
When it hurts, it will let you know. Follow the gleam in the eye of the needle into the haystack, into mouse & its mite, slow hottening heart of combustion.

Come prowl.
Lest we forget how keenly we loved, how long, help me inveigle our best & worst angels into new knots of invention, ours alone

who recall such havoc we wrought & so proud back in the day—that the sun rolled up gales of laughter into furious clouds, low ocean preening itself a cleanly silence over the drowned out loud.

River River Books@riverriverbooks· 9d

Hi y’all—we haven’t used Substack for a minute, and we need to say no to invitations to participate in posts (interviews, features, etc). Leaving this here so folks know why! 📚💙 We love small presses and their authors!

Screenshot from email:

We actually left Substack as a press because of the platform's continued support of white supremacist and anti-Semitic content. (We now use Beehiv, which offered an easy migration of our posts.) So l think we need to say no, as we continue to divest as best we can from platforms whose values don't align with ours. I recognize this is tricky and laborious work!

River River Books@riverriverbooks· 13d

Get your fresh interview with Beth Gilstrap at South 85 Journal right here! www.south85journal.com/2026/ Many thanks to Renee Kalagayan! 📚💙

Author photo of Beth Gilstrap, cover of There Is News, and the text:

Beth Gilstrap, interviewed by Renee Kalagayan, South 85 Journal

Q. How did you see these possibilities Lof hybrid work] at play in your book?
A. I think hybrid work is a fun place to experiment and play and innovate. At the same time, I think hybrid work is also an exceptional place to work on extremely difficult material, particularly in terms of trauma.

River River Books@riverriverbooks· 20d

“Sorry but spring will always interrupt.” —Martha Zweig, from forthcoming SNAILS OF THE APOCALYPSE (September 2026)

ARISAEMA TRIPHYLLUM IMPULSE

Sorry but spring will always interrupt. Look by the brook: greenish-white & greenish-purple bully pulpits rise, each hoodie tipped spathe over spadix.
Who hasn't cupped a hand
once, twice, exactly so over some stunned chipmunk, or a bird? It didn't do any good. First it did no harm.
The creature shook.
I'll allow I grumble too sour by now in my own tongue, but here's Jack, stalwart out of hidden flowers borne upstanding:
for each pumping wound in each
morning's elsewhere imperial massacre, each insult in wreckage, won't he speak up?

River River Books@riverriverbooks· 28d

Editing with @amorak.bsky.social is like

Google doc comment:

Is there a limit on how many times we can say river in a sentence?

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Jul 10

Don’t miss this great interview with poet @esylviapoet.bsky.social in The New Bedford Light! Read it in full here: newbedfordlight.org/poet-elizabe...

Botanical and floral graphic with the text:

"A really good poem offers a reader
something immediate in the images, in the senses, in the language that they can grab onto and find pleasure in right away. And it also offers something to hold onto and work through later. A good poem doesn't give up all of its secrets right away. It takes time and unpacks new ideas if you stay with it."
ELIZABE
SYLVIA
Feythe
POEMS
Sean McCarthy interviews Elizabeth Sylvia for The New
Bedford Light

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Jul 3

Ah, wonderful to see Joe Wilkins’ Pastoral, 1994 on this list! Find your copy at Itasca, or RiverRiverBooks.org! @clmporg.bsky.social 📚🎉🎉🎉

TOP 10 TITLES FROM CLMP.ORG MEMBERS, JUNE 2026
I. Fancyboy - Unbound Edition Press - Walker Brown
2. The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction -
Rose Metal Press - Ed. Tara L. Mash
3. Dandelion - Jaded Ibis Press - Danielle Bainbridge
4. Talbot & the Fall - Indirect Books - Michael Nath
5. Rosie - Unbound Edition Press - Tom Sleigh
6. The Witness of Nina Mvungi - Hanging Loose Press -
Esther Karin Mngodo
7. Yellow Jessamine - Neon Hemock Press - Caitlin Starling
8. Pastoral, 1994 - River River Books - Joe Wilkins
9. Oddest & Oldest & Saddest & Best - Orison Books - Jane Zwart
10. Love the World or Get Killed Trying - Noemi Press -
Alvina Chamberland
ITASCA BOOKS
DISTRIBUTION & FULFILLMENT
A
DIVISION OF BOOKMOBILE

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Jun 24

New review of @preetivangani.bsky.social’s Fifty Mothers in Austin Poetry Review! Many thanks to Candice Daquin 🙏📚💙💙 Read here: austinpoetryreview.com/book-reviews...

"..there is redemption here and the artful language and redolent landscapes are multifaceted in their refrain to not be
destroyed"

Candice Daquin reviews FIFTY MOTHERS by Preeti Vangani for
Austin Poetry Review

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Jun 19

We are SO excited that Corrie Williamson’s Your Mother’s Bear Gun and Joe Wilkins’ Pastoral, 1994 are BOTH finalists for the High Plains International Book Awards! 📚💙 Congrats, Corrie and Joe! 🎉🎉🎉 See the finalists here: highplainsbookawards.org/finalists/

Cover of Your Mother’s Bear Gun featuring bear skull and flowers. Design by Alban Fischer.

Joe Wilkins’ Pastoral, 1994 book cover, featuring a green starry sky overlooking a pond and barb wire. Design by Alban Fischer

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Jun 18

Good morning to this beautiful conversation between @preetivangani.bsky.social and @jennyqi.bsky.social in @commonmag.bsky.social! 📚💙 Read here: www.thecommononline.org/mother-is-a-...

Photo of Preeti Vangani and book cover of Fifty Mothers, followed by the text:

JQ: What was it like to write these poems in the voice of the mother?
PV: It was frankly the most fun! I was tired of thinking that elegy could only be a container for sorrow and grief's ceaseless complexity. That kind of elegy did no justice to my mother's levity, to the joys she'd birthed for herself and us, to the lightness in my life after her.

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Jun 17

Good morning to this beautiful review of THE VISIBLE FIELD in Radar Poetry! 📚 💙 Read it here: www.radarpoetry.com/review-the-v... @zoeryderwhite.bsky.social

"Tenderness, yes. Wit, yes.
Resolution, not often.
Because these poems mirror life at the same time that they exist as art."

Dara-Lyn Shrager reviews
THE VISIBLE FIELD in Radar Poetry

River River Books@riverriverbooks· May 27

Read the full review here: ciderpressreview.com/reviews/revi... And your copy of Bear Gun here: riverriverbooks.org/store/Your-M... 💙📚

"Williamson's writing has
uncommon
integrity in the way it
comprehends both nature's
loveliness and its perils."

YOUR MOTHER'S BEAR GUN
POEMS CORRIE WILLIAMSON
Emily Updegraff reviews YOUR MOTHER'S BEAR GUN by Corrie Williamson for Cider Press Review

River River Books@riverriverbooks· May 26

Hi dear poets—our summer open reading period closes on Sunday, 5/31! Send us your manuscripts today, before you are distracted by a bird or the inevitability of death. 📚💙💙 Submit here: riverriverbooks.org/editors/subm...

SUMMER 2026
OPEN READING
PERIOD
Closing
May 31
RIVERRIVERBOOKS.ORG

River River Books@riverriverbooks· May 16

We have received 156 manuscript submissions so far 📚💙 We read every one! #poetry #booksky duotrope.com/duosuma/subm...

Blue graphic with the text:

SUMMER 2026
READING PERIOD
UPEN-
MAY 1-31
RIVERRIVERBOOKS.ORG

River River Books@riverriverbooks· May 13

Take note, poets! 📚💙 Full guidelines here: riverriverbooks.org/editors/subm...

River River Books@riverriverbooks· May 9

What’s that?! Oh yes, we are open to submissions of full-length poetry manuscripts ALL OF MAY. 📚❤️ Fee optional, no questions asked. Submit here: duotrope.com/duosuma/subm...

Collage of all of our book covers, designed by Alban Fischer

River River Books@riverriverbooks· May 3

Pour yourself a second cup of coffee, and enjoy this beauty review of Elane Kim’s Antibody—as well as @christinalinsin.bsky.social’s review of Asa Drakes’ Maybe the Body and Catherine Esposito Prescott’s Superbloom! www.southfloridapoetryjournal.com/reviews-2026...

"Astonishing in its keen observation of self and society, tender in its understanding of humanity and the ephemeral and wonderful bodies which house us, Elane Kim's debut poetry collection, Antibody, is a powerful redefinition of the body as home and an exploration of the collective tensions its impermanence causes within society, within cultures, within our personal worlds..."
ANTIBODY
ELANE KIM
Christina Linsin reviews ANTIBODY by Elane Kim for South Florida Poetry Journal

River River Books@riverriverbooks· May 3

So grateful for @christinalinsin.bsky.social’s beautiful and attentive review of Elane Kim’s Antibody, which you can find here: riverriverbooks.org/store/Antibo...

Antibody by Elane Kim, design by Alban Fischer

Book cover featuring illustrated eyes and cataracts

River River Books@riverriverbooks· May 1

So thrilled to see Corrie’s incredible book on this list! Vote here: readingthewest.com/36th-annual-...

Your Mother's Bear Gun shortlisted for
Reading the West Book Awards!

Corrie Williamson's remarkable
collection is one of five finalists in the poetry category.
Readers vote until May 31!

River River Books@riverriverbooks· May 1

In case you're wondering, Duotrope's stats say we're fast, responsive, and picky.

Faster
River River Books's overall average response time is faster than most publishers.

More Challenging
River River Books's overall acceptance rate is lower than most publishers.

More Responsive
River River Books's overall rate of non-response is lower than most publishers.

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Apr 25

Read this new interview with @preetivangani.bsky.social at Bending Genres! 👉 bendinggenres.com/swetha-amit-...

BENDING GENRES

Swetha Amit interviews Preeti
Vangani about
Fifty Mothers (River River
Books, 2026), her new poetry collection

Q: Do you ever consider your audience?
A: To a large extent, I don't.
I try to stay true to the feeling in my body when these words come out of my mouth.

FIFTY
MOTHERS
POEMS
PREETI
ANGANI

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Apr 25

🥰🙏🎉 Read here: msmagazine.com/2026/04/24/b...

February (2026)
Fifty Mothers: Poems
By Preeti Vangani. River River Books.
Body, loss, duet

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Apr 24

New review of Preeti Vangani’s FIFTY MOTHERS by Sharon Tracey up at @merliterary.bsky.social! 📚💙 Read it here: merliterary.com/2026/02/21/m...

"As the composite poem ['Fifty
Mothers'] builds an eclectic group portrait, there's an element of repetition that feels like an
incantation that keeps the heart of the collection beating."

FIFTY
MOTHERS
POEMS
PREETI
Vangani
Sharon Tracey reviews FIFTY MOTHERS
by Preeti Vangani for MER

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Apr 13

Find Lauren’s amazing collection here: riverriverbooks.org/store/An-Eye... #ArabAmericanHistoryMonth

An Eye in Each Square, poems by Lauren Mukamal Camp. Published River River Books, 2023. Cover design by Alban Fischer. Cover features a plain of wheat and mountains in the distance, with a squared prism effect.

River River Books@riverriverbooks· Apr 9

SCYTHE author Elizabeth Sylvia talks poetry, process, and pleasure in this interview with The New Bedford Light ... newbedfordlight.org/poet-elizabe...