Conference

Manuscript Critiques

Manuscript critiques have always been an important part of the Jackson Hole Writers Conference. We offer two different critique opportunities.

Three short critiques:

These brief critiques allow you to share up to the first 10 pages of a single work with three different faculty members. You will have the chance to meet with each of these three faculty members for a 15-minute session during which you’ll receive one-on-one feedback about your work. One of those three faculty members can be an editor OR an agent for authors submitting work in the fiction, non-fiction, or children’s lit tracks. For poets, your critiques will be done by fellow poets. Please also note that not all faculty do critiques (read below). Short critiques are limited to the first 100 registrants.

Extended critiques:

These longer critiques allow you to submit up to 40 pages of your work for prose or poetry, or 60 pages of a screenplay. Your work will be reviewed by one faculty member who will then meet with you for up to 1 hour to provide one-on-one feedback. Extended critiques are extremely limited in availability (20 max.) and are on a first-come-first-served basis.

Short Critiques with Three Faculty

Short critiques ($75) include three 15-minute, one-on-one meetings with three different faculty members. You must also be registered for the full conference to receive critiques.

Manuscripts must be submitted by September 15th.

10 Pages Maximum from a single manuscript

Extended Critique with One Faculty

Extended critique ($150) includes a one-hour, one-on-one meeting with an individual faculty member. Only twenty total extended critiques are available, so sign up early. You must also register for the full conference and for the three short critiques.

Manuscripts must be submitted by September 15th.

40 page maximum for prose and poetry, 60 pages for screenplays, from a single manuscript

Critique Guidelines

Please read all of the guidelines for manuscript submissions and requests for readers before opting for critiques and before submitting your manuscript. Remember, you must first register for the conference.

The deadline for receipt of manuscripts is September 15th, 2024.
If you miss this deadline, you may still reserve two critiques (not with agents or editors) for $75 if you submit a manuscript no later than September 20th. Call or email to discuss late critique options.

If you miss all manuscript critique deadlines, check out the Silent Auction offerings (posted in October) for additional critique opportunities at the conference.
There is an additional surcharge for re-sending pages or the whole manuscript.
Once you send in your manuscript, please note that there is an additional surcharge for re-sending pages or the whole manuscript. The surcharge for revised pages is $50.

EXTENDED CRITIQUES: 40 page maximum for prose, 20 page maximum for poetry, or 60 page maximum for screenplay. The option for an extended critique for an additional $150 is limited. You must have paid for the conference and for the three one-on-one critiques before you can apply for the extended critique.

Editors and agents do not do extended critiques.

Extended critiques go quickly every year, so early registration is key to obtaining a longer critique. A total of 20 extended critique sessions are available.

We prefer to have manuscripts submitted as Word Document attachments via email, but we do accept paper manuscripts via postal mail. We must receive the manuscript by the cut-off date. It may be difficult to get the manuscript to us on time and to the readers if they do not live in Jackson. See below for details on submission requirements and deadlines. Please read them fully before submitting.

Not ALL of the faculty read manuscripts. If you are hoping to have a particular writer read your manuscript, please sign up early and contact us with your request.

Please read the following guidelines closely before submitting your manuscript. It will make getting the manuscripts to the writer, editor or agent who is critiquing your manuscript much smoother. If the manuscript is longer than required, we will remove the additional pages.

If you send us your manuscript and do not receive a confirmation within 24 hours, contact info@jhwriters.org

Prose

Length
Prose manuscripts should be no longer than 10 pages plus a title page with author’s name, address, e-mail address, and a phone number. Please also indicate the genre: fiction, nonfiction, or children’s lit.
Typed or printed
One-inch margins
Double-spaced
No smaller than 12 point

Submission Options

EMAIL (preferred)

Send your prose manuscript as an email attachment (we encourage you to use this option).

Submissions must be emailed by as a Word doc attachment to info@jhwriters.org with the subject line, “prose manuscript for short critiques.”

You will receive confirmation that your manuscript was received and we were able to open the attachment. If you don’t receive confirmation within one week there may have been a problem with delivery. If you don’t hear from us within one week, please email info@jhwriters.org, or call 307-200-5858.

US MAIL

Send your manuscript by mail (U.S. Post only).

Three copies of the same manuscript must be received by the deadline date.

Manuscript Critiques [genre]
Jackson Hole Writers
Box 3871
Jackson, WY 83001

You will be sent a post card or email confirmation when we receive the manuscript. If you don’t get the post card (or e-mail) within two weeks, email info@jhwriters.org, or call 307-200-5858.

Poetry

Length
Poetry manuscripts should be a single document of five poems no longer than 10 total pages plus a title page with author’s name, address, e-mail address, and a phone number. Please also indicate the genre is poetry.
Typed or printed
One-inch margins
Single-spaced.
No smaller than 12 point.

Submission Options

EMAIL (preferred)

Send your poetry manuscript as an email attachment (we encourage you to use this option).

Submissions must be emailed by as a Word doc attachment to info@jhwriters.org with the subject line, “poetry manuscript for short critiques.”

US MAIL

Send your manuscript by mail (U.S. Post only).

Three copies of the same manuscript must be received by the deadline date.

Manuscript Critiques [genre]
Jackson Hole Writers
Box 3871
Jackson, WY 83001

You will be sent a post card or email confirmation when we receive the manuscript. If you don’t get the post card (or e-mail) within two weeks, email info@jhwriters.org, or call 307-200-5858.

Screenplay

Length
Screenplay manuscripts should be no longer than 20 pages plus a title page with author’s name, address, e-mail address if you have one, and a phone number. Please also indicate the genre is screenplay.
Typed or printed
Conventional screenplay formatting
No smaller than 12 point.

Submission Options

EMAIL (preferred)

Send your screenplay manuscript as an email attachment (we encourage you to use this option).

Submissions must be emailed by as a Word doc attachment to info@jhwriters.org with the subject line, “screenplay manuscript for short critiques.”

US MAIL

Send your manuscript by mail (U.S. Post only).

Three copies of the same manuscript must be received by the deadline date.

Manuscript Critiques [genre]
Jackson Hole Writers
Box 3871
Jackson, WY 83001

You will be sent a post card or email confirmation when we receive the manuscript. If you don’t get the post card (or e-mail) within two weeks, email info@jhwriters.org, or call 307-200-5858.

JH Writers

P.O. Box 3871
Jackson, WY 83001

307-200-5858