MLR Press - Gay, Erotic Fiction and Romance at its Best

The prizes
If your photo is chosen for an MLR cover, you and your subject will be credited on the book's publisher's page, and you'll each receive a signed copy of the book on which your photo was used. If your photo is used in institutional advertising, you and your subject will each earn credit toward a signed MLR title of your choice.

Deadline? What deadline?

We're talking about a contest in the loosest sense of the word. We'll add your photo to our artists' library. If our artist uses your photo, hooray for you and your subject. Every three months, we'll give away a softbound MLR title of the winners' choice in a random draw from among all entrants who haven't yet won.

The photographs

Color? Black and white? Matters naught to us. But, it must be in a resolution high enough to bear printing as large as about 1280 x 840 without loss of detail. We don't expect professional quality in either the photography or manipulation of the image. But, we all sometimes stumble on just the right combination of subject, lighting, and action, intentionally or by accident. Sometimes it's there in the photo, if only we knew how to crop it effectively. Sometimes it just doesn't quite work the way we expected it to. but still... . Chances are, our artists are going to alter the image, so we're still interested.

There's no need to pose your subject(s) in any particular way or to capture any particular theme. Our artists will likely manipulate the picture to meet the needs of the book and the author. To get an idea of what kinds of photographs we might use, see covers of upcoming releases.
Remember also that cover art is art of the tease; subtlety can be much more effective than blatancy.

The rules

The photograph or image needn't be of a human being, but if your subject is a person, he must be of legal age in the jurisdiction where you took the photograph, and he must, in any case, be at least 18 years of age. The same guidelines apply for photographers and artists as apply for our manuscripts. We are just not interested in some subjects: scat or other body functions, bestiality, underage sex, rape.

Copyright and use

By submitting your photograph you guarantee that you are the author and copyright holder of the photo. Your photograph will not be used for any purpose but artwork for MLR Press books and their promotion and for institutional ads.

Selection

Every three months, we'll give the photographer and subject a signed softbound MLR title of the winners' choice in a random draw from among all entrants who haven't previously won. If the collaboration between author and the artist results in the use of your entry for the cover art, you and your subject will each earn credit on the publisher's page and a signed copy of the print book. If your photograph is used in institutional advertising for MLR, we'll credit the photographer and give the photographer and subject a signed softbound MLR title of the winners' choice.

How to enter

Attach an electronic copy of your photo to an e-mail that includes your name and contact information. Send it to mlrpress.subsandqueries@gmail.com . If you happen to be a photo buff, give us camera type, f-stop, shutter speed, film stock (if applicable) and all that other esoterica. If you're of a mind, tell us where the photo was taken, too. We'll include it all with your credit if your picture is used for MLR artwork. Download and print one subject's full release of claims form for each identifiable person in the photograph and have them sign individual forms. Mail the form(s) through the fine services of your local government snail mail to: