slush piles
Unread submission heaps
A slush pile is the accumulation of unsolicited manuscripts that arrives at publishing houses and literary agencies, waiting to be read by editors or their assistants.
The term evokes something cold, wet, and undifferentiated—an apt metaphor for the mass of hopeful submissions that must be waded through.
Most slush pile manuscripts are rejected, but occasionally a gem emerges: several bestsellers were famously discovered in the slush.
Her first novel sat in a slush pile for months before someone finally read it.
- readComprehend written language
- submissionsItems offered for consideration
- sortMethod of ordering
- unsolicitedNot asked for
- queriesQuestions seeking information
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