slush pile

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a collection of unsolicited manuscripts submitted to a publisher.

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Example Sentences

“Home Alone,” another kiddie comedy from the slush pile of John Hughes, isn’t a cartoon movie in the way that, say, “Dick Tracy” is.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2022

His primary duty is pawing through the slush pile looking for unlikely masterpieces with titles like “The Igloo Lover,” “I, Barbarian” and “Mary M.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 6, 2021

Was he always good, and no one noticed, because he was a nobody, a self-taught sailor banging out slush pile manuscripts on that enviable typewriter?

From Slate • Dec. 27, 2020

William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” was rescued from the slush pile after already being rejected by one editor.

From New York Times • Aug. 23, 2019

I think about how many voices are still not represented nearly enough, and about how their pulse is silently beating in a slush pile.

From Salon • May 4, 2019