Severn River Publishing “was founded by military veterans and family members who shared a love of story.” They were founded in 2018, and initially focused on publishing thrillers and mysteries. Now they publish a lot of historical fiction as well, primarily focused on the military and set during WWII (although there are exceptions).  They also publish work in the action & adventure genre. They are now open to submissions in the romance and science fiction and fantasy genres as well.

They publish eBooks and books in print. The print books appear to be print on demand, which is not unusual with a small publisher. They also have audiobooks available for many of their books, which is nice.

They are active on social media, and have genre-appropriate covers.

In 2022 when I first reviewed this publication, much, including the main page, was geared towards writers as well as readers, which made me nervous. Especially because some aspects of the page were very reminiscent of a vanity press. This is no longer the case, and they now are firmly focused on selling books on most pages of their website.

In January 2025, they went from having a vanity imprint, Ten Hut Media, to actively encouraging dual submissions to both Ten Hut Media and Severn River Press. While this is not the same as re-directing submissions from a traditional to a vanity imprint, it also was a not standard practice (or anything I’ve encountered before or sense).

For the sake of transparency, I’m going to be clear that an editor reached out to me from the press, after they moved away from having Ten Hut Media, and he shared some of the details going forward. As many long term readers already know, I generally try not to speak to editors directly, because sometimes what they say and what their website and authors say do not match. This does not appear to be the case here.

I think it’s clear that they want to move forward only as a traditional press. There have also been some good recent deals made by them and reported by Publishers Marketplace.

They are currently open to submissions till the 19th of November 2025. They are also open to an even larger range of genres than before. This is what they say about the reading period:

“We’re looking for page-turning, series-friendly fiction across mystery, thriller, historical fiction, romance, sci-fi, and more. This season we plan to sign 4–8 authors.” I like that they are upfront about the number of authors they plan to sign.

They also make it clear what they are looking for, in terms of authors:

• Authors who can publish 2 books per year (we’ll consider 1 book per year for the right project).
• Two-book initial deal with an option for at least two more in the series.
• Strong hooks, clear reader promise, and potential to grow into a series.

Overall though, they appear to do a good job, publishing consistent quality within a niche.

Unlike most presses they ask that you submit your complete manuscript along with your query letter.

To learn more, please visit their submission guidelines here. They have their own submissions portal, which is easy to use.