Updated August 19th 2025: Based on this FB post they are going on an indefinite hiatus. I would not submit to them at this time. They have unfortunately not updated the submission page on their website to indicate that.

A small press founded in 2020 by Joshua L. Daughrity, who publishes his work under the pen name Joshua Loyd Fox. It started out as a self-publishing operation, but expanded from there into anthologies. Watertower Hill held their first open reading period for manuscripts in 2023. They are transparent about how many authors they signed during open reading periods, on their About page. You can see their complete masthead here. Most of the staff have a familial connection and do not appear to have experience outside of the press. They appear to be based in Oklahoma.

They are currently open to submissions through August 31st, 2025. They are upfront about the fact that the work they are considering now will be scheduled for publication in 2027.

They are open to submissions of Adult Fiction, Adult Memoir, Adult Non-Fiction (including True Crime), Horror, Christian Fiction/Non Ficiton, New Adult Fiction, Romance (non-explicit only), Poetry, Middle Grade Fiction, Novella Collections, Short Story collections. They are also open to Adult, New Adult, and Young Adult Fantasy & Sci-Fi.

The bulk of what they have previously published seems to fit under the umbrella term of speculative fiction, which is to say it is fantasy, horror, or science fiction. I did not spot any works they had published aimed at Children or Young Adult readers. You can see their catalog here. Some of the books had around 50 ratings on Amazon, but most had less then that, that I looked at.

I did notice some minor errors on the site, with layout and typos and some unusual phrases. For the most part it was well-designed and easy to use. Most of the covers of the books appeared to be genre-appropriate. They did not appear to have distribution.

They stress that manuscripts for adult books must be a minimum of 60,000 words for consideration.

Middle grade manuscripts must be at least 20,000 words. Novella Collections and Anthologies must stay within industry standard boundaries. Please present your anthology or collection idea and be prepared for discussions on print costs and retail discount arrangements prior to a contract commitment. 

They ask that all submissions include a query letter, a 1–2-page synopsis, and the first three chapters. All parts should be included in the body of the email, they will not open attachments. They are open to reprints and previously self-published books, along with written proof of Reversal of IP Rights. 

If they request a full manuscript it must be Shunn formatted.

While they are a small and relatively new publisher I was very much heartened by how upfront they speared to be about contracts, stating: “We are looking for Worldwide English rights for paperback, eBook, and hardcover. Audiobook and translation rights are negotiable. WTHP and its publisher, Joshua L. Daughrity, only sign At-Will contracts, meaning either party may cancel the contract at any time, for any reason.”

It does imply elsewhere on that page that they don’t have a fixed-term for contracts, which is unusual. But the at-will option seems to make that ok.

The other lingering potential issue for me is that the publisher describes himself as a successful bestselling author. They also mention on the About page, republishing the books. Based on the current profiles of the books on Amazon it’s hard to get a feel for what bestselling really meant, and that is hard with Amazon because they have so many subcatigories. I have on more then one occasion published a poetry anthology on Amazon, that went on to be a “bestseller” in the poetry anthology section of the site. It only sold about 100 copies.

To learn more, go here.