Last Updated May 2017 – They recently changed owenership and they may or may not reopen to book submissions at some point, but they are for the foreseeable future, closed.
Atticus Books is a small publisher based out of New Jersey. Atticus Books was interested in publishing unusual literary fiction. They publish books that are concerned with language, ones that are playful but are aware of the rich history that dwells in literature. They have one open reading period every year. So make sure to check the website to see when that is.
Atticus Books only publishes three to seven books a year. Each book they publish has a wonderful cover, professionally designed. They are all well bound and printed. Atticus Books also publishes an online literary journal called The Atticus Review that contains poetry and fiction. Many of their authors were previously published in the review. They encourage potential authors to like them on Facebook and submit to the Review as well.
Atticus Books has a great reputation among the literary community for producing wonderful books and for treating their authors well. Authors praise them for the way they treat their books, and they frequently publish the same author more than once.
They are not a large press, so they do not have an official publicity department, but they do a lot to promote their authors. They go to the largest writing conference (AWP), release review copies, and other important steps.
They publish unusual and ambitious works filled with ideas. They like novels that are unconventional and play with readers’ expectations. They are not interested in genre or non literary work. Do not submit a query for work that falls into either of those categories.
They only accept submissions through their email address. If you want to submit, include a cover letter with an author bio and a manuscript attached as a .doc or .docx file.
To learn more and to submit, please visit their website here.