Articles by Emily Harstone

Emily Harstone is the pen name of a published writer. Her work has been published in ten countries, four continents, by over fifty different journals. She is a professional submissions adviser and editor. If she owned a dog it would be named Wystan.

Headpress: Now Accepting Manuscript Proposals

Updated September 24th, 2025: Their website has been down for at least a week, because they appear to have exceeded their bandwidth. Headpress was established in 1991 although the publishing arm wasn’t active till 1992, according to their FAQ. Headpress focuses on publishing nonfiction. The subject matter they publish varies widely. They say “When Headpress…
Issue Four Hundred Fifty Eight Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

Michael O’Mara Books: Now Accepting Nonfiction Manuscript Queries

Michael O’Mara Books (also known as MOM Books) is a UK based publisher of nonfiction, and publish a wide range of books including history, popular science, language, sport, lifestyle and biography. Outside of traditional books they also publish coloring books, activity and puzzles books, and stationary. You can get a feel for what they publish…
Issue Four Hundred Fifty Seven Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

28 Publishers that Accept Direct Submissions of Science Fiction or Fantasy Novels

Most of these publishers are interested in science fiction and/or fantasy. Some publish just one of these genres. Others publish many genres and types of books, science fiction and fantasy just being one genre among many. Some are small companies, others are imprints of major publishing houses. They are not listed in any particular order….
Special Issue

Bala Kids: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Bala Publications is an imprint of  Shambhala Publications, an independent publishing company based in Boulder, Colorado. They are distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services. Shambhala Publications was founded in 1969 and “is dedicated to creating books, audio, and immersive courses aimed at improving lives—in ways big and small—in the hope of contributing to the…
Children's Books Issue Four Hundred Fifty Six

Zephyr Review: Now Seeking Submissions

Zephyr Review is a brand new quarterly online literary journal. Writers can submit up to three stories or poems. Stories have to be no more than 1,500 words. They publish poetry, prose, fiction, flash fiction, nonfiction, and artwork. I’ve never seen prose and fiction separated into categories like this, and they never clarify the difference…
Creative Non Fiction Fiction Issue Four Hundred Fifty Six Literary Journals Paying Market Poetry

Quirk Books: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

Updated July 7th, 2025: Quirk Books, has put a temporary pause on their publishing program, which is to say they will not be acquiring or developing new books for six months. They laid off a number of employees. This happened right after unionization, so there were questions raised around that which the founding editor and…
All Genres Issue Four Hundred Fifty Five Manuscript Publishers Mystery Young Adult

The Importance of Knowing What You Want from a Publisher

Authors seeking to get their first manuscript published all have different goals. For some authors, any press will do, even if they have to pay for publication to happen (although I highly encourage you to self-publish through Amazon or another print-on-demand company, if that is the case). Other authors are interested in presses that have…
Issue Four Hundred Fifty Five Special Feature

Opportunities Open to Submissions From Historically Underrepresented Voices this February

This is a new list we are trying, consisting of publishers that otherwise meet our guiding principles, but are only open to free submissions from historically under-represented writers. Some of these publications are open to a wide range of writers including writers of color, gender non-conforming and LGBTQ+ writers, and those living with disabilities. Some…
Issue Four Hundred Fifty Five Uncategorized

18 Literary Journals with Fast Response Times

It is good to start out by submitting your work to literary journals that have fast response times. It is rewarding to hear back from journals within a month, rather than a year later, when you have forgotten all about them. Submitting to journals with fast response times helps keep you motivated. All of these…
Special Issue

11:11 Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

11: 11 Press is an independent literary publisher based in Minneapolis, MN that was founded in 2018. They publish a wide range of literature but are currently only open to submissions for their fiction series Nothing Exists Alone. This is how they describe the series: “Expanding on our catalog of risk-taking work, this fiction series…
Issue Five Hundred Eleven Manuscript Publishers

Two New Resources to Find Literary Journals to Submit to

If you are seeking different literary journals to submit to, there are two great new places to find journals to submit to. One of these is a database, and the other is a Substack newsletter. A database: chill subs chill subs is a new sortable database of places one can submit to. As the name…
Issue Four Hundred Fifty Four Special Feature

Literary Journals: A Great Way to Promote Your Book

A literary journal is an online or print periodical devoted to literature. Literary journals usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays. Most focus on general literature, but there are others with more specialized interests such as science fiction, children’s literature, horror, and mystery. Some are just focused on a specific subject matter. For example, there…
Issue Four Hundred Fifty Four Special Feature

35 Specialized Manuscript Publishers that Accept Direct Submissions

All of the presses on this list meet all of our guiding principles, but most of them have such a specific focus that we cannot justify writing a full review and sending it to our full list of subscribers. But they are still good publishers. Instead, we have compiled this list of mini-reviews. I have also…
Special Issue

Mad Creek Books: Now Seeking Manuscript Submissions

Mad Creek Books is the literary trade imprint of The Ohio State University Press. With a mission to foster creativity, innovate, and illuminate, Mad Creek Books champions diverse and creative literary nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. They charge 7 dollars for general submissions and 25 dollars for the contests they run, but many of the imprint…
Graphic Novel Issue Four Hundred Fifty Two Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers

Announcing The Winter Recipients of Authors Publish Fund for Literary Journals

In September 2020, we started a new fund for literary journals. You can learn about this fund here. We selected the recipient of the fund using a random number generator. We are announcing the winners of the November, December,  January, February, and March funds today. Due to a high rate of non-responses from literary journals…
Issue Four Hundred Fifty Two

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