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.

31 Manuscript Publishers with Geographic Restrictions

All of the presses on this list meet all but one of our guiding principles. All of these presses only accept work from writers with a specific geographic region or nationality. Because of that, we have never reviewed these presses, but they are still good presses. This is our update of the initial list, which…
Special Issue

The Importance of Reading Debut Novels

A debut novel is the first novel published by a writer. When one is attempting to find an agent and publisher for their own first novel, it is very important to read debut novels by other writers to see what is being published now. Older, established novelists like Margret Atwood and John Irving are going…
Issue Three Hundred Sixty Nine Special Feature

Open Books: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

UPDATED May 29th, 2024: We have continued to hear feedback that they are offering hybrid contracts. but have one tier of publications that is traditional. I haven’t heard from anyone in the traditional tier, and this is a highly unusual approach. To be a traditional press in good standing one cannot direct from traditional publishing…
Fiction Historical Fiction Issue Three Hundred Fifty Six Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

The Importance of Trope Awareness

Over the last decade, the word trope has come to be used to describe commonly recurring motifs, clichés, and rhetorical devices in a wide range of creative works. Once you become aware of tropes, and how they’re used (and misused), they can become a useful tool in your writer’s toolkit. Tropes: in characters and stories…
Issue Three Hundred Fifty Six Special Feature

30 Non-Fiction Publishers Open to Direct Submissions

The following publishers all focus on publishing non-fiction books. Most focus in on one or two aspect of non-fiction, such as history books, memoir, or cookbooks. Some are more broad in their interests. All of them are open to unsolicited submissions directly from authors. No agent required. Almost all of these publishers open to proposals,…
Special Issue Uncategorized

The Feminist Press

Last Updated February 2025. The Feminist Press was established as an independent nonprofit literary publisher in 1970.  The Feminist Press is the oldest women’s publishing house in the world. They are open to submission from female/female identifying, and non binary authors. They publish literary fiction and works of nonfiction. It is easy to get a…
Fiction Issue Three Hundred Fifty Five Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

22 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

Excession Press: Seeking Manuscript Submissions Until April 5th, 2020

Excession Press is a small press focused on horror, science fiction, weird western, or dark fantasy with literary merit. The books they publish are between 30,000 and 60,000 words in length. They say they have a few hundred words worth of wiggle room on either end of that guideline, but that is it. Excession Press…
Fantasy Horror Issue Three Hundred Fifty Four Manuscript Publishers Science Fiction Westerns

Brother Mockingbird Publishing: Actively Seeking Manuscript Queries

Updated February 2025 Brother Mockingbird Publishing is a small independent press that describes itself as “committed to the discovery of talented writers with original stories”. They publish a wide range of genres including, Action/Adventure, Chick Lit, Commercial, Contemporary, Crime/Detective/Cozies, Historical, Horror, Humor/Satire, Literary, Multicultural, Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction,  Suspense, Thriller, Upmarket, Western, Women’s Fiction, Young…
Fantasy Fiction Historical Fiction Horror Issue Three Hundred Fifty Three Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers Romance Southern Fiction Young Adult

What To Consider Before Writing Your Novel

When I first started writing, I went with the tried and true method of putting one word after the other. I was thirteen at the time. Now that I have spent a great deal of time and effort advising others on how best to publish their novels, I have a different perspective. Some of it…
Special Issue

Uproar Books: Accepting Submissions

UPDATED July 27th 2022, they have a pretty permanent looking closed to submissions. Uproar Books was founded in 2018 by Rick Lewis, who has a background in marketing, not publishing. Uproar books published its first book in early 2019. They only publish epic fantasy and science fiction for adults and young adults, and they are…
Fantasy Issue Three Hundred Fifty Two Manuscript Publishers Science Fiction Special Feature

Nine Ways to Promote Your Writing for Free

Often I am asked “How do you promote your writing without paying anyone?” In my experience, the best ways to promote one’s writing are free. I am very skeptical about most of the for-pay options. While there are many ways to promote your own writing, the best ways all involve hard work, and persistence. Here…
Issue Three Hundred Fifty Two Special Feature

Fairlight Books: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Fairlight Books is a publisher of literary fiction based in Oxford. They were founded in 2017 and started publishing in 2018. The company is run by an ex-energy chief, Louise Boland. Their goal is to promote literary fiction, particularly by new authors, in the UK. You can learn a little bit more about that here….
Issue Three Hundred Fifty One Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers

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 Three Hundred Fifty One Special Feature

85 Poetry Manuscript Publishers Who Do Not Charge Reading Fees

Most traditional poetry manuscript publishers charge their readers a fee to submit. You can read about why that is the case here. This article focuses on a number of poetry manuscript publishers who do not charge submission fees to writers, which is good news for poets. This is the longest and most accurate list of…
Special Issue

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