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.

Nightfire: Temporarily Open to Manuscript Submissions

Nightfire, the horror imprint of Tor/Forge, is open to submissions of novellas (20,000-40,000 words) and novels (40,000-200,000 words) for a very brief period this June (2020). It opened on the 15th and will close on the 22nd. Tor/Forge is a science fiction and fantasy imprint of McMillan and you can learn more about them here….

19 Approachable Literary Journals

If you are just starting to submit your work to literary journals, or perhaps you just want to avoid rejection, this list is for you. All of the literary journals in this list accept around half of what is submitted to them. So the odds of your work being accepted just went up. These are…

17 Literary Journals that Respond Within a Month

Note: We intended to publish a different article today, and erroneously sent an email announcing this article, which we published last month. I apologize for the error. Here’s the article we did mean to publish (and announce) today: 17 Approachable Literary Journals It is good to start out by submitting your work to literary journals…

Legend Press: Accepting Manuscript Queries

Updated February 2025 Legend Press is a UK based independent press open to direct and agented submissions. They publish contemporary fiction and crime fiction (largely psychological and political thrillers). They now also publish historical fiction. You can get a good feel for what they publish by visiting their website here. They’ve published some very popular…

8 Exciting New Literary Journals

In the last 6 months the following journals opened their metaphorical doors for the first time. A number of magazines on this particular list have specific focuses and areas of interest. It is great to submit to new journals as the editors tend to have more energy and enthusiasm. They also tend to be more…

SmartPop Books: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

Update July 27th 2022: You must now pitch to them through the main BenBella site. SmartPop Books is an imprint of BenBella Books, an established and respected non-fiction publisher. According to their website, SmartPop is “actively looking for smart, quirky, engaging non-fiction titles on television, books, and film.” They are open to anthologies, as well…

New South Publishing: Open to Queries

New South Publishing is an Australia based university press. New South is the publishing arm of UNSW Press Ltd, based out of the of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) – Sydney. It has won the Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) for small publisher twice – in 2016 and 2017. New South has a…

23 Respected Literary Journals and Magazines that Publish Creative Writing

The literary journals and magazines on this list reject the vast majority of what is submitted to them. Sometimes authors’ works are rejected for years, decades even, before they receive an acceptance. But these literary journals are respected and trusted. Most have a large readership and good distribution in libraries and bookstores. Many of these…

Manuscript Publishing as Part of a Larger Story

Most authors who are new to writing think of publishing as a three-step process. The first step is to write a manuscript, the second is to submit a manuscript, and then the third step is to publish that manuscript. This is an over-simplification, and all of these steps have multiple components. For example, as part…

Owl Canyon Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

Updated September 2025: Appear to be defunct. Website no longer working. Owl Canyon Press is an independent publisher based out of Boulder, Colorado. They were founded in 2011. They publish fiction, nonfiction, young adult fiction, and works in translation. It’s easy to get a feel for what sort of work they publish by browsing their…

The Top 40 Publishers for New Authors

The writing market can be overwhelming, particularly for new authors who do not have a history of past publication. It is important to note that no legitimate established presses specifically look for unpublished authors. The presses on this list were chosen because they have published a number of debut books before. The publishers on this…

Kane Miller: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

UPDATED August 2024: They have not been open to unsolicited submissions for over two years now. Their phrasing implies they may reopen someday, but we are removing them from the guide and they will not be added to lists going forward. Kane Miller is an award winning publisher of educational children’s books. In 2019 they…

Big Sky Publishing: Now Accepting Manuscript Queries

Big Sky Publishing is an Australian based publisher that focuses on publishing nonfiction books for adults. They also publish children’s books, although they are only open to children’s book submissions at certain times. They focus on publishing manuscripts focusing on the following areas: History, Military History, Self-help, Autobiography, Business, Careers, Environment, How to/Practical Guides, Health,…

26 Literary Fiction Publishers that Accept Direct Submissions – No Agent Required

Literary fiction is one of the harder genres to get published in without an agent. There are smaller presses that specialize in it, but unfortunately more and more of those presses are now charging reading fees. However, there are still good options of authors who are unagented and are averse to paying reading fees. The…

Plough Publishing Company: Open to Queries

Plough Publishing House was founded in 1920. They are an independent publisher of books on faith, society, and spiritual life. They are primarily based in  Walden, New York, with additional branches in the United Kingdom and Australia. Plough is the publishing house of the Bruderhof, which is according to the site “an international movement of…

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