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.

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 2026 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

Updated September 2025: Website being updated. Not currently functioning.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…
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

Blood Bound Books: Now Accepting Novella Submissions

UPDATED NOVEMBER 11TH 2020: They appear to be closed to general submissions for the foreseeable future. Blood Bound Books is a publisher of dark fiction, they are best known for publishing extreme horror novels but they also publish supernatural and crime fiction, and most other genres that can be categorized as dark. They publish eBooks…
Bizzaro Horror Issue Three Hundred Fifty Manuscript Publishers

Familius: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Familius is a newer publisher, established in the last few years, but the head editor is established and has a good track record of working at other publishing companies. They were also recently acquired by the established publisher Workman, which already has a number of other imprints in this market. Workman has excellent distribution. Familius…
Children's Books Issue Three Hundred Forty Nine Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

26 Publishers Seeking Young Adult Submissions (No Agent Required)

Young adult is one of my favorite genres to read, even though when I was a young adult I struggled to find good YA books. These days the young adult genre is profitable, diverse, and covers a wide variety of genres, from science fiction to romance and everything in between. A lot of young adult…
Special Issue

duopress: Now Accepting Manuscript Proposals

Updated October 9th 2023: They appear to have been acquired by Source Books, and are not currently open to direct submissions. duopress is a publisher of innovative non-fiction books and gift books. They publish a large variety of non-traditionally formatted books for children, including board books that fold out, flash cards, and sticker books. They…
Children's Books Gift Books Issue Three Hundred Forty Eight Manuscript Publishers

55 Children’s Book Publishers Seeking Submissions

All of the publishers on this list publish children’s books. Some just publish picture books, some publish only middle-grade fiction, and some publish a wide variety of genres aimed at adults as well. Some are looking for educational work, others are open to anything. A number of these publishers are large and established. Others are…
Special Issue

Farrar, Straus and Giroux: Open to Submissions

Updated on April 21st, 2020 – They have closed to unsolicited submissions. We will update if this changes at any point, but I don’t think this is a temporary change. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is open to direct submissions. They are an imprint of Macmillan, one of the Big Five publishers. They focus on…
History Issue One Hundred Forty Seven Issue Three Hundred Forty Seven Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers Poetry

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