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.

33 Children’s Book Publishers Seeking Picture Books

All the publishers on this list focus primarily on publishing picture books. There are a lot of myths about publishing picture books, and one of them is that you have to supply your own illustrations. This is generally not the case. Most picture book publishers will match your work with an illustrator for you, some…
Special Issue

Biblioasis: Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Biblioasis is a literary press based in Windsor, Ontario. They publish poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. They publish short story collections and translated works. The books they publish have beautiful covers. Within Canada they have good distribution. Unlike most Canadian presses they accept international submissions, however they use the term “select”. If you are submitting internationally…
Fiction Issue Three Hundred Two Manuscript Publishers Poetry

Dalkey Archive Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

UPDATED DECEMBER 2021: They have been acquired by Deep Vellum press, and now they focus on scholarly work. They also now say “ To make this program possible, authors of scholarly works supplement some of the publication costs involved in bringing their book into print. This is most often achieved through subventions from their institutions…
Issue Three Hundred One Manuscript Publishers

Four Journals to Submit to at the Start of the Month

The following four journals all accept a limited amount of free submissions at the start of the month. We are publishing this article on the last day of February. All of the journals should be closed to free submissions at this point, but starting March 1st, all of these journals should be open to free…
Issue Three Hundred One Special Feature

The Top 38 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 It is important to note that no legitimate established presses specifically look for unpublished authors.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…
Special Issue

Arsenal Pulp Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Updated September 2025 Arsenal Pulp Press is a Canadian small press based out of Vancouver. They have won the Jim Douglas Publisher of the Year Award (from the Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia), and they have been a finalist for Small Press Publisher of the Year (awarded by the Canadian Booksellers Association) five…
Children's Books Graphic Novel Issue Three Hundred Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction Young Adult

aunt lute: Accepting Submissions

aunt lute is a multicultural women’s press. Their priority is to publish work by women, both transgender and cisgender, particularly women of color. They publish both fiction and nonfiction. They also publish poetry but only as part of an anthology or a larger prose work. They were founded in 1982. They do not accept the…
Fiction Issue Two Hundred Ninety Nine Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

How to Get Your Writing Published This Year

I was a writer for over a decade before I realized the important role submissions play in being a writer. I don’t know why I expected an editor to arrive at my door with a request for my work. In fact, if an editor or publisher you don’t know approaches you in order to publish…
Special Issue

Five Journals Open to Submissions this February

All of these literary journals just re-opened to submissions on February 1st. As always, all of the literary journals do not have a reading fee. The literary journals are in no particular order. Switchback Switchback Journal is an online publication of the MFA in Writing Program at the University of San Francisco.  They publish a variety…
Issue Two Hundred Ninety Eight Literary Journals

Skylight Press: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Skylight Press is a small, UK-based publisher. They publish 12 books every year. They publish serious esoteric and occult books (focusing on things like paganism, and Arthurian/Grail traditions), as well as literary fiction, and non-fiction with a history or horticultural focus. They also consider literary analysis, although they do not publish much of it. They…
Issue Two Hundred Ninety Eight Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

An Argument for Writing Short Stories

“Write a short story every week. It’s not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.’ — Ray Bradbury “A good [short story] would take me out of myself and then stuff me back in, outsized, now, and uneasy with the fit.” -David Sedaris Writers who are serious about improving and developing their…
Issue Three Hundred Special Feature

McSweeney’s: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

UPDATED October 2022: They have been closed to submissions for over two years now. McSweeney’s is one of my personal favorite publishers. They publish literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. I own a large number of the books they have published in the last decade. McSweeney’s was founded in 1998 by Dave Eggers. They originally started out…
Issue Two Hundred Ninety Seven Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction Poetry

Waywiser: Accepting Queries

UPDATE July 2022: They seem closed indefinitely to prose submissions, and charge for poetry submissions. Waywiser is a small independent press based in the UK.  They host a yearly contest called The Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, but they charge a fee for that. They seem to focus on literary prose and poetry. They publish fiction…
Issue Two Hundred Ninety Six Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers

How to Submit Your Manuscript for Publication

When I finish the first draft of a novel I always have a great surge of adrenaline. When I was younger I would enjoy the thrill of completion for days and then start on a new project. It should surprise no one that my early efforts were not published (thank goodness). Now that I am…
Special Issue

Arcade Publishing: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Arcade Publishing is an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, a large independent publisher with a number of imprints. They have good distribution, and while there have been complaints about their behavior in the past, over the past two years they seem to have cleaned up their act. To learn more about Skyhorse as a whole, please…
Issue Two Hundred Ninety Five Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

« Older Entries Newer Entries »