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.

62 Poetry Manuscript Publishers Who Do Not Charge Reading Fees

Most 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 most complete list of poetry manuscript publishers…
Special Issue

Boyds Mill Press: Now Accepting Submissions

Updated July 2019 Boyds Mill Press was owned by Highlights for Children. They are an award winning publisher of children’s books. In 2019 they were sold to Kane Miller and are now known as and is now Boyds Mills & Kane.
Children's Books Issue One Hundred Eighty Nine Manuscript Publishers

DIAGRAM: Open to Submissions

As our name indicates, we’re interested in representations. In naming. In indicating. In schematics. In the labeling and taxonomy of things. In poems that masquerade as stories; in stories that disguise themselves as indices or obituaries. DIAGRAM is an online literary journal that has over a million visitors per month. They have a reputation for…
Always open to submissions Creative Non Fiction Fiction Issue One Hundred Eighty Nine Literary Journals Poetry

How To Get Your Writing Published in 2017

We are a magazine that talks a lot about publishing, it is in our name, after all. So it might come as a surprise that 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…
Special Issue

Our Eleven Most Popular Articles of 2016

Of the many articles we published on writing and publishing this year, the following eleven were our most popular in the magazine and on Facebook. They also had the most positive feedback in terms of emails and comments. It is interesting to see the range of ideas these articles cover within the realm of writing….
Issue One Hundred Eighty Eight Special Feature

The Twelve Best Literary Journals: 2016 Edition

Out of all the literary journals we reviewed this year the following 12 are our personal favorites. They run a wide gamut, from highly respected to new and intriguing. If a literary journal you admire is not on this list it is probably for one of the following reasons: We didn’t review that literary journal…
Issue One Hundred Eighty Eight

Albert Whitman & Company: Now Seeking Book Manuscripts

Updated June 29th, 2025: They have declared bankruptcy among serious ongoing issues, you can learn more here. I would not submit at this time. In 2020 they had a serious non payment issues with a number of authors. As authors and agents came forward with these stories, information about other questionable practices came to light….
Children's Books Issue One Hundred Eighty Seven Manuscript Publishers Young Adult

Sterling Publishing: Now Accepting Book Submissions

UPDATED January 10th, 2021, they rebranded as Union Square Press and are no longer open to general submissions Sterling Publishing is owned by Barnes and Noble. They put it for sale a couple of years ago, but then after a period of time pulled it from the market. During this whole period Sterling has continued…
Children's Books Gift Books Issue One Hundred Eighty Six Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

The Truth About Copyright

I am not a copyright lawyer. I would never claim to be. But I am a writer, a writer whose work has been published widely, so I have figured out a thing or two about how copyright does and does not work. This article focuses mainly on copyright in terms of literary journals, but it…
Issue One Hundred Eighty Six Special Feature

Little Pickle Press: Now Accepting Book Submissions

Updated March 27, 2018: Little Pickle Press was acquired by Sourcebooks. No word yet on how this will change submissions etc. But you can learn more here. Little Pickle Press is a publisher in the process of re-branding to become March 4th, INC. They seem to be taking their time at the re-branding because both…
Children's Books issue One Hundred Ninety One Manuscript Publishers Young Adult

Small Beer Press: Now Accepting Book Submissions

Updated February 2024: Due to ongoing health issues they are closed to submissions for the foreseeable future.  Small Beer Press has now been around for over a decade and published some rather well known authors including Ursula K. Le Guin. They publish literary work leaning towards the speculative. Although, to really know what they publish…
Issue One Hundred Eighty Five Manuscript Publishers Speculative Fiction

Fifteen Major Book Publishers Always Open to Submissions

Many publishers open and close their doors to unsolicited submissions on a routine basis. It can sometimes be hard to determine if they are open or shut to submissions and when you should submit. These fifteen publishers featured are always open to submissions from writers without agents or previous publishing experience. All of them are…
Special Issue

Kensington Book Publishing: Now Accepting Book Queries

This large independent publisher is based out of New York. They publish a wide variety of mainstream fiction and nonfiction books, with a particular focus on romance. They publish an average of 600 books a year, so they accept a lot more submissions than most independent publishers. They are distributed through Penguin Random House. To…
Historical Fiction Issue One Hundred Eighty Four Manuscript Publishers Mystery Non Fiction Romance Women's Fiction

Free Spirit Publishing: Now Accepting Submissions

Updated March 2025 Free Spirit Publishing is an established publisher with good distribution that is part of the larger company Teacher Created Materials. They publish primarily non-fiction, mostly curriculum based, where they have a number of niche focuses. They also have a new imprint called Shell Materials which focuses on material for educators. They do…
Children's Books Issue One Hundred Eighty Three Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

The 8 Major Publishing Trends of 2016

I am starting off this article with a disclaimer. This article is not going to tell you what publishing trends are up and coming. I don’t know if books about rock stars are going to be the new YA trend or not. That isn’t my area of expertise, and frankly it is not where my…
Special Issue

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