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.

Entwined Publishing: Now Seeking Book Manuscripts

The Totally Entwined Group is an eBook, audiobook, and print publisher that was successful in its own right before being purchased by the Bonnier Publishing group. There have been some shifts in focus since Bonnier purchased it in 2015 but the group still has a mostly good reputation. For a long time its focus was…
Erotica Manuscript Publishers Romance

23 Memoir Publishers that Accept Direct Submissions

Memoir publishers that don’t require an agent to submit are few and far between. However, there are still options out there. Some are old and respected, others are new and still figuring things out. Not all the publishers on this list are currently open to submissions, but most are. Arcade PublishingArcade Publishing is an imprint…
Special Issue

7 Literary Journals that Accept Humorous Writing

Literary Journals as a whole lean towards serious writing, which means that writers that lean towards comedy are often left out. All of these journals focus on, or have a strong history of, publishing writing that is humorous. Please read their submission guidelines carefully and consider fit before submitting. Lowestoft ChronicleLowestoft Chronicle is an online…
Issue Five Hundred Ninety One Special Feature

61 Specialized Publishers Open to Manuscript 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…
Uncategorized

Why and Where You Should Start Submitting Your Writing This September

“I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged… I had poems which were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of avoiding sending them out.” — Erica Jong Starting to submit your work to literary journals is a hard task. Before…
Special Issue

9 Publishers Open to Submissions in September 2024

This list focuses on nine publishers we are excited about that are open to submissions this month. Some are only open for a short period of time, others will be open the whole month and beyond. Please note that if a publisher doesn’t have a specific submission window they can close at any time, and…
Issue Five Hundred Eighty Eight

Finch Books: Accepting Manuscript Submissions

UPDATED October 2nd, 2025: The Totally Entwined Group reorganized and they no longer have a Finch imprint. They are still open to submissions in terms of other imprints. Finch Books is part of the Totally Entwined Group which you can read more about here. The Finch imprint was established long after the original review, which…
Manuscript Publishers New Adult Romance Young Adult

Paper Angel Press: Accepting Manuscript Submissions

UPDATED January 17th, 2025: They plan to reopen to submissions in February. Paper Angel Press is a small press focused on publishing general fiction, literary fiction, mysteries, historical fiction, and short stories collections. They also have a number of imprints open to other genres. Each imprint has a separate website and guidelines, so I’ll only…
Literary Fiction Manuscript Publishers Military

Second Sky: Now Accepting Manuscript Submissions

Second Sky is a brand new Science Fiction and Fantasy Imprint of Bookouture, which is an established digital publisher of commercial fiction, and an imprint of Hachette UK. We don’t review publishers till they have been been actively publishing for a year, but we make exceptions for imprints, as there is already an established parent…
Fantasy Manuscript Publishers Science Fiction

Ryland Peters & Small and CICO Books: Accepting Proposals

Ryland Peters & Small (RPS) and CICO Books is an independent, illustrated publisher that publishes books focused on interior design, food and drink, craft, mindfulness and spirituality, health, humour and pop culture. They also publish children’s books. It’s easy to get a feel for what they publish here. RPS was started in 1995 by David…
Cookbooks Gift Books Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction Spirtual

Curious Curls: Accepting Submissions

Curious Curls is a small press that published their first book in 2021. You can learn more about the press and its founder here. Curious Curls has published six books in the past three years. They started out primarily publishing fiction and poetry for adults but their most recent book is a children’s book. You…
Fiction Manuscript Publishers Poetry Poetry

Hazelden Publishing: Accepting Proposals

Hezelden Publishing is the publishing arm of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation which describes itself as “a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by substance use and mental health conditions”. The work they publish is intended for the prevention, treatment, criminal justice, behavioural healthcare, and consumer markets. They are distributed…
Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction

Inner Traditions and Bear & Company: Accepting Proposals

Founded in 1975 by Ehud C. Sperling, Inner Traditions has always focused on publishing work related to spirituality, the occult, as well as Eastern religion, philosophy, and practices. In 2000 they acquired Bear & Company, which focused more on Native American culture, alternative Christianity, New Age, and healing arts. You can learn more about the…
Manuscript Publishers Non Fiction Self Help Spirtual

8 Literary Journals that Publish Poetry that Rhymes

I often receive emails from subscribers seeking journals that are open to rhyming poetry. Some of these emails are sent by poets that write traditional forms, like sonnets, and some of these emails are sent by writers that simply enjoy rhyming outside of traditional forms. The vast majority of literary journals don’t have any rules…
Issue Five Hundred Eighty Seven Special Feature

The Other Side of the Desk: Isabelle Stillman

Most writers don’t have a clear idea of what it’s like to work in publishing. The many professionals who make publishing possible often work very hard, without much credit. Our goal with this article, and all of the articles in this series, is to give writers a more realistic idea of what it is actually…
Issue Five Hundred Eighty Six The Other Side of the Desk

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