Blackwater Press is a new small press based in West Virginia, with an international team of editors. They also run an editorial consultancy, but when I reached out to the press directly the editors informed me that they did not direct writers submitting to the press to their editorial services and that they don’t accept work they edited at their press.
They were prompt and forthcoming with the information, which is usually a good sign. In the very unlikely event that you do get re-directed, please email me at support@authorspublish.com.
They publish fiction, nonfiction, essay, short story collections, novellas and memoir manuscripts. They are not interested in erotica or genre fiction. They are open to agented and un-agented queries. What is really rare is that they are open to unfinished manuscripts.
The covers are generally excellent and intriguing. They have not been around for very long. They have only been actively publishing for a little over a year.
They prefer book-length titles to be over 30,000 words. For short story collections, they ask that the majority of the work is previously unpublished. It was not clear if they had distribution or not.
All submissions must be made via email. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. When you submit please include Word document or PDF version of the opening chapters, and separate one-page synopsis. If the work is uncompleted, please include a timeline for completion, and projected length. In the submission email they ask that you do the following.
- Format subject as name followed by type of submission (e.g. John Smith – Nonfiction)
- Include all contact details
- Include a brief biography
- Mention target audience and comparable title
Their full submission guidelines are here. They are also interested in submissions about Interesting Lives, which you can learn more about here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2021 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.
She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.
