Blue Star Press is based out of Bend, Oregon, and is distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services. The work they publish includes work focused “on the arts, creative processes, wellness, and witty non-fiction”. They were founded in 2015 in San Antonio Texas, and you can learn more about the company and their imprints here. They link to press coverage about their books here.
All submissions must be made via email. Their submission details are on their contact page here, and you have to download a document they link to, to learn more. They primarily want to know the scope and purpose of your book, along with an outline or a sample table of contents. They also want a writing sample.
It’s also clear they want authors who already understand their target market and are connected to it in some way, as an expert, an influencer, or otherwise. They ask that you attach your resume as well.
Spending some time on their books page can give you a good feel for what they are actively publishing now. I don’t know how else to say this, but as a millennial I think the site makes a very “millennial impression,” in terms of aesthetics, and attitude. A lot of what they publish I’d categorize as gift books (and games!), not necessarily something someone would buy for themselves, but something you would buy for others.
Please only submit to them if you feel like your work is a good fit, and you carefully follow their downloaded guidelines which you can access here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2023 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.
