Gollancz is an established UK-based publisher of science fiction, fantasy novels, and horror novels that is now an imprint of Hachette. They only publish worked aimed at adults. They have good distribution within the UK and have excellent covers. They have published many well known books including The Witcher series, NOS4A2, and The Mistborn Trilogy.
They have been closed to unsolicited submissions for a long time, and only recently have opened up submissions from June 1st through June 30th 2022.
They ask that potential submitters spend time with their catalogue to see what they’ve previously published.
They are open to submissions from anyone with a completed story that is not represented by a literary agent, and has not had their work previously published in the UK. They also say that in addition to this, “we are actively looking for submissions from writers from underrepresented backgrounds. This includes writers of any race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, class, and physical ability.”
Submissions must be made via email and it must include
Your full-length book attached as a .pdf or Word .doc/ .docx
Up to a 1,000 word synopsis in the body of the email, including what genre your story falls within (feel free to refer to currently published titles too).
100 words about yourself in the body of the email.
Your email address.
Because of the expected influx of submissions, they say you should expect to wait up to 9 months after June 30th to hear from them. Do not query them during this time unless you don’t receive a confirmation email.
To learn more, go 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.
