Updated August 22, 2023. They appear to be permanently closed to unagented submissions.
Head of Zeus is a UK based print publisher that was founded in early 2012. They publish a wide variety of work including non-fiction, literary fiction, general and genre fiction. They have a number of imprints and have good distribution in the UK. A number of the books they have published have been subsequently picked up by American publishers.
They have a large staff and are fairly established. The covers of their books are generally rather good. Their website is clean and could be better organized but is clearly geared towards readers, which is always a good sign.
It is important to note that they have their own submission management system that they open and close depending on how many submissions they received and how backlogged they are. While they are currently open to submissions at the time I am writing this it is possible that they will close due to an influx of submissions from subscribers. If this happens please wait a few weeks and check back. They appear to be open to submissions the majority of the time.
It is also important to note that you have to log in to or create an account in order to read their submission guidelines. Once you log in or sign up the submission guidelines are actually under the submission form (which is a little confusing).
It is good to get a feel for what they publish by looking at their current titles here. It is important to note that they are not interested in anything not in English, unfinished work, poetry, plays, screenplays, short stories and children’s books (0-12).
They say they are not rigid about genre, but do make it clear what genre you think your work is in your cover letter. They both want a short description (elevator pitch, 1-2 sentences) and a long description (more like what you would find on the back of the hardcover).
They have specific uploading and formatting guidelines so make sure to follow those. They respond to all submissions.
To learn more please read their submission guidelines here.
