Updated March 6th 2024, they are not updating the website, and I do not think they plan to. I don’t know why Chicago Review Press appears to not be moving forward with this imprint, but there have been no new deals listed on Publishers Marketplace since Duet was acquired by them.
Interlude Press and Duet Books for YA are boutique publishers of award-winning LGBTQ+ fiction. Books they have published have won awards, including Lambda Literary Awards, IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, and Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards. They have also gotten lots of press coverage and accolades. They only publish fiction and are interested in a wide array of genres, including romance and science fiction, although all must feature LGBTQ+ characters and treat “the readers, the characters, and the community with respect.”
I am reviewing them together, because unlike most imprints with more than one name, their submission guidelines and website cover both presses/imprints, and it would be very tricky to untangle them in a way that would make sense to readers.
Both are looking for original novels with diverse casts, featuring lead characters from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. They encourage manuscripts written by authors from all backgrounds.
They were acquired in January 2022 by Chicago Review Press, and you can read more about that here.
You can get a feel for what they publish here. Their covers run the gamut from wonderful to amateurish. Their distribution if through IPG and Ingram. I have seen several of their books in bookstores over the past year, and some have gotten a lot of press.
They do not accept simultaneous submissions and are not interested in books that promote rape culture. .They also do not publish anything containing graphic sexual content between minors, or “gay for pay.”
Submitted manuscripts must be 60,000 to 90,000 words.
To learn more, please read their submission guidelines here. Follow their submission guidelines carefully. Please note that the catalog they link to on that page is out of date, and it is much more helpful to visit their bookstore to get a good feel for what they are publishing currently.
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.
