UPDATED October 2022: They have been closed to submissions for over two years now.
McSweeney’s is one of my personal favorite publishers. They publish literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. I own a large number of the books they have published in the last decade.
McSweeney’s was founded in 1998 by Dave Eggers. They originally started out publishing a literary magazine, and now they are responsible for a number of publications, online and off, as well as podcasts, and books. They are based out of San Fransisco.
In 2014 they began transitioning to a nonprofit. But I could not find any updates about that, although I know the first fundraiser did extremely well.
At McSweeney’s it is not just the cover design that is good but the whole look and feel of the book. They care about presentation and it shows. Getting a digital version of a McSweeny’s book means missing out on an important part of the experience.
McSweeney’s also has excellent distribution. I often see their books in libraries and bookstores. Because they publish a very specific kind of book, I highly recommend reading one of their publications before submitting. You can get a feel for what they publish by browsing their website here. Do not submit to them unless you think your book would be a good fit.
They have very slow response times for submissions. It takes them between six months and a year. They also have a very low acceptance rate.
All submissions must be made through their Submittible account, except for poetry submissions which are made via email.
To learn more about their submission guidelines or to submit, go here.
Bio: Emily Harstone is the pen name of an author whose work has been published internationally by a number of respected journals. She is a professional submissions adviser and spends much of her time researching manuscript publishers. You can follow her on Facebook here.
