Orison Books says they hope to “publish spiritually-engaged poetry, fiction, and nonfiction of exceptional literary merit.” They clarify that spirtual writing, in their opinion, isn’t based on the subject matter but in the “transcendent aesthetic effect on the reader, and reading it can itself be a spiritual experience.” They go on to say “such work is not merely about spiritual contemplation, but itself leads the reader into profound contemplation. It is not merely about the sublime, but itself has a sublime effect on the reader. It is not merely about the mystery of being, but itself heightens the reader’s sense of the mystery underlying the fabric of our daily lives.”
They are a respected small press that has had work featured in many major publications. To get a feel for what they publish you should spend some time with their catalog here.
During the month of October they are open to general fiction and nonfiction submissions, as well as anthology proposals. They also run a number of contests in different genres, but a fee is attached to these contests, so we do not list them. There is no fee attached to the October submission period. They do accept optional donations, but donations do not impact their decisions or the outcome of a submission.
They accept all submissions through their Duosuma submission manager.
In terms of fiction, they are open to novels, novellas, short story or flash fiction collections. They ask for a minumum word count of 30,000 words.
In terms of nonfiction they are not interested in how-to or self-help manuscripts. They also ask that the work be at least 30,000 words in length.
They are open to works in translation, in terms of fiction and nonfiction, as long as the translator has permission, or the original work is legally in the public domain.
When possible they offer an advance against royalties. They ask that authors send a biography and a complete manuscript.
They are also open to single or multiple genre anthology proposals. They ask that the editor(s) includes a one-page description of the anthology, biographical information about the editor(s) at up to 30 pages of sample content.
To learn more or to submit, go here.
