Updated March 2023: The website is fully functioning again, and they haven’t altered any of the text in it, but the last book they released was published last summer. For some publishers this is a fine pace, but Seventh Street Press has generally been pretty active in terms of their publication schedule, and they haven’t posted anything on FB since then either. I would not approach them at this time.
UPDATED October 2022: Their website is not working and issuing a security warning. It’s been down for less than a week, so it may just be a temporary issue, but it could be a sign of larger issues.
Seventh Street Books started out as the mystery imprint of the established nonfiction publisher Prometheus Books. But they were recently sold and are now an imprint of Start Media.
They publish only mystery and thrillers, but are open to a variety of sub-genres, including legal thrillers.
Seventh Street Books has a memorable tag line: “Where fiction is a crime”.
Seventh Street Books has only been around since 2012 but they have published a number of best-selling and critically acclaimed books in that period of time. These books include The Bookseller: The First Hugo Marston Novel, The Cold Cold Ground, and Hammett Unwritten.
They like publishing individual books and series that contain well developed and memorable characters.
Their website is easy to navigate and professional. But it needs updating. It still lists that they are an imprint of Prometheus. It still lists that they are in their fifth year, when they are in fact in their sixth.
Also all of the titles they list as forthcoming have already been published, which is not a good sign. However, I looked up these books on Amazon and all seem to have sold a fair number of copies and have a decent number of positive reviews. Still, I see this as an indicator to proceed with caution.
Their covers are intriguing and well designed. To get a better idea of what they have previously published you can browse their catalog.
They only accept submissions via email. Your email should include your name, address, telephone number, and an up to three paragraph synopsis of your work. The manuscript should be completed and attached as a Word or RTF file. New authors and authors without agents should include the full manuscript.
To learn more about their submission guidelines, visit them here.
