Updated September 2025: They have not published a book since 2022, even though their parent company is still active.
Brother Mockingbird Publishing is a small independent press committed to discovering writers from the American South, but they are also open to good fiction, regardless of where the author is based. They were founded in 2018. They publish a wide range of genres including women’s fiction, historical fiction, romance, mystery (including thrillers and cozies), upmarket, thriller, suspense, science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural, and young adult. They just started a new imprint called Small Town Girl. They are looking for manuscripts that take place in or about the 80’s. Fiction and non-fiction is allowed. When you submit they ask that you include a query letter, synopsis, first chapter, author bio, as well as a marketing plan. The marketing plan should discuss your author platform, its scope, and the ways in which you plan to reach potential reviewers and readers. Please link to your website, social media, etc. They are also interested in any other promotional opportunities you have access to.
Use the title of your manuscript in the subject line. Send all of it in the body of the email. Do not send attachments. They are trying to respond to all submissions within 4 months. If you do not hear from them in this time please reach out. Please contact them if you are removing it from consideration.
The royalty rates they offer depend on the amount of editing the work requires but are generally within the 20-40% rate, of net, not gross.
They have distribution with Ingram, which is not ideal, but they do advertise and offer incentives for bookstores to carry their books, which is a good start. They do not have a sales team or marketing department. All edits to manuscripts should be compliant with the Chicago Manual of Style.
To learn more about Small Town Girl or to submit, go here. To learn more about Brother Mockingbird, go here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2020 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.
