This list focuses on ten publishers that we are excited about that are open to submissions this month. Some are only open for a short period of time, others will be open the whole month and beyond. At least four of these are presses we have not covered previously.
Please note that if a publisher doesn’t have a specific submission window they can close at any time, and publishers that use Submittable can close at any point because of submission caps (although these publishers generally reopen to submissions at the end of the month).
If a publisher has closed to submissions unexpectedly, please send us an email at support@authorspublish.com.
Please read the full review, which we link to in the publish name, and carefully consider fit before submitting work. I can not stress enough that you should only submit to presses that are a good fit for your work, and that you should carefully read and follow submissions guidelines before submitting that work. Over the past year we had several presses ask to be de-listed because they were deluged by submissions, even after moving to this format. Still more presses have had to temporarily close to submissions because of an influx of inappropriate submissions.
No Starch Press
No Starch Press is a small press that focuses on publishing work on technology, particularly work with “a focus on open source, security, hacking, programming, alternative operating systems, LEGO®, science, and math.” Their motto is “the finest in geek entertainment.” They are distributed by Penguin Random House. You can get a good feel for what they publish by going here.
Tiny Ghost Press
Tiny Ghost Press is a small press that focuses on publishing YA fiction that centers LGBTQIA+ characters. This means that in their own words, they want “YOUNG ADULT novels, written from a QUEER perspective, That is stories featuring a queer protagonist or from a queer author. We’re interested in everything from contemporary romance, to dystopian adventures, and if your story dabbles in the spooky, the supernatural, or the paranormal, or has a speculative element even better!” They are open to submissions through September 23rd.
Second Sky
Second Sky is a new Science Fiction and Fantasy Imprint of Bookouture, which is an established digital publisher of commercial fiction, and an imprint of Hachette UK.
Redleaf Press
The motto for Redleaf Press is “Exceptional Resources for Early Childhood Professionals”. Established in 1973, they are a nonprofit publisher of curriculum, management, and business resources for early childhood professionals. They are not interested in any work outside of the context of their focus.
Kensington Publishing
This large independent publisher is based out of New York. They publish a wide variety of mainstream fiction and nonfiction books, with a particular focus on historical fiction and romance. They publish an average of 600 books a year, so they accept a lot more submissions than most independent publishers.
Tuttle Publishing
The Tuttle Publishing company was originally founded in 1832 in Vermont. This makes it one of the oldest American publishers still in operation. In 1948, the company established a publishing outpost in Japan, and since then they have become much more focused on producing English-language books about the arts, languages and cultures of Asia. In fact currently Tuttle Publishing is only open to unsolicited submissions of work on “Asia-related topics”. This includes Asian languages, cuisines, martial arts, arts and crafts, Eastern philosophies, etc. Do not submit any work outside of those topics to them. They are not interested in any fiction submissions.
Egret Lake
Egret Lake was founded by Tess Jones. They are a small publisher based in near Seattle. They focus on publishing romance and women’s fiction. Egret published their first book in 2023, and their initial focus appeared to be on publishing poetry but it has since shifted to the current genres.
Type Eighteen Books
Type Eighteen Books was founded by Mary Vensel White. She says in the About Us section of the site: “I founded Type Eighteen Books as a home for fiction that demonstrates a love of language and a mastery of its tools, stories with empathy and a striving for understanding, and attention to what my favorite author, Kent Haruf, called the “precious ordinary.” The most powerful stories are the ones that make readers feel seen, that cause them to say, “I have also felt that way.” Often, these types of books are labeled literary fiction but sometimes they are labeled something else. We’d also like to be a home for “something else” books—stories that have been neglected by traditional publishers because of experimentations with form, intent, or…something else.”
Rebel Satori
Rebel Satori Press is a LBGTQ+ press was founded in 2002. They have many imprints and two open calls for submissions from now through the 31st of October. One of their open calls is for submissions of book-length nonfiction about witchcraft and the occult, and is open to all authors although “LGBTQIA+ voices are particularly encouraged to submit”. The other call is only open to LGBTQ+ authors, for their new speculative fiction imprint, “queer space”.
Carolina Academic Press
Carolina Academic Press was founded over 50 years ago, focusing on publishing non fiction books aimed at lawyers. They are still primarily a law publisher, but they’ve also published titles in other areas for a long time now, including titles on history, sociology, criminal justice, education and politics. You can learn a little more about them here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2024 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.
