If a journal 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 title, and carefully consider fit before submitting work.

Shadow Mountain
Shadow Mountain is an imprint of Deseret Books. Both publishers have their roots in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but  Shadow Mountain publishes primarily fiction and they have published a number of New York Times bestselling books. Because the company is run by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, books have to be approved by in-house censors in order to be published. They are very firm about publishing “clean books only”. However the authors need not be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have four week- long open reading periods a year. The current one ends on September 7th, and the next one opens up on the first week of December.

Inner Traditions and Bear & Company
Founded in 1975 by Ehud C. Sperling, Inner Traditions has always focused on publishing work related to spirituality, the occult, as well as Eastern religion, philosophy, and practices. In 2000 they acquired Bear & Company, which focused more on Native American culture, alternative Christianity, New Age, and healing arts. They are currently distributed by Simon & Schuster. The books they publish cover a wide range from Self-Help to Conspiracies.

Hezeldon Publishing
Hezeldon Publishing is the publishing arm of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation which describes itself as “a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by substance use and mental health conditions”. The work they publish is intended for the prevention, treatment, criminal justice, behavioural healthcare, and consumer markets. They are distributed by Simon & Schuster in the United States.

Sleeping Bear Press
Sleeping Bear Press is a well regarded publisher of board books, picture books, and select middle grade readers. They offer advances to some authors. They have good regional distribution in the Midwest and decent distribution in North America. Their books have won a wide variety of awards, all of them are listed here.

Curious Curls
Curious Curls is a small press that published their first book in 2021. You can learn more about the press and its founder here. Curious Curls has published six books in the past three years. They started out primarily publishing fiction and poetry for adults but their most recent book is a children’s book. You can see their full back catalog here.

Afterglow Books
Afterglow Books is a new imprint of Harlequin. Their tagline for Afterglow books is “From showing up to glowing up, these characters are on the path to leading their best lives and finding sizzling romance along the way.” This is how the editors describe what the new imprint is seeking: “Depth, relatability and sizzling spice, too: these characters are determined to live their best lives — and find the romance that makes them feel seen, unapologetically. In the pages of Afterglow Books, characters from all walks of life, all types of diverse identities, will pursue their dreams and discover love isn’t far behind. Because everyone deserves a happily ever after that’s true to who they are.”

Ryland Peters & Small (RPS) and CICO Books
Ryland Peters & Small (RPS) and CICO Books is an independent, illustrated publisher that publishes books  in focused on interior design, food and drink, craft, mindfulness and spirituality, health, humour and pop culture. They also publish children’s books. It’s easy to get a feel for what they publish here. RPS was started in 1995 by David Peters, Anne Ryland and Jacqui Small, in 2006 they acquired CICO books. They are based in London and publish about 100 books a year. They have good distribution in the US and the UK.

Blue Star Press
Blue Star Press is based out of Bend, Oregon, and is distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services. The work they publish includes work focused “on the arts, creative processes, wellness, and witty non-fiction”. They were founded in 2015 in San Antonio, Texas. They link to press coverage about their books here.

It’s also worth noting that The Dorothy Project is open to submissions of feminist fiction and near-fiction for the first two weeks of September, also. Hub City Press is open to submissions from BIPOC writers only till September 15th and then they will open submissions to all writers till the 3oth, although there are additional eligibility details involved, 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.

Wrong Turn Lit has been published online since 2022, and they offer a mix of free and fee-based content. Every other Monday, they publish a new piece of writing, which is available for free to everyone. On Fridays they publish “bonus content,” such as interviews and editorials, which is only available to paid subscribers.

Wrong Turn Lit accepts submissions year-round. Poets may submit up to three poems, and each poem should not be longer than one page. Authors of prose may submit one piece (fiction or nonfiction), 1,500 words or fewer. “Send us what you’re afraid to show anyone else,” the editors say.

Wrong Turn Lit also accepts book reviews, up to 3,000 words, and they’re especially interested in reviews of books published by small presses. Book reviews can be for chapbooks or full-length books in any genre.

Submitting authors can expect a response within two months. Authors published in Wrong Turn Lit receive a one-year subscription to the journal.

Wrong Turn Lit accepts submissions online using Submittable and Duosuma. They accept simultaneous submissions but they ask that authors withdraw writing published elsewhere. They do not accept previously published writing (other than translations) or writing generated by AI.

Wrong Turn Lit only accepts submissions that follow the guidelines they’ve posted online. Please read these guidelines in full before submitting.

If you would like to learn more or submit to Wrong Turn Lit, please visit their website here. 

You need a literary agent. Literary agents are great. Many authors rely on them. However, they are hard to find and they can’t always find a publisher for your book. I know several authors who got their book published with a good publisher after their agent failed to get that same book published.

In fact a lot of smaller publishers, including most established and respected ones, accept unsolicited manuscripts directly from authors. Not only that but most larger traditional publishers have at least one imprint or digital first branch that is open to unsolicited submissions.

When I wrote fiction I used to think it was about finding the right agent, now I know that I would submit my work to a few of my favorite publishers directly before trying to find an agent, even though my work would end up in the slush pile.

The second myth, Big Five or bust, is actually related to the first myth. Many believe that one of the big five publishers (which are in the process of becoming four) need to accept their book in order for the book to sell well, so that the book can find its rightful place in brick-and-mortar bookstores and libraries.

This is not true. This is why knowing who your publisher’s distributor is, is so important. In fact many smaller publishers have the same distributors as the Big Five publishers.

Most publishing companies that have a good distributor are very upfront about it. If you go into a book store or a library regularly you will probably have a good idea of which publishers have good distribution, because you see them on the shelves.

An incomplete manuscript can be accepted is only a myth when it comes to fiction. Many nonfiction research based books are accepted before completion. When it comes to fiction, almost all successful legitimate publishers that I know of require that the manuscript is complete on submission. So, even if they request just the first three chapters, the rest of your book should already be finished.

Having a legitimate publisher means that you don’t have to self-promote. This might have been true at one point, but it has not been true for a long time. Ten years ago I took a class with a New York Times bestselling author. He told me the best thing he did for his first book was independently hire a publicist, even though his book was published by a major (big five) publisher way back in the late 90’s.

Most publishers that you can submit to directly want to know your marketing plan (or your author platform) before accepting your book for publication. They want to know that you are committed to promoting your work. That you know who your potential audience is and you are willing to connect with them. This does not mean the publisher is less legitimate or that they won’t help with marketing. They just need to know that you are serious about supporting your own book.

You have to pay a traditional publisher. If you have a traditional publisher, you do not pay them anything. They pay you. However, over the past few years many traditional and established publishing houses such Harlequin, Thomas Nelson, and Hay House have partnered with companies such as Authors Solutions Inc. to create self-publishing branches associated with these presses. Sometimes if the traditional branches of these presses have contests, the contests are even redirected to the self-publishing branch. This can confuse a lot of people.

For example in India, Penguin/Random House, one of the big five and one of the best known publishers in the world, runs a company called Partridge. However, Partridge is purely a vanity publisher. They charge all their writers.

It is no wonder that myth is becoming more substantial, not less.

Self-publishing is easy. There is truth to this myth. With a little time and minimal effort, any person can publish their book with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). However, that does not mean that anyone will buy or read that book. The majority of self-published books sell under 10 copies. Like traditional publishing, self-publishing requires a lot of work if you want to be successful, it is just a different kind of work. 

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.