Every single publisher on this list charges all unsolicited submitters a fee just to consider their work. Most of these publishers do not consider work from agents at all (literary agents are very rare when it comes to poetry – but that is an entirely different matter). The ones that do consider work from agents, charge those literary agents a fee as well.

Most of these publishers charge authors $25 just to submit their work. They do not offer personalized feedback or anything else to the author, just the promise to read and consider for publication their manuscript. In the past, one of these presses, has been caught in the act of not reading the work they were paid to consider. Although this practice is probably uncommon, there is no way to monitor such things.

If a publisher has a fee-free window for submissions, or does not charge fees for all the genres they publish, we did not include them in this list. This list is only for manuscript publishers who always charge writers a fee.

It goes without saying that we at Authors Publish do not condone these practices. We would never review any of these presses. Presses like these discourage diversity in publishing and put even more financial stress on authors. We could go on, but we have talked more about this issue mostly in terms of literary journals here and here.

If you know a press that should be added to the shame list, email us at support@authorspublish.com. The list as it is now, is far from complete. Also if any of this information becomes inaccurate because a publisher is now accepting manuscripts without a fee, please tell us. We would love to take a publisher off the shame list.

With no further ado, the shame list.

Tupelo Press

A small press based out of Massachusetts that has published a number of very respected books of poetry. They run several contests and open reading periods a year. They charge fees for the contests and for the open reading periods.

C&R Press

This press publishes novels, poetry, short story collections, creative non-fiction, memoir, experimental and hybrid work. They charge 25$ for their open reading period, 20$ for their chapbook competition, and 10$ to submit to an anthology they are putting together, one that already has solicited submissions.

To make matters worse I’ve heard of reports of people not ever getting a rejection or acceptance after paying the fee, and worst of all there is this report at Absolute Writes (just scroll down to post 20).

Saraband Books

They offer a “year worth of writing opportunities”, and they do, but they charge for every one, from their open reading period, to all their prizes. They charge writers to submit collections of poetry, short fiction, and essays.

Lacewing Books and Engine Books

One of the few publishers that charge that does not focus on poetry or collections of short fiction or essays. Engine Books publishes novels and short story collections. Lacewing, an Engine Books imprint, publishes Young Adult fiction. Any query that Lacewing receives, from an author directly, or a literary agent must involve a $10 donation. Engine Books is currently open only to contest entries (which costs $30.) But a statement on the submission guidelines page of their website makes it clear that they charge anyone who submits outside of the contest as well.

Copper Canyon

A non-profit poetry publisher, they charge everyone who submits unsolicited work.

Autumn House Books

They publish fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. They only accept unsolicited submissions through contests. The three contests they run every year, cost $30 to enter.

Dzanc Books

Till this year they accepted unsolicited submissions fee-free. They have switched to a three contest system. They charge $25 to enter any of the three contests they run. One is for novels, one for nonfiction, and the third is for short story collections.

Alice James Books

They publish poetry, exclusively through contests. The entry fee is $30.

H_NGM_N

They charge $10 for book submissions and $5 for chapbook submissions.

Ahsahta Press

They publish poetry. Their open reading periods do not happen every year, but they only charge $5 per submission during that time. Their main manuscript contest that happens every year costs $25 to enter.

Trio House Press

A poetry press. Their open reading fee is $20. Their contest entry fee is $25.

Dime Show Review is published frequently online. In the future, they also hope to publish a print magazine, as well as a Kindle e-book and an audio companion. They accept submissions annually from February 1 through November 1. Submitting authors can expect a response within two to twelve weeks, and may inquire about unacknowledged submissions after three months.

Fiction writers may submit one complete short story, 3,000 words or fewer, or one complete piece of flash fiction, 1,000 words or fewer. Fiction writers may also submit ten word stories for publication in Dime Show Review’s Typewriter feature. Stories submitted for the Typewriter feature must be exactly ten words. Poets may submit up to four pages of poetry. Nonfiction writers may submit one essay, 3,000 words or fewer. Although international submissions are welcome, all submissions must be written in English.

Dime Show Review accepts submissions online, but not via email or by post. They accept simultaneous submissions, but ask that authors immediately withdraw submissions accepted elsewhere. They do not generally accept previously published work; however, they will consider work published on blogs, in online magazines, as Kindle e-books, or in self-published formats as long as fewer than 100 copies have been distributed. All authors published online in Dime Show Review will also be considered for their upcoming audio production.

If you would like to learn more or submit to Dime Show Review, please visit their website at http://www.dimeshowreview.com/submission-guidelines/.

Just A Little More Time

They are now closed to submissions.

“The Beiging of America”

2 Leaf Press is accepting submissions to their anthology “The Beiging of America”: Personal Narratives about Being Mixed Race in the Twenty First Century.

Submissions are due by September 15th. They are only interested in personal essays by people currently living in the United States. We don’t usually feature markets that have geographic restrictions, but because it is part of a multi review, we thought we would include it. Authors must also identify as multiracial

Learn more here.