submit to stillhouse press!

Stillhouse Press publishes surprising, gutsy fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that can’t or doesn’t want to find a home in big publishing. We are drawn to the strange, the unconventional, the transcendent, the risky. We’re looking for work that pushes boundaries.

Stillhouse is a nationally-distributed press that offers a competitive royalty-based compensation structure: authors earn 20% of net revenue from standard online and bookstore sales and 25% from Stillhouse website and direct sales. We publish a limited number of titles each year to offer more personalized support and attention to our authors. Collaboration is paramount: we partner with our authors to build awareness of their work through review and award submissions, endorsements, newsletter campaigns, and social media promotion.

submissions ARE open!

Stillhouse Press will be open for submissions in FICTION and POETRY from November 1st, 2024 to February 1st, 2025.


FICTION

For our current prose submission period, we will be accepting NOVELS. We love to read seriously fun, surprising, and gutsy literature that is unafraid to push boundaries of all kinds. Novels with speculative elements, warped perceptions, blended genres, absurd plots, irreverent voices, and new perspectives can find a home with Stillhouse Press.

At this time, we are only considering novel and hybrid novel submissions. No short story collections, flash collections, or nonfiction should be submitted through this portal.

If you think your work’s not commercial enough for big publishing, send it our way. If you think it’s too commercial for small presses, send it anyway! Whatever you’re writing, we’re looking for good novels, period. If you have one, send it!

We seek novel manuscripts between 50,000 and 100,000 words. Works with longer word counts may be considered, but they will need to be exceptional.

If you have a novel to submit , don’t wait! We will remain open for novel submissions until February 1st or until we receive 300 submissions.*

Further guidelines for this call are available on our Submittable. Submit now!

POETRY

For our current poetry submission period, we will be accepting POETRY COLLECTIONS with no specific limit on topic or theme. As always, we love to read literature that is unafraid to push boundaries. Check out our past poetry collections, available for sale on our bookstore, for an idea of the caliber of writing we typically publish.

We seek poetry manuscripts between 50-75 pages. Works with longer page counts will be considered, but they will need to be exceptional.

Further guidelines for this call are available on our Submittable. Submit now!

general GUIDELINES

We accept submissions via Submittable, and cannot accept submissions via email or mail. There is a nominal $5 fee/submission for regular submissions to cover our own Submittable expenses. Current guidelines for open submissions period can be found on Submittable.

For all submissions to Stillhouse Press, the following guidelines apply:

  • Only complete, full-length manuscripts will be considered for publication. Please refer to individual call guidelines for our ideal wordcounts in prose, poetry and hybrid work.

  • Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. Please notify us as soon as possible if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.

  • Submitted manuscripts should include:

    • a word count in the top right corner of the first page.

    • a cover letter with a short synopsis or overview of the work. Authors are also encouraged to share information about their writing background, online presence, involvement with the writing community, and inspiration for their submission.

    • an acknowledgements page at the beginning or end of the manuscript.

At this time we do not consider:

  • Agented submissions.

  • AI-generated prose.

  • Previously published or forthcoming manuscripts.

  • Work from writers currently or recently affiliated with George Mason University’s Creative Writing MFA/BFA programs.

We take time in considering all submissions. Expect 6-9 months for a decision. We welcome queries about manuscripts under review after 9 months have passed via email at submissions@stillhousepress.org. Queries should include your name, the date of submission, and the manuscript title.

For questions about this and other submissions policies, please contact us.

Diversity & Inclusion

Stillhouse Press is committed to publishing work from voices often excluded from traditional publishing, including writers of color, gender non-conforming and LGBTQ writers, and those living with disabilities. To create an accessible platform for marginalized voices, we offer fee-free submissions to writers who request a fee waiver via email at submissions@stillhousepress.org

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