Submission Window: May 1st-May 31st, 2021
Payment: An advance and royalties
Theme: Novel and Novellas that are literary; incorporating the fabulist, the uncanny, the dark, the weird, the horrific, the numinous, the surreal, the gnostic, the esoteric, and the avant-garde. Strange tales for strange times. It’s that liminal area where genre and literary fiction meet.

WE WILL BE OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS FROM MAY 1, 2021 TO MAY 31, 2021 FOR NOVELS AND NOVELLAS ONLY.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Note – Manuscripts must be original and previously unpublished anywhere, in any format, on any platform. Please do not query about reprints.

We are unable to return manuscripts.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please inform us if you place the manuscript elsewhere.

Translated work is welcome as long as you are offering first English-language rights.

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Undertow Publications only publishes a few books a year. Regrettably, then, we have to turn down good work. We publish in hardcover, trade paperback, and eBook, though not all projects will be published in all formats. So as to not waste your time and our time, please make yourself familiar with our books.

Our aesthetic is literary; incorporating the fabulist, the uncanny, the dark, the weird, the horrific, the numinous, the surreal, the gnostic, the esoteric, and the avant-garde. Strange tales for strange times. It’s that liminal area where genre and literary fiction meet.

We accept submissions from anyone—regardless of race, gender, or sexuality—and think it is imperative to promote new writing from a diverse cross-section of society. Agented and non-agented submissions are welcome.

WHAT WE WANT:

We currently have 2 open slots in our 2022 publishing schedule.

NOVELLAS

We are seeking previously unpublished standalone novellas, in English. Word count should be between 17,500 – 42,000 words. We offer a small advance against royalties.

NOVELS

We are now open to short novel submissions, in English. Emphasis on short. We like short novels. Our sweet spot is 45,000 – 70,000 words. We pay an advance against royalties.

WHAT WE DON’T WANT

Anthology pitches. Short story collections.

SUBMITTING YOUR WORK

NOTE – No multiple submissions. Please send only 1 manuscript per reading period. Submit manuscripts in Standard Manuscript Format (a mailing address is not required) as a Word document and email as an attachment to: Undertowbooks [at] gmail [dot] com

Please format the subject line of your e-mail thusly: Submission – Manuscript Title – Author Name

In your cover letter please provide a brief synopsis.

Submissions sent outside the submission period will not be read.

Please query if you have any questions.

Via: Undertow Publications.