Deadline: November 20th, 2020
Payment: Royalties
Theme: Previous works are primarily fantasy

We are opening a submission window for novel manuscripts (over 60k). The limited reading period will run from 20 September through 20 November 2020. We are looking for books to release for our 2021-2022 calendar. Anything submitted before 20 September or after 20 November will be deleted unread.

BEFORE you submit, please read ALL of our guidelines. Submissions that plainly ignore the guidelines will be deleted unread.

Kindly send your English language manuscript to [email protected] as follows:

• Query letter, with novel synopsis and first three chapters pasted into the email, in standard manuscript format. No attachments, please. (For a good example of standard manuscript format, both classic and modern, kindly go here.)

• Kindly place in the subject line: Title: Author Name, Genre

• Full manuscripts ONLY UPON REQUEST

• BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and international authors are particularly welcome to submit.

PLEASE BE AWARE: We are a very small press and, as such, cannot pay advances at this time. Royalties are paid on a quarterly basis for books sold.

Before you submit, bear in mind our mission statement:

Forest Path Books has been formed as a specialty publisher of divergent speculative fiction, with an especial focus upon literary, diverse, and expressive prose. We publish the books we want to read; ones that aren’t merely ‘consumed’ then forgotten, but ones that give a lingering, provocative, and extraordinary reading experience. The work published by Forest Path Books is written, not to ever-narrowing specifications controlled by a status quo of marketers, but to readers like ourselves, who often find themselves dissatisfied with the boundaries that genre fiction can set.

FPB welcomes authors from varied walks of life, many of whom have voices and viewpoints sorely underserved in much of the mainstream publishing industry. Our especial focus includes not only well-written and -told stories, but complex worlds featuring a wide and realistic scope of individuals, orientations, and cultures. (And yes, while it seems strange to have to request such things in a genre where the entire point is to push boundaries and demand thoughtful discourse… still. There it is.)

We are particularly looking for:

• Speculative fiction that pushes the status quo.

• Complex stories that engage and involve readers.

• Authors who understand the importance of craft and language.

• Stories told by and/or from the point of view of: BIPOC, LGBTQ+ peoples, as well as cultures underserved in the mass market, will be give especial consideration.

Things that are not a good fit for us at this time:
Romance, Thriller, YA, Middle Grade, children’s books, Erotica, Poetry, Non-fiction.

We are not seeking reprints at this time.

If you have any questions about whether we want to see your synopsis, please ask. We don’t bite.
(Well, not hard, anyway.   )

A sample contract is available upon request.

Via: Forest Path Books.