SUBMISSIONS
Thank you for your interest in submitting your work to the Feminist Press! Open submissions are currently closed. Our summer reading period ended on August 20th.
Our next reading period will be winter 2024/spring 2025. Check back here for updates about future submissions periods, and you can sign up for our newsletter or follow us on social media. Thank you, and happy writing!
Frequently asked questions
Where and how should I submit my manuscript for review?
Please submit your manuscript via our Submittable portal.
What should I include in my submission?
In one PDF, please include the following:
A synopsis of your work, including a brief explanation of why this submission is a good fit for Feminist Press
A short author bio, including anything you’ve published before and where we might find you on social media (if applicable)
A brief marketing plan that outlines the following: your network, your promotional experience and capacity, and your ideas for positioning your work.
At least three sample chapters (or 50 pages) of your work
What types of books do you publish at Feminist Press?
FP’s mission as a small, independent nonprofit publisher is to champion intersectional and nuanced works that spark critical dialogue, dive deep into lived experience, and move the feminist conversation forward. Our team is passionate about international literature, hybrid memoirs, boundary-pushing literary fiction, and intersectional activist nonfiction either by single authors or as anthologies. We are looking to publish more fiction by BIPOC, queer, and trans writers in fantasy and speculative fiction genres. Our books are compelling, accessible, voice-driven works that speak to our present moment and beyond, ranging from hilarious to heartbreaking, literary to playful. We are thrilled by books that experiment with form and language in political ways, and while we are not an academic press, we are open to works of theory and history that marry rigor with readability.
We define our feminism as anti-racist, anti-capitalist, anti-imperial, and decolonial, and we intend to make that explicit with not only our work, but also our practices of solidarity. We especially encourage Black and Indigenous writers and other writers of color, queer and trans writers, and disabled and neurodivergent writers to submit their work, and we strive to make our press a safe and liberatory home for such authors. In 2023 and beyond, we particularly hope to collaborate with and center Palestinian authors, in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the century of Zionist settler colonialism in Palestine.
We recommend taking a look at what we’ve recently published to see if your work is aligned with our editorial vision. Peruse our most recent rights catalog and our website to familiarize yourself with our publishing program. Some standout Feminist Press titles include None of the Above: Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary by Travis Alabanza, Lion Woman’s Legacy by Arlene Voski Avakian, Fiebre Tropical by Julián Delgado Lopera, Head Above Water by Shahd Alshammari, Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated by Tiffany Tsao, and It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, edited by Joe Vallese.
What types of books don’t you publish at Feminist Press?
Feminist Press does not publish children’s books, poetry collections, drama/plays, doctoral dissertations, or literary criticism.
When can I submit?
Our current open submissions period is August 1–20, 2024.
Do you accept mailed submissions?
We are not accepting mailed submissions at this time.
How long will it take to hear back?
Our small team receives hundreds of submissions each season though we publish only ten to fifteen books a year. We try to respond as promptly as possible, but it can take up to 5 months for us to review and respond to a query.
Do you accept simultaneous submissions?
We do accept simultaneous submissions. If you’ve submitted your work to another publisher and decide to publish with them, please let us know to withdraw your manuscript from consideration by emailing us at editor@feministpress.org.
Do I need an agent?
Feminist Press works with many writers who have agents, as well as many writers who do not have agents and who submit their work directly to the Press. We’re happy to work with authors in either case. Some writers also get agents after Feminist Press publishes their work.
Can I have feedback on my proposal?
As much as we would like to help, we are not able to offer advice on writing a book proposal nor can we suggest other publishers for your work. We recommend researching other publishers on the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) website to find other indie presses and learn about their submissions guidelines. This is also a phenomenal resource by Jane Friedman on how to build a compelling proposal to pitch to publishers.