Book*hug Press Submission Guidelines

Book*hug Press publishes contemporary, innovative, and boundary-pushing books of literary fiction, translated literature, poetry, and creative nonfiction. We do not publish commercial fiction, thrillers, crime fiction, fantasy, children’s books, YA books, graphic novels, cookbooks, scholarly or academic texts, or self-help books. We do not accept submissions that use any AI-generated text or content.

Please take time to familiarize yourself with our press and the types of books we publish (as well as those we don’t). We invite you to browse our complete catalogue for more information. We also highly encourage you to read a few of our books to get a better sense of our list.

About Book*hug Press

Book*hug Press is a Canadian-owned independent literary publisher working at the forefront of contemporary book culture. We are known for publishing bold, daring, and inventive literary fiction, literature in translation, poetry, and select creative nonfiction. We welcome and encourage submissions from writers at all career stages whose work meaningfully contributes to  contemporary culture and society.

We are deeply committed to advancing and integrating equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in all our publishing activities. We prioritize submissions from equity-deserving writers marginalized by attitudinal, historical, social, and environmental barriers based on race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, economic status, age, gender, and sexual orientation. These equity-deserving groups include but are not limited to women, Indigenous writers, writers of colour, racialized writers, writers with disabilities, Deaf writers, and writers of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

What We Are Looking For

We seek to acquire innovative, groundbreaking, and adventurous literary books that thoughtfully engage with contemporary cultural and social issues. We are most excited by bold, dynamic writing that challenges and pushes the boundaries of cultural expectations and conventions, and that offers new ideas and perspectives. We love formally innovative writing that takes risks and plays with form and style, but we are not interested in experimentation for its own sake. We love hybrid, genre-defying writing. Above all else, we value the quality and craft of the writing. Again, before submitting to Book*hug Press, we highly encourage you to familiarize yourself with the types of books we publish.

What to Send Us

For Literary Fiction Submissions

For literary fiction submissions, please send your complete manuscript, an introductory letter, and a list of publications. Your introductory letter should be no longer than two pages, and should include the following information: a detailed synopsis of the work, a comparison to two or three Book*hug Press fiction titles, an explanation of how your book would fit our list, and a short author bio. Please package all required materials for your submission into one file (Word or PDF). Please do not submit links to Google Docs or Google Drive.

For Poetry Submissions

For poetry submissions, please send your complete manuscript with a table of contents, an introductory letter, and a list of publications. Poetry manuscripts must be at least 60 pages in length. We do not accept or publish chapbook-length manuscripts. Your introductory letter should be no longer than two pages and include the following information: a detailed synopsis of the work, a comparison to two or three Book*hug Press poetry titles, an explanation of how your book would fit our list, and a short author bio. Please package all required materials for your submission into one file (Word or PDF). Please do not submit links to Google Docs or Google Drive.

For Creative Nonfiction Submissions

For creative nonfiction submissions, please send your complete manuscript or, if not available, a proposal, proposed table of contents, and a  complete outline of the project along with a sample of the work (ideally 3-5 chapters). Please also include an introductory letter and a list of publications. Your introductory letter should be no longer than two pages, and should include the following: a detailed synopsis of the work, a comparison to two or three Book*hug Press nonfiction titles, an explanation of how your book would fit our list, and a short author bio. Please package all required materials for your submission into one file (Word or PDF). Please do not submit links to Google Docs or Google Drive.

Formatting Your Submission

• We only accept digital submissions through our online Submission Portal. Please do not mail a hard copy of your manuscript to us or send it by email to any of our team members.
• For fiction and creative nonfiction submissions, ensure that your manuscript is double-spaced and includes pagination. Double spacing is not necessary for poetry submissions, but pagination is. A table of contents is required for poetry and creative nonfiction submissions.
• Package all required materials for your submission into one file (Word or PDF) and do not include links to Google Docs or Google Drive. Ensure that your name, email address, and address are included with your package.
• Name the file following this naming convention: Full Name_Title of Manuscript_Genre_Submission Date
• Submit your single-file Word or PDF submission using the Book*hug Press Submission Portal (currently closed).

Additional Important Information

• Please send your manuscript only once. Revised and updated versions will not be read, so ensure you’re happy with your text before sending.
• If your manuscript is a simultaneous submission (meaning that you have submitted to other publishers at the same time, include this information in your introductory letter. If your manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere, please notify us promptly so we can remove your submission from the portal. This courtesy saves everyone a lot of time.
• Owing to the sheer volume of submissions we receive, we will not accept more than one manuscript at a time from one author.
• We are a small team with limited human resources. We receive several hundred manuscripts for consideration each year. As such, our reading piles are very high. We carefully select 16-18 books each year for publication. While we do our best to respond to your submission as quickly as possible, it may take us 6-12 months to review and respond. We appreciate your patience. Please do not call or email to check on the status of your submission. We will get back to you as soon as we can.