NOTE: Unsolicited book submissions are currently closed. We aim to open again by the beginning of 2023. See below for guidelines if you wish to prepare.
Our SPILL IT! column and 50 Give or Take are currently open for submissions.
Option #1: Full-length books
Submit your book to us for consideration. It's free to submit, and you will receive a 40% net royalty on all eBook and print sales. A copy of the publishing contract for your perusal can be downloaded HERE. Please also take a look at our Author FAQ to make sure we are the right publisher for you before submitting your work.
We are looking for: novels and novellas (all genres accepted, but with a literary bent), memoirs/biographies/autobiographies, creative nonfiction, writing/publishing reference books, short story collections, and vignette collections. For shorter works, such as poetry and vignettes, we will not accept anything shorter than 60 pages.
Submission Guidelines:
If you have a manuscript that you would like us to publish, please answer the following questions (in your head):
Answered 'Yes' to all of the above? Great! Read on ...
We are looking for: novels and novellas (all genres accepted, but with a literary bent), memoirs/biographies/autobiographies, creative nonfiction, writing/publishing reference books, short story collections, and vignette collections. For shorter works, such as poetry and vignettes, we will not accept anything shorter than 60 pages.
Submission Guidelines:
If you have a manuscript that you would like us to publish, please answer the following questions (in your head):
- Do you believe this manuscript is in the best possible shape?
- Is it edited and proofread to the best of your ability (or someone else's ability)?
- Will your query letter make us NEED to read your book?
- Does your work suit Vine Leaves Press?
Answered 'Yes' to all of the above? Great! Read on ...
- Email a query letter, the first ten pages (attached as an Word Document), and a biography to submissions[at]vineleavespress[dot]com. Please write ''Query: Your Book Title' in the subject line. We do not accept snail mail. You will get an automatic response. If you didn't get one, check your spam. If it's not in spam, send it to us again.
- TIP: MFAs in Creative Writing & essays in The Paris Review won't sell your book to us. In addition to an appealing book proposal, we want to see evidence of a healthy social media presence and an engaging public voice that's going to have readers worship you! Times have changed, folks. No more hiding. Get yourself out there.
- We try our best to respond within two months. If we haven't replied to you within two months, please follow up with the publisher, Jessica Bell, directly: jessica[at]vineleavespress[dot]com. Follow-up emails to the submissions email will not be easily/quickly seen, since we read them in order of submission date.
Option #2: SPILL IT!
Submit to our monthly SPILL IT! column. An opinion column written by Vine Leaves Press authors, staff and other contributors. Sent to your inbox monthly. Designed to spark debate and conversation. Caution: Some controversial content.
If you haven't been published by us you are still welcome to submit, but be sure to include examples of your article writing with your submission.
The purpose of SPILL IT! is to evoke debate/opinions, and therefore each article is titled with a direct question to readers.
If you contribute to the column, we will pay $30 USD per article of 500-1000 words, and include direct links to your personal website and any titles you wish to gain exposure for. Our SPILL IT list currently has around 1400 active subscribers, and the columns are also posted on our Facebook Page and Twitter feed.
If you're interested in becoming a contributor, please email our pubisher, Jessica Bell, with a brief pitch:
TIP: Don't be afraid to be controversial. Do not send entire articles instead of pitches. They will not be read.
Please note that we do not want any articles that are about your own experience with writing. Readers who do not write are not going to have any interest in this. So please only send us ideas that would interest people who have never written (and don't wish to) in their lives.
Also, please only send us ideas that spark a solid debate. We want to trigger conversation. We also need links to articles that you've written, not your fiction or poetry. We need to be able to see that you can write an opinion article. It's a completely different kettle of fish.
The purpose of SPILL IT! is to evoke debate/opinions, and therefore each article is titled with a direct question to readers.
If you contribute to the column, we will pay $30 USD per article of 500-1000 words, and include direct links to your personal website and any titles you wish to gain exposure for. Our SPILL IT list currently has around 1400 active subscribers, and the columns are also posted on our Facebook Page and Twitter feed.
If you're interested in becoming a contributor, please email our pubisher, Jessica Bell, with a brief pitch:
- Article title (the question your article is answering)
- 2-3 sentence summary of topic
- A link to a published opinion article of yours if you haven't been published in SPILL IT! before.
- Your author bio
- A photograph of yourself
TIP: Don't be afraid to be controversial. Do not send entire articles instead of pitches. They will not be read.
Please note that we do not want any articles that are about your own experience with writing. Readers who do not write are not going to have any interest in this. So please only send us ideas that would interest people who have never written (and don't wish to) in their lives.
Also, please only send us ideas that spark a solid debate. We want to trigger conversation. We also need links to articles that you've written, not your fiction or poetry. We need to be able to see that you can write an opinion article. It's a completely different kettle of fish.
Option #3: 50 Give or Take
Do you write flash fiction? Then submit your 50-word story to 50 Give or Take.
We love bite-sized stories to brighten the day, which is exactly why we created 50 Give or Take. If you subscribe, you'll receive daily microfiction of fifty words or less straight into your inbox. Despite popular opinion, the name 50 Give or Take doesn't refer to the amount of words in the story. The title is a metaphor for what we, as readers and writers, give and take emotionally from the written word. So if you decide to submit, make sure your story is 50 words or less. Please subscribe to get an idea of what is published, before submitting your work.
All stories will be published in an annual print collection to be released on November 6 every year.
All you have to do is submit* your:
to 50giveortake[at]vineleavespress[dot]com
*By submitting to 50 Give or Take, you accept and understand that you are handing over non-exclusive rights for Vine Leaves Press to publish your work electronically and in print. You are also giving us the right to remove insignificant words and/or edit to meet word count of 50 words maximum.
All stories will be published in an annual print collection to be released on November 6 every year.
All you have to do is submit* your:
- 50-word story
- one-line bio
- website or social media URL
- a photo of yourself
to 50giveortake[at]vineleavespress[dot]com
*By submitting to 50 Give or Take, you accept and understand that you are handing over non-exclusive rights for Vine Leaves Press to publish your work electronically and in print. You are also giving us the right to remove insignificant words and/or edit to meet word count of 50 words maximum.