**Submissions are closed at this time**

Please read this page and the About Us page carefully before submitting.

Wish List

LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and Women’s Own Voices are always at the top of our list. Romance, Coming-of-Age, Slice-of-Life, Mysteries (especially cozies), “Beach Reads”, and all Speculative are always welcome.

things You Should Know

Be sure to read our “About Us” page carefully.

We only accept novelettes, novellas, and novels that fall within the following fiction genres: Romance, Suspense/Thriller, Horror, Mystery, Dystopian, Young Adult/Coming-of-Age, Realistic, Urban Fantasy/Paranormal, and Women’s. All sub-genres within these genres are accepted as well. We are particularly interested in Own Voices, LGBTQ+, POC, and women writers. Graphic novels within these genres are accepted for consideration, though the writer must be working with and have a working/financial agreement with their own artist. We do not provide an illustrator for writers at this time.

Novelettes must be 10,000-20,000 words.

Novellas must be 20,000-50,000 words.

Novels must be 50,000+ words. We prefer less than 120,000 words but will consider “epics” case-by-case based on the pitch.

If your work falls into the “epic” category (120,000+ words) or graphic novel category, please see “Epic & Graphic Novel Submisson” addendum below.

Novelettes are not released in paperback format. Novellas may be released in paperback format, depending upon length. Only novels are released in hardback, paperback, and ebook formats.

Authors are not required to have a social media presence before signing with The Lion Fish Press, though we may require this closer to the time of publication for your work.

We are looking for new, unpublished works that have not been shared publicly.

Initial submission takes up to 2 weeks. If a full submission is requested, an additional 6 weeks is required for a determination to be made. We will contact the author within 72 hours to confirm receipt of initial and full request submissions. However, please allow 2 full weeks after initial submission, and 6 full weeks after a full request submission, before inquiring about our determination. If we take longer than 2 weeks after initial submission, or longer than 6 weeks after a full request submission to respond, inquiries are more than welcome. If you do not receive a confirmation of receipt of any submission within 72 hours, please email thelionfishpress@thelionfishpress.com.

If we extend a contract offer to an author, The Lion Fish Press will seek worldwide ebook, print, audio, television, and film rights during the period the author is contracted with us. Initial contracts are for 3 years and renewed on an annual basis thereafter.

Which formats a work is published in is at the sole discretion of The Lion Fish Press. We do discuss plans with authors and seek feedback, however, the final determination is made by The Lion Fish Press.

Please send one submission at a time. We do not accept multiple submissions from an author before they are contracted with us.

If an author is offered and accepts a contract from a different entity during a period that a submission is with The Lion Fish Press, please contact us at thelionfishpress@thelionfishpress.com to make us aware, and we will pull your submission from consideration. No hard feelings–we wish you the best of luck in your journey! And congratulations!

How To submit

1. All submissions must be emailed to thelionfishpress@thelionfishpress.com
2. Submissions must include:
   1. A query letter (tell us about yourself, your writing career, writing education, writing accomplishments, goals, why you are passionate about writing, your expertise in the genre you are writing, and your social media presence–with included links–in 2-3 short paragraphs). Be your own hype man and take this time to shine. We won’t judge you. If you’re a new writer with no experience, tell us what drew you to write.
   2. A synopsis of the work. Tips: include the genre, word count, what it is about, and what makes it stand out from other books in its genre. You do not have to include titles of comparable books or names of comparable authors.
   3. The first 10-20 pages of your manuscript. Essentially, the first chapter. If your first chapter is a few pages shorter or longer, we will accept it (but anything shorter than 7 pages or longer than 25 will not be accepted). All submissions must be in Garamond or Times New Roman 12 pt. double spaced. Word or PDF format only. Alternatively, the text can be cut and pasted into the body of your email submission.
3. If we like what we read, we will request a full submission.
4. Full submissions only require an email with the full manuscript in 12pt. Garamond or Times New Roman, double spaced, in Word or PDF format. You do not have to resubmit all of the other initial items.
5. In the subject line of your email, please type “Query <genre>: <title of book>.
6. You will receive receipt confirmation within 72 hours.
7. Wait 2 weeks for a determination on whether or not we want to request a full manuscript.

“EPIcs” & Graphic Novels

“Epics” and graphic novels should include a query letter and a synopsis. Epics should be submitted as pitches – tell us about the story and submit only your first 10 pages. Graphic novels should include the first 5 pages with completed illustrations/graphics, any coloring, and lettering.