48 novella publishers accepting unsolicited manuscripts in September 2025
Congratulations on writing your novella! This list of novella publishers are currently accepting manuscripts this month without a literary agent. I’ve done my best to weed out any vanity presses or publishers without any novels published from the past year.
Don’t forget to check out my developmental editing services or pre-querying package if you want to make sure your novel is in top shape before you send it to a publisher for consideration. I offer a variety of services to suit all budgets, from writers looking for the standard developmental editing experience to those seeking high-level feedback with a quick turnaround time.
Neon Hemlock
Neon Hemlock is a Washington, DC-based small press specializing in speculative fiction, rad zines and queer chapbooks.
Genre: Queer speculative short stories, flash fiction and novellas.
Word count: Not stated.Dreamspinner Publications
Dreamspinner Press focuses on gay male romance stories. Please note that Writer Beware wrote an article about Dreamspinner Publications. Please do your research before submitting.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres such contemporary, BDSM, coming of age, erotica, holiday, polyamory, paranormal, western, mystery, fantasy and science fiction. The main characters must end in a gay or all-male polyamorous relationship.
Word count: 18,000 words and over.1366 Books
1366 Books is the experimental fiction imprint of Guernica Editions. They aim to explode readers’ expectations and explore the possibilities of the novel and the short story.
Genre: Literary and experimental fiction.
Word count: 20,000 to 40,000 words.Bliss
Bliss is the sweet romance imprint of Entangled Publishing.
Genre: Contemporary romance with a small-town setting and dual point of view.
Word count: 15,000 to 65,000 words.Lovestruck
Lovestruck is the romantic comedy imprint of Entangled Publishing.
Genre: Romantic comedy.
Word count: 45,000 to 60,000 words.Scandalous
Scandalous is the historical romance imprint of Entangled Publishing.
Genre: Historical romance.
Word count: 15,000 to 65,000 words.Renaissance Press
Renaissance is a Canadian publisher who is dedicated to publishing novels from diverse Canadian voices.
Genre: Genre fiction, literary fiction, narrative nonfiction and memoirs.
Word count: 40,000 to 100,000 words.Indulgence
Indulgence is the contemporary romance imprint of Entangled Publishing.
Genre: Romance with alpha heroes and strong conflict.
Word count: 45,000 to 60,000 words.Decadent Publishing
Decadent Publishing is a romance fiction publisher. They are always looking for submissions for their main line as well as ongoing series and special calls.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres.
Word count: 15,000 words and over.Amble Press
Amble Press publishes fiction from writers who identify as a person of color or those writing across the broader queer spectrum.
Genre: Genre fiction, including general, crime, mystery, thriller, historical, action/adventure, speculative, young adult, new adult and romance. For nonfiction, they accept narrative, memoir and biography.
Word count: 45,000 to 100,000 words.New Letters
New Letters founded in Kansas City to publish the best literary writing, wherever it might be found.
Genre: Novellas, short stories and poetry. It seems they charge for submissions if you are not a subscriber with them.
Word count: No more than 30,000 words.Changeling Press
Changeling Press is a digital publisher of contemporary, science fiction, and paranormal romance. Their target audience is adult women.
Genre: Romance, in the subgenres of contemporary, paranormal, women's fiction and science fiction. They also state they accept romance subgenres focusing on action, suspense, motorcycle, medical, rock star, comedy, dark comedy, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, magic, sorcery and witchcraft, cyberpunk, reverse harem, LGBTA+, mpreg (male pregnancy, a trope in fiction where a male character becomes pregnant), steampunk, werewolves, shifters and vampire.
Word count: 20,000 to 40,000 words.Text Publishing
Text Publishing is an independent Melbourne-based publisher of fiction and nonfiction. They accept submissions from citizens or residents of Australia and New Zealand.
Genre: Genre fiction, including crime, thriller, erotica, fantasy, paranormal, historical, romance, LGBTQIA+, young adult, and middle grade. For nonfiction, they accept biography, memoir, essays, film, history, humour, philosophy, politics, religion, science, environment, relationships, society, culture, sport, travel and war.
Word count: 10,000-120,000 words.Hague Publishing
Hague Publishing is an independent Australian publisher of science fiction and fantasy. Please note that they publish work by Australian and New Zealand authors.
Genre: Science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: 30,000 to 80,000 words but they will consider works outside of this range.Dancing Star Press
Dancing Star Press is a Michigan-based indie publisher specializing in speculative fiction.
Genre: Space opera, solarpunk, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, fantasy based on non-Western cultures, optimistic futurism, poplar tesla, soft science fiction, and hard science fiction.
Word count: Novellas between 17,500 and 40,000 words.Turner Publishing Company
Turner Publishing Company is an award-winning, independent publisher.
Genre: Genre fiction, including contemporary romance, upmarket, romantasy, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, thriller and horror. For nonfiction, they accept history, current events, business, economics, psychology, science and medicine.
Word count: Not stated.Brazen
Brazen is the erotic romance imprint of Entangled Publishing.
Genre: High heat romance.
Word count: 45,000 to 60,000 words.Scorched
Scorched is the erotic romance imprint of Entangled Publishing.
Genre: Erotic romance.
Word count: 15,000 to 65,000 words.Quill & Crow
Quill & Crow love all things odd and the macabre. They aim to work with authors to create something special.
Genre: Dark fiction, such as horror, historical and speculative.
Word count: 45,000 to 110,000 words.Embrace
Embrace is the new adult romance imprint of Entangled Publishing.
Genre: New adult romance including contemporary, suspense, near-future science fiction, historical, fantasy, and paranormal.
Word count: 40,000 to 100,000 words.Dragonblade Publishing
Dragonblade Publishing specializes in historical romance.
Genre: Historical romance in a variety of subgenres. They will also accept historical fiction, historical mysteries, time travel and romantasy if there is a strong romantic element.
Word count: 40,000 to 120,000 words.Thistle (Tell-tale Publishing)
Thistle is Tell-tale Publishing's middle grade and young adult imprint.
Genre: Middle grade and young adult romance and fantasy.
Word count: 40,000 to 55,000 words.Boroughs Publishing Group
Boroughs Publishing Group is an e-publisher that loves romance, a great story, and compelling characters.
Genre: Romance, especially contemporary, dystopian, erotica, fantasy, historical, regency, LGBTQ+, multicultural, new adult, paranormal, suspense, thrillers, urban fantasy and young adult.
Word count: 40,000 to 100,000 words.Ventura Press
Ventura Press is a Sydney-based independent publisher established in 2002.
Genre: Literary fiction, upmarket fiction and nonfiction.
Word count: 40,000-120,000 words.The Wild Rose Press
The Wild Rose Press is primarily a virtual publisher founded in 2006.
Genre: Romance, including contemporary, science fiction, steampunk, futuristic, paranormal and historical.
Word count: 15,000 to 100,000 words.Unsolicited Press
Unsolicited Press is a no-frills, kick-ass small press that works for the author, not for the dollar.
Genre: Literary novels, poetry, novellas, short story collections, memoirs and nonfiction. Please note there is a small submission fee, which is currently US$5.
Word count: Not stated.Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon is the leading romantic fiction publisher in the UK, with a book sold every 10 seconds.
Genre: Romance (modern, true love, medical, historical, intrigue, and romantic suspense).
Word count: Varies by genre, typically around 50,000 words.Siren-BookStrand
Siren-BookStrand is an ebook publisher with over 8,000 romance novels under their belt and over 700 authors writing for them.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres with ménage, M/M, and M/F (only if it includes BDSM) pairings.
Word count: 20,000 words to 85,000 words.Black Dawn
Black Dawn is the speculative imprint of AK Press. AK Press believes that the voices of the disenfranchised must be heard and that speculative fiction is the perfect tool for exploring paths to bring forth a just and free world. They seek to explore themes that do not reinforce dependency on oppressive forces.
Genre: Fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, horror, and mystery.
Word count: 25,000 to 55,000 words.SFA Press
SFA Press broadens the university's mission by publishing works of cultural and scholarly significance.
Genre: Literary fiction, short fiction, poetry and academic nonfiction.
Word count: Not stated.Ninestar Press
Ninestar Press is a boutique publisher of quality LGBTQA+ romance, erotica, and literary fiction.
Genre: LGBTQA+ romance and literary novels.
Word count: 20,000 to 120,000 words.Black Bed Sheet Books
Black Bed Sheet Books publishes horror, science fiction and fantasy.
Genre: Fiction of a dark nature, especially horror, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, young adult, contemporary and thrillers.
Word count: Not stated.Severed Press
Severed Press is an independent publisher of horror and science fiction, proud of the diversity of their authors.
Genre: Horror and science fiction, including LitRPG, apocalyptic, killer sea creatures and dinosaurs.
Word count: Minimum of 30,000 words.Forever Yours
Forever Yours is a division of Hachette Book Group and an imprint of Grand Central Publishing.
Genre: Adult romance, especially contemporary, diverse reads, romantic suspense, cowboys, historical and paranormal.
Word count: 25,000 to 100,000 words.Four Way Books
Four Way Books produces literary publications to connect writers and readers. They were founded in 1993 by four writers and published their first book in 1995. Please note they charge a $32 processing fee.
Genre: Literary fiction and short story collections.
Word count: Book-length novels, novellas, flash fiction and short story collections.Deep Desire Press
Deep Desires Press is a publisher of erotica and high-heat-level erotic romance whose goal is to excite the reader.
Genre: Erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres, including contemporary, paranormal, LGTQ+ BDSM, historical, science fiction, fantasy and similar.
Word count: 10,000 words and over.Evernight Publishing
Evernight is an indie publisher that prefers to publish popular tropes.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres, including science fiction, BDSM, LGBTQ+, holiday, medical, new adult, dark, motorcycle, menage, paranormal, shifters, vampires, urban, erotica, humor, contemporary, military, steampunk, western, fantasy, reverse harem, suspense and young adult.
Word count: 16,000 to 100,000 words.Creature Horror
Creature Horror is a Virginia-based publisher focusing on genres like feminist horror, dark speculative fiction, and fantastical fiction.
Genre: Feminist horror, dark speculative fiction, women-driven thrillers, spooky fantastical fiction, literary fiction, or genre-defying prose.
Word count: 20,000 to 90,000 words.Bold Strokes Books
As an LGBTQ+ publisher, Bold Strokes Books strives to ensure their authors represent the cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints of our world.
Genre: Genre fiction, including romance, young adult, crime, suspense, speculative, mystery, thriller, contemporary, historical, saga, erotica and general. They also accept nonfiction.
Word count: 15,000 to 120,000 words.Linda Leith Publishing
Linda Leith Publishing is based in Montreal and specializes in literary fiction and nonfiction.
Genre: Literary fiction and nonfiction from Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Word count: Not stated.Inkspell Publishing
Inkspell Publishing is an ebook romance publisher.
Genre: Adult and young adult romance, including science fiction, fantasy and other subgenres.
Word count: 30,000 to 75,000 words.Hot Tree Publishing
Hot Tree Publishing, founded in 2015, focuses on a wide range of romance subgenres.
Genre: M/F, M/M, and F/F romance across various subgenres including high heat contemporary, college, motorcycle, military, bad boys, paranormal, fantasy and billionaires.
Word count: 50,000 words and above. Serials of 30,000-50,000 words are considered if completed.Launch Point Press
Launch Point Press is dedicated to publishing high-quality fiction books that center on the experiences of lesbian characters.
Genre: Fiction manuscripts where the main characters are lesbians, especially crime, suspense, mystery, intrigue, thriller, historical, literary, romance, sagas, speculative, paranormal and horror.
Word count: 55,000 to 100,000 words.Gemma
Gemma publishes writers who explore the diverse experiences of young adults. As part of this commitment, they founded Gemma Open Door for Literacy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting adult and young adult readers.
Genre: Literary fiction and nonfiction of relevance to adults and young adults improving their reading. These stories should involve simple tenses with a second- to -fourth-grade reading level.
Word count: 10,000 words or fewer.JMS Books LLC
JMS Books LLC is a small electronic press publishing LGBTQ+ romance, erotic romance, and young adult romance.
Genre: LGBTQ+ romance, erotic romance, and young adult romance. They are not interested in straight romance stories at this time.
Word count: 12,000 to 130,000 for adult stories and 20,000 to 130,000 for young adult.Quills & Quartos Publishing
Quills & Quartos Publishing was founded in 2019 and publishes Austenesque and historical romance fiction.
Genre: Jane Austenque variations (i.e. romance novels based on Jane Austen's stories).
Word count: 70,000 to 100,000 words for novels and 30,000 to 40,000 words for novellas.Radix Media
Radix Media is a worker-owned and operated union print shop and publisher based in Brooklyn, New York.
Genre: Full-length poetry, chapbooks, novellas, literary fiction, memoirs and visual narratives.
Word count: Not stated.The Evil Cookie Publishing
The Evil Cooking Publishing is run by horror author and artist, K. Trap Jones, and specializes in creating horror novels, novellas, collections and anthologies with unique hand drawn covers.
Genre: Horror.
Word count: 40,000 words and above.
Best of luck with your manuscript submissions! If you want to ensure your manuscript is in the best position to be accepted, check out my developmental editing services, pre-querying package or my free writing advice.