Submissions open: 7th December 2018-10th February 2019.
Seeking: Fiction & non-fiction.
Q: Why are you no longer open year-round?
A: As a very small team, we’ve struggled to balance the volume of submissions we receive against our workload, which caused a huge backlog. We’ve moved to select windows for a while to avoid this happening again and hope to return to open submissions year-round in the future. For now, it means we can accept books during quieter times, and get back to everyone in a far more timely manner. You can subscribe to our submissions mailing list for updates on this.
What we’re looking for:
We are currently in search of fiction and non-fiction. Please follow our submission guidelines (below).
If you want to be published by 404, we…
- Are interested in novels and short story collections. We are open to most genres from literary fiction to crime; we’re also open to graphic novels.
- Are interested in non-fiction, but - at present - not anthologies. This can include biographies, memoirs, essay collections. We are particularly interested in music.
- Do accept submissions without an agent, so don't worry! We do also welcome submissions via agencies, but we…
- Are not currently seeking: poetry collections, novellas, children’s books (middle grade and below).
We are particularly interested in debuts but this isn’t a set rule, and particularly welcome submissions from writers who feel their stories and voices are under-represented in publishing.
Submission guidelines:
To submit your work for consideration, please send the following in word documents (format .doc or .docx - not via Google Drive, WeTransfer or in a zipped folder):
Fiction:
- The first three chapters or 50 pages of your manuscript.
- A one page (max) synopsis. We need to know the ending!
- A one page chapter-by-chapter run through of your book.
- A one page cover letter detailing your work, writing experience and the book’s potential readership. We want to get to know you, your influences, and why you think you and your book are a fit for 404 Ink.
Please format your email subject as: Submission - FICTION - Your Name - Book TitleNon-fic:
- The first three chapters or 50 pages of your manuscript. (If the book is in proposal stage, please include some writing samples relevant to the title.)
- A one page synopsis/proposal of your book, topics it will cover and the route through the topic.
- A one page chapter-by-chapter run through of the book, or how you would structure the book.
- A one page cover letter detailing your work, writing experience and the book’s potential readership. We want to get to know you, your influences, and why you think you and your book are a fit for 404 Ink.
Please format your email subject as: Submission - NON-FICTION - Your Name - Book Title
Send your manuscripts and supporting documents to submissions@404ink.com. We aim to get back to everyone within six weeks of publication, though this is not always possible; we do however, reply to everyone with the outcome of their submission. Please note:
We do not accept postal submissions.
We only read submissions that follow our guidelines.
We can currently only read submissions within our submission windows.
If you have any further queries, you can contact us here.
About 404 Ink:
404 Ink is the multi-award winning independent publisher, dubbed ‘the “Nasty Women” shaking up the book industry’. We’ve published titles including feminist bestseller Nasty Women, the short story collections Hings and HWFG by breakthrough debut Chris McQueer, On The Edges of Vision and Mayhem & Death from Saltire Society award-winning Helen McClory, and The Last Days of James Scythe by acclaimed rock band Creeper.