We are currently open to submissions.
We welcome long-form and short-form writing from authors, agents, and translators. Individual short-form submissions will be considered for Fishlock collections.
For this submission window, we have split up our criteria based on word count, so please read the criteria and T&Cs carefully.
If you find yourself struggling to show off your work to the best of your ability within the given criteria, please email submissions@fishlockbooks.com and we will advise.
How to submit
For all submissions, please send an email in the form of a cover letter to submissions@fishlockbooks.com, including a concise summary of the project, a few reasons why you think it’s a good fit for Fishlock and the current market, as well as a short author bio.
If you would like to submit a project above 40,000 words, such as a novel or a memoir, please also include the following as two separate attachments:
- A full synopsis, no longer than a page
- The first three chapters or first 50 pages
If you would like to submit a project between 10,001-40,000 words, such as a novella, please also include the following as two separate attachments:
- A full synopsis, no longer than a page
- The first two chapters or first 15 pages
If you would like to submit a piece of writing between 4,000-10,000 words, such as an essay or a short story, please also include the following as a separate attachments:
- A full synopsis, no longer than half a page
- The first 2,500 words
If you would like to submit a piece of writing below 4000 words, such as a piece of flash-fiction or a poem, please also include the following as a separate attachment:
- Your piece of writing in full
How to submit a collection
If you would like to submit a collection of writing, such as a collection of poetry, essays, flash fiction and/or short stories, please send an email in the form of a cover letter to submissions@fishlockbooks.com, including a concise summary of the project, a few reasons why you think it’s a good fit for Fishlock and the current market, as well as a short author bio.
Please also include the following as two separate attachments:
- One document containing a short synopsis for each piece in the project
- Three sample pieces - they do not need to be of the same length or categorisation but they must feel like part of a collection e.g. three short stories on the topic of motherhood, or two poems and a piece of flash fiction on the topic of music.
T&Cs
- All submissions should be complete at the time of submission
- The deadline to submit is midnight on 13th December 2026
- You must be at least 18 years old to submit
- We will read no more than one email from each writer in a submission window, so please carefully consider what you would like to submit
- The examples given for each category are not exhaustive, so if in doubt, follow the word count of your writing. For example, if you have a short story that is 3,000 words, please follow the criteria for a piece of writing below 4,000 words.
- We read all submissions but sadly we cannot reply with individual feedback
- We are aware that scammers have been targeting the book trade, posing as publishers and asking for fees to read your submissions. We will never ask for payment, and will only ever be in touch from a @fishlockbooks.com email address if we would like to read more of your work.
- We take care to ensure the confidentiality and intellectual property laws of all submissions. If we wish to keep in touch for the purposes of later contact, we will ask for your permission and will keep any data in accordance with current data, privacy and confidentiality laws.
- We strongly urge authors not to use AI in their submissions, and we promise not to filter any submissions using AI. We are lovers of words so we appreciate polished pieces but, trust us, your own words are the most effective way for us to learn about your project. If you require some guidance to help format your submission, we recommend publications like Writers & Artists and The Society of Authors that can be accessed online for free.