The Novelwriter's Toolkit
Page 20
Publishes Multicultural titles on the following subjects: Caribbean, Black British and South Asian Writing.
Recent Title(s) The Hangman’s Game, Karen King Aribisala (Novel)
Tips Peepal Tree Press publishes challenging and inspiring literature from the Caribbean and Black Britain. Its books aim to express the popular resources of transplanted and transforming cultures.
Pegasus
Sheraton House, Castle Park, Cambridge,
CB3 0AX
T 01223 370012
F 01223 370040
E Online form
W www.pegasuspublishers.com
Parent Company Pegasus Elliot MacKenzie Publishers Ltd
Insider Info Catalogue available online. Manuscript guidelines available online via website.
Publishes Literary and Mainstream/Contemporary titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts query with SAE.
Tips Pegasus publishes fiction, non-fiction and educational books from writers, agents and educationalists. They very rarely accept submissions from unknown or unpublished writers, but will sometimes offer an advance for accepted work.
Penguin Group (UK)
80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL
T 020 7010 3000
F 020 7010 6060
E customer.service@penguin.co.uk
W www.penguin.co.uk
Parent Company Pearson Plc
Contact Group Chairman & Chief Executive, John Makinson; Managing Director, Helen Fraser
Established 1936
Imprint(s) BBC Children’s Books, Penguin General (division), Penguin Press (division), Penguin Ireland, Penguin Audiobooks, ePenguin, Dorling Kindersley, Puffin, Ladybird Books, Rough Guides, Warne
Insider Info Publishes approximately 4,000 titles per year. Catalogue is available online.
Publishes Children’s, Young Adult, Crime and Thriller, Classics, General Fiction and Popular Fiction titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts agented submissions only.
Tips Although the Penguin Group does not accept unagented submissions, it does have some good information for authors on its website, including advice for aspiring adult fiction and children’s fiction authors. For all other imprints, see individual entries.
Penguin General
80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL
T 020 7010 3000
F 020 7010 6060
E customer.service@penguin.co.uk
W www.penguin.co.uk
Parent Company Penguin Group (UK)
Contact Managing Director, Tom Weldon
Imprint(s) Penguin Paperbacks, Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Michael Joseph, Viking
Insider Info Catalogue is available online.
Publishes Crime, Experimental, Humour, Literary, Mainstream/Contemporary, Romance, Thriller and Women’s Interest titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts agented submissions only.
Penguin Ireland
25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland
T 00353 1 661 7695
F 00353 1 661 7696
E info@penguin.ie
W www.penguin.ie
Parent Company Penguin Group (UK) Contact Editorial Officer, Patricia McVeigh
Established 2002
Insider Info Aims to respond to proposals within three months. Catalogue is available online.
Publishes Literary and Mainstream/Contemporary titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts proposal package (including outline, 20–40 sample pages and SAE).
Recent Title(s) Mr S and the Secrets of Andorra’s Box, Ross O’Carroll Kelly (Humour)
Tips Penguin Ireland welcomes unsolicited manuscripts and proposals. They’re looking for passion and excellence from their authors, with books that are ‘pitched towards that vast middle ground between popular literature and high literature,’ and that get under the skin of contemporary Ireland. Accepts typewritten manuscripts only. Does not accept proposals or manuscripts by email.
Penguin Paperbacks
80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL
T 020 7010 3000
F 020 7010 6060
E customer.service@penguin.co.uk
W www.penguin.co.uk
Parent Company Penguin General
Contact Publishing Director, Venetia Butterfield
Established 1935
Insider Info Catalogue is available online.
Publishes Literary and Mainstream/Contemporary titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts agented submissions only.
Recent Title(s) A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle
Tips Penguin Paperbacks range from Booker Prize-winning contemporary authors, to mass-market bestsellers.
Peter Owen Publishers
20 Holland Park Avenue, London, W11 3QU
T 020 7373 5628
F 020 7221 0931
E admin@peterowen.com
W www.peterowen.com
Contact Editorial Director, Antonia Owen (Non-Fiction and Literary Fiction)
Established 1951
Insider Info Publishes roughly 25 titles per year. Receives thousands of queries and several hundred manuscripts per year. 20 per cent of books published are from first-time authors, 50 per cent of books published are from unagented authors. Payment via royalty (on retail price). Average lead time is one year, with simultaneous submissions accepted. Submissions accompanied with SAE will be returned. Aims to respond to queries within four weeks, proposals within six weeks and manuscripts within eight weeks. Catalogue is free on request and available online. Manuscript guidelines are available online or by email.
Publishes Literary Fiction and Translation titles. “Peter Owen publishes only four or five Fiction titles per year and hardly ever publishes first novels.
Submission Guidelines Accepts queries with SAE or proposal package (including outline and one to three sample chapters) ideally by email. Submission details to: admin@peterowen.com
Recent Title(s) Loving Mephistopheles, Miranda Miller (Literary Fantasy)
Tips Peter Own specializes in international literary fiction. They very rarely publish memoirs or fiction from previously unpublished authors, and prefer submissions through a literary agent.
Phoenix
Orion House, 5 Upper St Martin’s Lane,
London, WC2H 9EA
T 020 7240 3444
F 020 7240 4822
W www.orionbooks.co.uk
Parent Company Orion Paperbacks (Orion Publishing Group Ltd)
Insider Info Catalogue available online.
Publishes Mainstream/Contemporary titles. “Publishes in paperback only.
Submission Guidelines Accepts agented submissions only.
Recent Title(s) Broken Bodies, June Hampson (Crime/Thriller)
Tips Does not accept any unsolicited submissions.
Piatkus Books
Little, Brown Book Group, 100 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0DY
T 020 7911 8000
E info@littlebrown.co.uk
W www.piatkus.co.uk
Parent Company Little, Brown Book Group
Contact Publishing Director, Antonia Hodgson
Established 1979
Imprint(s) Piatkus, Portrait
Insider Info Publishes 150 titles per year. Payment is via royalties. Aims to respond to proposals and manuscripts within 12 weeks. Catalogue and manuscript guidelines available online.
Publishes Mainstream/Contemporary titles.
Submission Guidelines Does not accept unsolicited proposals.
Recent Title(s) Deadly Desire, Keri Arthur
Picador
20 New Wharf Road, London, N1 9RR
T 020 7014 6000
F 020 7014 6001
W www.picador.com
Parent Company Pan Macmillan Publishers
Contact Publisher, Paul Baggaley; Editorial Director, Kate Harvey
Established 1972
Insider Info Catalogue available online as a downloadable pdf.
Publishes General Fictio
n, Mainstream/Contemporary and Literary titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts agented submissions only.
Recent Title(s) A Beautiful Place to Die, Malla Nunn (Crime)
Tips Picador has a particular reputation for ground-breaking non-fiction, reportage, literary biography and memoir, as well as poetry. Does not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
Pigasus Press
13 Hazely Combe, Arreton, Isle of Wight,
PO30 3AJ
T 01983 865668
E mail@pigasuspress.co.uk
W www.pigasuspress.co.uk
Contact Editor (Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Horror), Tony Lee
Insider Info Publishes roughly two titles per year. Simultaneous submissions are not accepted. Submissions accompanied by SAE will be returned. Aims to respond to queries within seven days, proposals within ten days, and manuscripts and all other enquiries within six months. Catalogue and manuscript guidelines are available with SAE, or online.
Publishes Experimental, Fantasy, Horror, Literary (Genre), Mystery and Science-Fiction titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts queries with SAE, or complete manuscripts.
Tips Pigasus Press is a genre publisher that specializes in speculative fiction of all kinds. They also publish Premonitions magazine which offers further publishing possibilities. Pigasus Press will not accept sword and sorcery fantasy submissions, or explicitly gory horror submissions.
Pipers’ Ash Ltd
Church Road, Christian Malford, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 4BW
T 01249 720563
E pipersash@supamasu.com
W www.supamasu.com
Contact The Manuscript Evaluation Desk (all subjects)
Established 1976
Insider Info Publishes roughly 15 titles per year. Receives 1,200 queries and 800 manuscripts per year. 90 per cent of books published are from first-time authors and 100 per cent are from unagented authors. Payment is via royalty (on retail price) of 0.1 (per £). No advance is offered. Average lead time is six months, with simultaneous submissions not accepted. Submissions accompanied by SAE will be returned. Aims to respond to queries within seven days, proposals within five weeks, and manuscripts within two months. Catalogue and manuscript guidelines available online.
Planet
PO Box 44, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3ZZ
T 01970 611255
E planet.enquiries@planetmagazine.org.uk
W www.planetmagazine.org.uk
Contact Managing Editor, John Barnie
Established 1970
Insider Info Payment is via royalties. Catalogue and manuscript guidelines (for the magazine only) are available online.
Publishes Mainstream/Contemporary, Translation, Welsh Fiction and World Writing titles.
Recent Title(s) O For A Gun, Nigel Jenkins
(Haiku)
Tips Planet mainly focuses on the arts and current affairs magazine Planet: The Welsh Internationalist. It expanded into book publishing in 1995, mostly of Welsh poetry and fiction, and also some translated fiction from around the world.
Pocket Books
1st Floor, 222 Gray’s Inn Road, London,
WC1X 8HB
T 020 7316 1900
F 020 7316 0332
E enquiries@simonandschuster.co.uk
W www.simonandschuster.co.uk
Parent Company Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
Insider Info Catalogue available online.
Publishes Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Suspense, General Mass-Market Fiction and Television Tie-In titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts agented submissions only.
Recent Title(s) Beautiful Boy, David Sheff
(Novel)
Tips Pocket Books is Simon & Schuster’s massmarket fiction and non-fiction imprint. All books are published in paperback.
Politico’s Publishing
215 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 1EJ
T 020 7798 1600
F 020 7828 2098
E methuenpubltd@btinternet.com
W www.methuen.co.uk
Parent Company Methuen Publishing Limited
Contact Chairman/Managing Director, Peter Tummons; Publishing Director, Alan Gordon-Walker
Established 1998 (acquired by Methuen in 2003)
Insider Info Catalogue available online.
Publishes Political Fiction titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts query with SAE/proposal package (including synopsis). Prefers agented submissions.
Tips Specialists in political publishing, particularly to do with Britain, Europe, USA and the Middle East. Unagented submissions are not encouraged. No submissions by email.
Pomegranate Press
Dolphin House, 51 St Nicholas Lane, Lewes, Sussex, BN7 2JZ
T 01273 470100
F 01273 470100
E pomegranatepress@aol.com
W www.pomegranate-press.co.uk
Contact Dave Arscott (Self-Publishing; Sussex Themes)
Established 1992
Insider Info Publishes several titles per year, about half by first-time authors. Average lead time is three months. Aims to respond to queries and manuscripts within ten days. Catalogue available on the website.
Publishes Fiction for self-publishing authors.
Submission Guidelines Accepts query with SAE or via email.
Recent Title(s) Sandies in the Beach Huts, Cathy Watts (author) and Emma Ball (illustrator) (Children’s Fiction)
Tips Pomegranate are a self-publishing company, with author/publisher David Arscott offering a one-to-one service.
Poolbeg Press
123 Grange Hill, Baldoyle, Dublin 13, Republic of Ireland
T 00353 1 832 1477
F 00353 1 832 1430
E info@poolbeg.com
W www.poolbeg.com
Contact Publishing Director, Paula Campbell; Managing Director, Kieran Devlin
Established 1976
Insider Info Catalogue available online.
Publishes Children’s, Literary, Mainstream/Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult and Irish Interest titles.
Recent Title(s) Nobody’s Child, Cora Coleman (Memoir)
Tips Poolbeg is Ireland’s premier popular fiction publishing company and mainly publishes new Irish writers.
Portobello Books Ltd
12 Addison Avenue, London, W11 4QR T 020 7605 1380
F 020 7605 1361
E mail@portobellobooks.com
W www.portobellobooks.com
Established 2005
Insider Info Publishes 20 titles per year. Catalogue is free on request.
Publishes Literary Fiction and Fiction in Translation titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts emailed queries.
Tips As an independent publisher, Portobello is able to take more risks with unusual or new work than is common in contemporary publishing. Portobello does not consider unsolicited manuscripts and will only accept queries by email.
PS Avalon
PS Avalon, Box 1865, Glastonbury, Somerset,
BA6 8YR
T 01458 833864
E will@willparfitt.com
W www.psavalon.com
Contact Director, Will Parfitt
Established 2003
Insider Info Publishes roughly four titles per year. Receives approximately 50 queries per year. 50 per cent of books published are from first-time authors, 90 per cent of books published are from unagented authors. Payment is via royalty (on retail price), with 0.1 (per £) minimum and 0.25 (per £) maximum. Average lead time is six months, with simultaneous submissions accepted. Submissions accompanied by SAE will be returned. Aims to respond to queries and proposals within seven days and manuscripts within 28 days. Catalogue is free on request and available online. Manuscript guidelines are available online.
Publishes Occult, Religious and Spiritual titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts query with SAE, or by email.
Tips PS Avalon publishes for a general readership.
Quartet Books
27 Goodge Street, London, W1T 2LD
T 020 7636 3992
F 020 7637 1866
E info@quartetbooks.co.uk
W www.quartetbooks.co.uk
Contact Managing Director, Jeremy Beale; Publishing Director, Stella Kane
Established 1972
Insider Info Authors paid by royalty.
Publishes Literary, Mainstream/Contemporary and Translation titles.
Submission Guidelines Accepts query with SAE including a one-page synopsis, one-page author biography and information on any previously published work and the first three chapters, or 30 pages of manuscript. Submissions via email or on disk are not considered.
Tips No genre fiction is accepted.
Quercus Publishing Plc
21 Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2NS
T 020 7291 7200
E mail@quercusbooks.co.uk
W www.quercusbooks.co.uk
Contact CEO/Managing Director, Mark Smith; Publishing Director, Wayne Davies; Consulting Editor, Otto Penzler (Crime Fiction)
Established 2004
Imprint(s) Quercus Editions (contract publishing), Quercus Books Limited (trade publishing)
Insider Info Catalogue available online. Publishes Crime and Women’s Fiction titles.
Submission Guidelines Quercus do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
Recent Title(s) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
Tips Quercus has both trade and contract publishing arms and is still largely driven by contract publishing, especially in the non-fiction areas. Their policy is to re-publish successful contract titles in trade editions, and establish a fiction list building on this trade presence.
The Random House Group Ltd
Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 2SA
T 020 7840 8400
F 020 7840 8778