Open Call for Manuscripts

To understand what we publish, it helps to understand the magpie.

Magpies have not always had a particularly good reputation. They’ve been called pests and thieves and are often tied to bad luck in many cultures around the world.

But you have to look closer if you want to understand the magic.

Magpies are remarkably intelligent. They have impressive memories, recognize people, learn from each other and most importantly; they pass on what they have learned about the world from one bird to another.

There is something in that which feels very much like a book.

The books that stay with us, give us something to carry. Sometimes it is an idea. Sometimes an image. Sometimes it is one sentence we find ourselves repeating twenty years later. They let one person put something they have seen, understood, imagined or survived into the hands of someone they may never meet.

And then that person carries it too.

That is what we are looking for at Magpye Press.

We aren’t particularly interested in what shelf your manuscript belongs on. We are on a quest to find words that change something.

It might be a novel. A novella. Poetry. An essay. An illustrated book. An art book. A picture book for adults. Something experimental. Something very small. Something unusual that we’ll need you to explain to us again later.

We are looking for rarities, oddities and curiosities to add to our nest.

Magpye Press publishes small, carefully made physical books.

We are not looking for conventional commercial or mass-market fiction, self-help, how-to or instructional books, business or professional books, general informational nonfiction, or anthologies.

Beyond that, we would rather not make too many rules about what a book is allowed to be.

We especially love compact work and manuscripts under approximately one hundred and fifty pages. Our maximum manuscript length for this open call is three hundred pages.

Your manuscript must be complete, and we ask that you send it to us in full. We do not accept proposals for books that are not written.

Previously unpublished manuscripts are preferred, but previously published work may be considered provided the necessary publishing rights are available. Individual poems, essays, stories or other pieces having appeared elsewhere do not disqualify a larger manuscript.

Submissions are open worldwide, but manuscripts must be written in English or already translated into English.

First time authors or unpublished writers are encouraged.

You may send us more than one manuscript. Please include all manuscripts you would like us to consider in one submission rather than creating multiple submissions.

There is no fee to submit.

We do not accept work created using generative AI. The writing, artwork and other creative content of the work must be human-made.

Please fill out the form below with your name, email, manuscript, and any additional information you’d like us to know before reviewing your submission.

Every submission receives an initial review, and we will contact you within four to six weeks to let you know how the process is going.  If we don’t feel your work is a good fit for Magpye Press, we will let you know once the review has been completed.

When we do find a manuscript that we feel is a good fit, we’ll let you know that it’s undergoing a second review, and should we choose to move forward, someone will be in touch to discuss next steps with you.

Basically, we’ve sat where you are now and we won’t just slam your book on the slush pile and ghost you for a year.