Manuscript Submission

Submitting your work

Honno is always interested in receiving unsolicited manuscripts  but currently does not intend to publish  poetry, works for children, novellas or short story collections by a single author. Honno does publish full length works of fiction and non-fiction for adults (manuscripts of between 60,000 and 120,000 words).

Honno is open to all genres of fiction and is particularly interested in increasing the number of literary fiction, crime/thriller, commercial women’s fiction, science fiction and fantasy titles it publishes. Honno is also building a list of non-fiction works to include biography (untold tales of remarkable Welsh women, places and industries), memoir, nature and travel writing. For a good idea of the types of work Honno is interested in study the Books pages on this site and the Editor’s blog posts.

However, whatever kind of work you are submitting, please ensure that you meet Honno’s criteria (see ‘Submission guidelines’ below) BEFORE doing so.

Honno is keen to publish work that shows all sides of life in Wales, but will consider stories not set within Wales. Honno is a feminist publisher and that influences the kinds of work selected for publication.

Criteria for submission to/publication by Honno Press

Honno’s mission is to publish Welsh women writers – for the purposes of submission to Honno this means that you must be a woman born in Wales or resident in Wales at the time of submission. Honno also publishes titles of exceptional interest to women within Wales from writers who may not meet the first two criteria i.e. that they are female and that they are of Welsh birth or residence.

Should you not meet the above criteria but would like to be published within Wales the Welsh Books Council has a full list of contact details for Welsh publishing houses at http://www.wbti.org.uk/

Submission guidelines

When submitting your manuscript, in the first instance please mail a synopsis and the first 50 pages of the work (and, no, it doesn’t matter if the sample ends mid-chapter or even mid-sentence), typed double spaced on one side of A4. Please send the beginning 50 pages not a section from later in the book or a mix of the two.

Please send your submission to us by post, not email. Send it to: Commissioning Editor, Honno, Unit 14, Creative Units, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3GL.

Please note that all manuscripts are considered carefully and responded to individually – which takes time – no one gets a standard template rejection. Honno aims to reply within three months of receipt however during very busy periods this may take up to six months. We appreciate your patience while we consider your work.

If you wish to receive an acknowledgement that your manuscript has been received please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with your manuscript or include your email address with your submission. And of course, if you would like your work returned to you, please also enclose a stamped addressed envelope of the right size and with the correct postage.