ECW Press
665 Gerrard Street East
Toronto, ON M4M 1Y2
ECW Press ECW Press
has published close to 1,000 books that are distributed throughout the
English-speaking world and translated into dozens of languages. They release 50+
new titles each year. They publish poetry and fiction – both literary fiction
and genre fiction, including speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy and
horror – pop-culture and political analysis, sports books, biography, and
travel guides. Books by both established writers and new authors.
ECW accepts fiction and poetry
submissions by Canadians only; there are no citizenship
restrictions on writers submitting nonfiction. Like everyone else, they are “are especially seeking submissions from
underrepresented voices, including Black, Indigenous, and people of colour;
LGBTQ2IA+ people; people living with disabilities; and women.” They do not
publish books for audiences younger than young adult.
ECW also has a BIPOC mentoring
program. Details here.
Each of the acquiring editors has different
interests. You might pitch your manuscript to the best match. Click on the name
for a link to details of what they’re looking for:
Pia Singhal is the
newest member of the team at ECW and like all new editors, she needs authors.
She’s looking for “a lot” in both fiction and nonfiction.
Jen Sookfong
Lee acquires fiction and nonfiction that
“explores the complicated identities, intersections, and
interests of our contemporary world, whether that’s a historical novel with a
subversive twist, or a memoir that reveals a story we haven’t yet seen in
literature, or a collection of short stories with a varied cast of characters
who collide in unexpected ways.”
Jack David,
Co-Publisher. Acquires fiction and nonfiction. “I enjoy reading unsolicited proposals; I live in hope. I sometimes find
myself reading a line or a passage to anyone who happens to be within earshot.
I do this spontaneously because I like to share what I’m enjoying; and then I
observe myself and register the fact that I want others to take pleasure in
what I’m reading. That’s the impetus for signing up a book.”
David
Caron, Co-Publisher. Mostly acquires fantasy
and sci-fi, but is open to fall in love with anything.
Jen
Albert, Editor. Acquires speculative fiction of all kinds for
adults and teens: innovative space opera, horror, fantasy, literary
post-apocalypse, epic sci-fantasy, etc. “I’m especially
taken by fiction that is uplifting and fundamentally good-hearted, as in
Katherine Addison’s The
Goblin Emperor, one of my favorite-ever novels.”
She also acquire engaging nonfiction, especially popular science and most especially love work grounded in biology that is interested in making broader points on behaviour and culture.
She’s also interested in philosophy,
queer studies, alternative lifestyles, social evolution, and writing on
ideological, economic, and political alternatives to capitalism. She’s a fan of
any well-researched book that explores the bigger picture and adds to the
important conversations of our times. She will happily work with authors to
develop a non-fiction project from the proposal stage.
Jen Knoch,
Senior Editor. Acquires fiction (though generally not
genre fiction), and nonfiction, including memoir, pop culture books, especially
music books, health, social issues, women’s issues, and the environment. She
especially loves when those things intersect.
Jennifer Smith,
Acquisitions & Business Development. Acquires
nonfiction, “with some emphasis on business, leadership,
entrepreneurship, corporate history, and celebratory or commemorative books for
organizations and institutions. And I never turn down the opportunity to
consider a great cookbook!”
Michael Holmes, Executive Editor.
Acquires literary fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. “I look for smart, culturally-, socially- and politically-engaged writing
that takes risks, pushes limits, colours way outside the lines.”
Query ECW at: submissions@ecwpress.com
Put your manuscript’s
title in the subject line. Include cover letter. A sample of
the manuscript 15–25 pages. A brief bio, including your city of residence and
publication history (if any). For nonfiction, please also send an outline of
the entire work as you envision it. (For tips on writing a good nonfiction
proposal, check out this sample from ECW
author Michael Hingston.)
See full submission guidelines here.
ECW is also looking for Pop
Classics:
“You might be best known for writing about music,
politics, primates, or the adventures of made-up people, but ECW wants to give
you a chance to expound on something different. On that thing that makes an
evangelist of you, that makes you hold party guests hostage long after the
coffee has gone cold or has you giving a well-intentioned Skinny Puppy CD to
your grandma or Empire DVDs to your dad.
“ECW staffers share your pop culture passion, and
we’re looking to expand our successful pop culture list with a new series that
gives you a soapbox to preach from. Pop Classics will offer
intelligent but accessible arguments about why a particular pop phenomenon
matters. Possible subjects include TV, music, books series/authors, film, and
video games. It can be something nostalgic (Babysitters Club novels) or
contemporary (Beyoncé), as long as it’s something meaningful: to you, to its
genre, to pop culture, and maybe even to society as a whole.
“Running between 20,000 and 40,000 words, Pop
Classics are short books that pack a big punch, and just might be the thing to
give your dinner companions some peace . . . or give you a legitimate reason to
keep on talking.”
To submit a Pop Classics proposal, send an email to
Jen Sookfong Lee at: jenl@ecwpress.com
Put “Pop Classics Proposal: Friday Night Lights”
(or whatever your subject may be) in the subject line.
Your proposal should include the following
elements:
1. Who: A CV that details your writing
experience and includes links to previously published work
2. What: An outline of your proposed
book: Your central thesis and a proposed table of contents to show us how that
argument would develop
3. Why: Some basic information on the
subject, target audience and why the time is right for writing about this topic
See full guidelines for a Pop Classics proposal here.
***
For more
publishers looking for manuscripts, see here.
See all of
Brian Henry’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day
workshops, and weekend retreats here.
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