AVRAPRESS

Submissions

Submit your work

What we're looking for

  • Literary fiction. Novels of 60,000–120,000 words. Linked story collections are considered.
  • Underrepresented voices. We prioritize writers from communities publishing has underserved, including Black, Latine, Indigenous, Asian American, immigrant, first-generation, and working-class writers.
  • Our themes. Identity, family and inheritance, place, and the distance between who we are and who we are expected to be.
  • New writers. Debut authors are especially welcome. Agented and unagented submissions are both accepted.

What we don't publish

Children's books, young adult, poetry, genre romance, and fantasy or science fiction without a literary focus. We are not accepting memoir or nonfiction at this time.

How to submit

  1. Query letter (one page). Include your title, word count, a short pitch, two or three comparable titles published in the last five years, and a brief bio.
  2. Synopsis (one to two pages). Tell the whole story, including the ending.
  3. Sample. The first three chapters or first 50 pages, whichever is shorter. Use .docx or PDF, 12-point font, double spacing, and page numbers.
  4. Send it through our submission form, with the subject line: Query – TITLE – Your Name.

The submission form will appear here when our reading period opens.

By submitting, you agree to our submission terms and Privacy Policy.

Our commitments to you

  • No fees, ever. We never charge reading fees and never ask authors to pay to be published.
  • A response. We reply to every submission within 12 weeks. If you haven't heard back by then, you may follow up once.
  • Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Let us know right away if your book is accepted elsewhere.
  • Your work stays yours. We read in confidence, and you keep your copyright.

If we say yes

We'll request the full manuscript, then set up a call to talk about the book and our editorial vision. Our contracts include a rights-reversion clause. Books typically publish 12 to 18 months after signing.

Questions

Do I need an agent?

No. We read agented and unagented work equally.

Do you charge fees or offer paid publishing packages?

No. A traditional publisher pays the author, never the other way around.

Can I submit more than one manuscript?

One at a time, please. If we pass, you're welcome to send a different project in a later reading period.

I self-published my book. Can I submit it?

Generally no, unless you hold all rights and the book is out of print. Tell us in your query.

Will you give feedback on my manuscript?

We can't offer personal feedback on every submission, but we do share notes when a manuscript comes close.

How do you define "underrepresented"?

We mean writers whose communities have been left out of mainstream publishing. If that describes you, tell us in your own words in your bio. You never have to explain or prove your identity to us.