Submissions are currently closed
SmashBear Publishing acquisitions will open again soon.
SmashBear Publishing would like to take the opportunity to thank every writer and author who has submitted their work to us so far. Your support and trust have meant the world to us and we're so grateful to have received your work!
But we've received hundreds of manuscripts! That's not an exaggeration either, literally hundreds of amazing manuscripts. As the wait time for feedback have grown, we've come to realise that we need to take some time to work through our backlog.
We want to be as fair to our authors as possible, and it's hard to evaluate work when it feels like you're being rushed through it to meet a deadline. So that's why we're taking some time now to close submissions and work through the pile!
We don't have a firm date as to when we'll reopen them, and we might still take part in some pitch events on Twitter, but we'll keep you updated here on our website, and on our socials (so make sure to follow)! We also have a monthly newsletter which we'll announce on as well!
We're hoping that it won't take more than a few months to clear the backlog and then we can reopen acquisitions to you again.
Acquisitions/submissions will close, end of day, on the 24th Feb 2023. We want to make sure to give anyone preparing a submission, time to send it in before we close.
Thank you all so much for your support, and we'll see you in a couple of months, hopefully with some exciting author announcements!
SmashBear Publishing considers manuscripts for international publishing and distribution
At SmashBear Publishing, we practice a 'publish what you love' policy. This means that the publishers and editorial team are all passionate about the books that we publish. SmashBear Publishing exclusively publishes manuscripts of 60,000 words+ in the genres of urban fantasy, fantasy, horror, and paranormal romance.
Your publisher, commissioning editor, and editorial team will all have played a part in pushing your manuscript through our acquisition process! They will have picked your manuscript out of the metaphorical pile and loved it so much that they want to publish it! But to get to this stage, you have to send your manuscript to us first. There it will meet the all-knowing, all-seeing gatekeeper; the Acquisitions Manager.
The Acquisitions Manager is a writer's most feared opponent. The A.M and their army of assistants will make sure that your manuscript meets our submission guidelines. You'll soon receive an email if it doesn't! Make sure to not anger the gatekeeper by making sure your manuscript meets all of the requirements below.
Submission Guidelines
We accept manuscripts intended for the ages 16+ (young adult, new adult and older).
Our minimum word count is 60,000 words, unless you're submitting to one of our anthologies.
We understand that the purpose of horror is to push limits and challenge readers. However, we will not accept any manuscripts which condone or glamorise problematic behaviours/experiences.