Manuscript call
We are currently looking for short story or flash fiction full-length book manuscripts (combinations of flash and longer short stories in the manuscript are welcome as well). Individually published pieces within the manuscript are absolutely fine (and expected!) but the book should not have been published as a BOOK before. We won't define "full-length" (our only hard limit is the lower end: minimum of 100pg), but 150-250 pages tends to be the sweet spot. If your book is shorter than 100pg, keep our chapbook reading period in mind this April!
We're looking for manuscripts that question boundaries (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional—you get the gist). Dazzle us with your version(s) of truth!
To get an idea of what we love, please check out our current short story/flash fiction offerings: Hayden Casey's forthcoming story collection Show Me Where the Hurt Is, Midwatch by Jillian Danback-McGhan, Phantom Advances by Mary Lynn Reed, My Share of the Body by Devon Capizzi, 48 Blitz by Brett Biebel, This. This. This. Is. Love. Love. Love. by Jennifer Wortman, Hungry People by Tasha Coryell, Felt in the Jaw by Kristen Arnett, and The Hook and the Haymaker and I Am the Oil of the Engine of the World, both by Jared Yates Sexton. We'd love it if you'd add a copy of any (/all) of our books to your submission, and we'll happily throw in free shipping (to US/Canada only) as a thanks!
Historically under-represented perspectives are WELCOME and ENCOURAGED and HIGHLY SOUGHT—we want to help bring your voice to the world!
Our press mission
We publish boundary-breaking fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid books, lifting the transition boards that prevent fluidity and smashing those we cannot pry up. We love work that questions the concept of truth, and work that reinterprets what we think we know. We prize experimentation (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional); we welcome the unanswerable. We want to see the dark and the light side of the moon—or we want to see it obliterated. If your book is a wedge in a crack, Split/Lip Press is the hammer helping you split the wall apart.
All books published at Split/Lip Press have been discovered during our open reading periods—we do not solicit manuscripts and do not accept manuscripts sent outside of our reading periods. Every author has the same opportunity to join us! However, Split/Lip Press does not tolerate manuscripts celebrating racist, homophobic, or misogynistic perspectives, and will discard such manuscripts unread. We believe in breaking boundaries at Split/Lip, but we will not assist agendas of hate.
Basic formatting details
TNR 12 (or similar), double-spaced (unless you are specifically using special formatting—which we'd love to see), and PLEASE remove your name from the manuscript and file name—our readers want to review your manuscripts without names attached. There is a box on the submission form where, if you choose, you may indicate any information about positionality which may be helpful for the readers to know.
Please note that while we love and welcome work which includes images/diagrams/etc, they would need to appear as black-and-white images within a 6" x 9" printed book, so keep that in mind when submitting.
Hugs + thanks
We work closely with our authors on all elements of their book from editing to design to promotion. We are engaged in the literary community and as writers ourselves, we know how important it is to have your book supported by a press that cares about more than the bottom line. We'd love for you to be part of the Split/Lip Press family.
Simultaneous submissions are obviously welcome. Our reading process is a process and we move quickly and efficiently, but we also don't interrupt it prematurely. So if another publisher snags you first, we just ask that you withdraw your submission (and congrats to you!).
We intend to reply to all submissions by May 15, 2025, so please do not query about the status of your manuscript before that date. If you haven't seen anything from us by 5/15/25, check your status in Submittable and double-check your email spam filter because Submittable's messages sometimes get stuck there—we will definitely respond!
Thank you for considering Split/Lip Press as the home for your book.
PS: The reading fee helps cover our costs as a press, and our SS/FF reading team splits 25% of the submission fees collected during this reading period as compensation for their hard work. But we don't want a fee to keep us from finding the best work out there. If you can't afford the reading fee, please send an email to splitlipthepress@gmail.com before submitting to receive a manuscript fee waiver, no questions asked.