Submissions

Linda Leith Publishing is a literary house working in English in Montreal.

We are interested in literary non-fiction submissions on a variety of topics of current and lasting interest, and especially short 20,000-30,000 word Singles essays.

We also consider unsolicited submissions of fiction from Canadian writers of diverse regions and backgrounds, very much including members of Official Language Minority communities (both francophone and anglophone), culturally diverse writers including Indigenous writers, LGBTQ writers, and other marginal and minority voices from across Canada and, occasionally, further afield. We publish original work in both English and French (the latter are published by Linda Leith Éditions) as well as numerous works in translation. Please send us your best work. 

In publishing, what matters most is the right fit between publisher and author. We have spent time on this page to provide the most helpful information we can.  

[Photo: Eléonore Delvaux-Beaudoin]

Submissions guidelines

LLP publishing program
We are glad to receive queries from Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada from all regions and of all backgrounds who are interested in submitting an original fiction or non-fiction manuscript.

We publish in print and electronic formats, and we normally buy world rights.

We have a particular interest in short books and distinctive authorial voices, and we're interested in knowing what the market is for your book.

Literary quality is our main criterion, with diversity and inclusion very much on our minds. We have published writers of colour, immigrant writers, many members of minority language communities, both francophone and anglophone, LGBTQ writers, and a wide variety of others. However, we are a small press publishing about 10 titles a year, including work in French and work in translation. We therefore have to be extremely selective and can publish only a fraction of the quality manuscripts we receive.

What goes into our decision? Many factors, including the makeup of our list as a whole, which we wish to reflect the diversity we see all around us. A book's marketability, for the press's survival--and our authors' careers-- depend in large part on book sales. The freshness of the voice, as we will have to pass on a ms. similar in tone or subject matter to one we published a year or two ago. And much else besides. Send us your best work, and if it doesn't fit our current needs, we hope you'll find a good home for it elsewhere.

We regret that we are not in a position to offer an opinion of your submission, nor of what other houses might wish to publish, and we cannot facilitate your submission elsewhere.

In fiction, only novels and novellas will be considered.

For non-fiction, in the LLP Singles series of short essays, manuscripts should be 20,000 - 30,000 words in length. We also consider longer works of trade non-fiction. You can consult the Canada Council's definition of literary non-fiction to see if your title would be considered eligible for funding.

In translations, we have many in the works, but can still consider submissions for 2020.

LLP does not publish: poetry, romance, historical fiction, science fiction, graphic novels, cartoons, collections of essays or interviews, books for young people, and previously published work. Because of funding criteria, we do not normally publish reprints.

How do you know if your book is right for LLP--and LLP is right for you? Read more on this website, familiarize yourself with the Books page, and read some of the books we have already published.

[Photos: Linda Leith, Eléonore Delvaux-Beaudoin]
And then?
Response times vary, depending on your submission and our workload. We try to confirm receipt within a week or two, but it may take up to three months during the busiest times. You should by all means send a reminder if you have heard nothing from us in three months.

Advice for Emerging Writers

We regret that we are not able to provide editorial comments or discuss the merits of your submission unless we have expressed interest in publishing it.

If you do feel the need for feedback and support, as many writers do, please consider a creative writing course, join or start a writing group or take advantage of the excellent writing workshops, mentoring programs, networking opportunities and manuscript evaluation services offered by the writers' organizations in your area. There is no better investment in your writing career than joining one of these. They are designed with you in mind.

All this said, we do look forward to reading your work. We go out of our way to select new voices as well as nurturing the careers of writers we have published before. We have now published 60 books, and most of them arrived unexpectedly by email by writers hitherto unknown to us.


If we decide to publish your book, we'll ask you to sign a publishing agreement.

After that, we enter the editing process which can take anywhere from a few months to a year or more. We'll use the Track Changes feature in Word and will expect you to do the same. We'll ask you to provide (and cover the cost of) any permissions required and a rights-free hi-resolution professional promotional photo. We'll consult you on catalogue copy, cover possibilities, blurbs, publicity and events in which you might participate.

We will encourage you to promote your work on social media, on your website, and in your own milieu. We'll help you meet other LLP and LLÉ authors on line or, if at all possible, in person, and we'll encourage you to promote one another's work. We will pitch your book to print and electronic media and advertise it selectively. We'll submit your book for prizes for which it is eligible, and when we are forced to select only one or two books, we will do our utmost to treat your book fairly. We'll work with you, every step of the way, to support you and give your book its best chance of success. And when you are successful, we'll celebrate with you.
Querying

Query when your manuscript is in final form and as good as you can make it. We can read your material only once before making a decision; it's up to you to make it compelling and irresistible.

Very few authors spring out of nowhere. We have published books by experienced, award-winning authors and also by first-time authors. All had a track record as writers before publishing with us. 


How to Query

Please include the following material in your query:

1. A synopsis, no more than one page in length;
2. The first chapter or two of the book (10 - 20 pages) and its overall length (approximate number of words);
3. Biographical information, including details of your previous publications and related work as well as confirmation of Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status; no more than one page in length.
4. A short cover note.

All material should be pasted into the text of your email.

Please do not send this material as an attachment, for we don't open attachments unless we have asked for them; please do not send an entire manuscript; please do not send cover art; please do not mail your submission; and please do not ask us to consult a website to find examples of your work. We cannot accept or discuss submissions on social media.

If your submission interests us, we will ask to see more, at which point you should prepare a complete, clean ms. in a neutral font, numbered consecutively throughout. If there are photographs or illustrations that might be published with the text, please indicate that but do not send them until we request them; they should not be embedded in the ms. We may ask for a ms. in Word or for a printed copy or both. Please do not mail us a printed ms. unless we request one.

NOTE: Paste all material into your email. For security reasons, we do not open attachments unless we ask for them.

LLP does not consider simultaneous submissions.

Please email queries to: info@lindaleith.com.

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