Submissions

OUR SUBMISSION PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED. 

LLP and LLÉ regret that we are unable to consider new submissions until further notice.

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We encourage submissions of FICTION from Canadian writers of diverse regions and backgrounds, including culturally diverse writers, Indigenous writers, LGBTQ writers, and other marginal and minority voices from across Canada and, occasionally, further afield.

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

We publish original work in both English and French (Linda Leith Éditions) as well as numerous works in translation. We look forward to reading your best work. 
[Photo: Eléonore Delvaux-Beaudoin]

Submissions guidelines

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

Literary quality and originality are our main criteria, and diversity and inclusion are 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. We are extremely selective and can publish only a small fraction of the quality manuscripts we receive.

What intrigues us? A compelling story. A fresh voice. An edgy point of view. Sheer brilliance. Intensity. Warmth. Intelligence. We also consider the makeup of our list as a whole, which we wish to reflect the diversity we see all around us. Something new, something that catches our attention, something irresistible, something unlike anything we've come across before.

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.

The books we publish for young people are a reflection of the same wish for freshness, compassion, and intelligence that intrigue us in books for adults. If we're going to introduce a book to a young person, we want it to be irresistible.

In translations, we have so many in the works, that we will not be able to consider new submissions until 2021.

LLP does NOT publish: poetry, romance, historical fiction, science fiction, graphic novels, cartoons, collections of essays or interviews, or previously published work. Because of funding criteria, we do not normally publish reprints.
And then?
Response times vary, depending on your submission and our workload. You will receive confirmation any time up to three months. You may send a reminder if you have heard nothing from us in three months.

ADVICE FOR EMERGING WRITERS
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 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 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 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 online 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 will submit your book for eligible prizes and festivals. We'll work with you to support and give your book its best chance of success. And when you are successful, we'll celebrate with you.
Querying

Query during the submission period when your manuscript is in final form and as good as you can make it. We will 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
The following material must be pasted into the text of your email:
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. Brief 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.

PLEASE...
DO NOT send this material as an attachment. We do not open attachments unless we have asked for them.
DO NOT send an entire manuscript.
DO NOT send cover art.
DO NOT mail a paper version of your submission.
DO NOT ask us to consult a website to find examples of your work.
DO NOT ask us to 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 manuscript in a neutral font and with numbered pages.
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.

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

LLP does not consider simultaneous submissions.

Submissions can be sent to info [@] lindaleith [.] com

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