Submissions

The kinds of books we publish

Caitlin Press publishes fiction, nonfiction and poetry. We publish work by Canadian authors with a majority being BC-based. We are interested in topics concerning BC or by writers from the BC Interior, stories about and by Canadian women, and LGBTQ+ voices. Dagger Editions is our imprint for the voices of queer womxn (anyone who includes this in their personal history)—visit Dagger Editions’ submission page for details about how to submit. We encourage writers from marginalized backgrounds, including BIPOC-identifying folks, to submit their work.

In a normal year, Caitlin Press will publish twelve to fourteen books, most of which are regional non-fiction (e.g. BC history or exploration, industry, politics, contemporary creative non-fiction). The remaining titles are literary selections such as works of fiction, short fiction, poetry, or prose.

For the time being we are not publishing children’s fiction, but if you have an interesting children’s story that reflects life in Central BC, please feel free to send it.

How to submit a manuscript

We accept unsolicited manuscripts.

If you wish to submit, please begin with a letter of enquiry which should consist of an outline, an author bio and a ten-page sample of your work. In the spirit of saving a tree, please do not submit your entire manuscript unless it is requested.

We are not concerned with paper stock, or what spacing is used, etc. For style, we normally refer to the Chicago Manual, and we use the Canadian Oxford for spelling.

Please write your name, address, phone number and email address on the sample, not just the cover letter. We do not return submissions, so please do not send original material. We try to respond to all submissions, but if you are submitting an unsolicited manuscript please be aware that this is a courtesy, not an obligation. 

We have received a number of submissions by priority post. While we understand your commitment to publishing your work, this is an unnecessary expense. If you prefer this method of shipping, please do not insist on a signature for pick up. All submissions are made at the owner’s risk, even if Caitlin Press has indicated interest.

Please do not send submissions by e-mail.

Submissions can be mailed to:

Caitlin Press
3375 Ponderosa Way
Qualicum Beach, BC
V9K 2J8

Please indicate in your letter of enquiry if you have submitted your manuscript to multiple publishers simultaneously. We wish you success in getting your manuscript published, but please let us know if your submission has been accepted by another publisher.

What happens if we are interested

If a manuscript is of interest, you will normally hear from us in three to six months. At this time you may be asked to complete an Author Questionnaire listing previous publications, vital statistics, etc. We may also make suggestions as to how your manuscript can be changed to make it more publishable. Such preliminary indications of interest do not constitute a commitment to publish the work. Most books are published one to two years after first submission, but the process has taken up to five years in some cases.

Author-Publisher Terms

Caitlin pays industry standard royalties on net receipts. The author and the publisher share income from the sale of most subsidiary rights. Advances are negotiable based on the commercial potential of the book.