Submissions

WE ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS AS OF June 1st 2021.

JUNE 26th 2022 UPDATE: We may be re-opening as early as August 2022. TO YOUR KEYBOARDS!!

JUNE 1st 2022 UPDATE: we are almost done clearing our back log and are looking to reopen submissions in the fall of 2022 – most likely in September. Time to polish your manuscripts!

#CANLITPIT pitchers – if we liked your pitch, please consider your submissions welcome and solicited. IN ANY OTHER CASE, AS WE ARE STILL CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR SUBMISSION, ALL UNSOLICITED SUBMISSIONS WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY REFUSED WITHOUT REPLY.

You are welcome to resubmit when we re-open our submission window.

As always, however, we are OPEN for submissions from Black and Indigenous writers who call home the part of Turtle Island we settlers call Canada.

Submissions guidelines

Our submissions are currently CLOSED.

Please read the entire page carefully, as submissions which do not meet our guidelines will be automatically rejected. 

All submissions should be sent by e-mail at renaissancesubmissions(at)gmail(dot)com.

What we want

Renaissance is dedicated to publishing novels and graphic novels from diverse Canadian voices. We publish fiction in every genre, though we have a strong preference for the stories which don’t fit neatly in one genre.

We specialize in fiction but are open to narrative non-fiction and memoirs.

We also ask that if your novel is part of a series, that the books be a complete story by themselves, as in, please do not end your first novel on a cliffhanger or submit the third volume in a series that cannot be read on its own.

Diverse Canadian voices

As publishers of diverse Canadian voices, we publish exclusively Canadian authors, and we prioritize stories by and about marginalized people, specifically people of colour (especially Black and Indigenous people of colour,) members of the LGBTQIA2P+ community, and disabled people (including chronically ill and mentally ill people.) If you are a member of a marginalized group, we encourage you to self-identify in your submissions.

What we don’t want

We are not looking for short story collections, nor are we considering poetry.

We will automatically reject stories which encourage and glorify child abuse, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and rape culture.

Simultaneous submissions

We accept simultaneous submissions under the following provisions: you must tell us whether or not your submission is exclusive when you send it, and should you be accepted somewhere else, we ask to be notified immediately.

Age requirement

For legal reasons, we ask that you be 18 or older if you submit your work to us.


Word count guidelines

We are interested in novels between 40,000 words and 100,000 words. We will consider anything outside of these guidelines on a case by case basis.


Previously published/self-published work

We are not currently interested in reprinting previously published or self-published work, though we will consider previously published manuscripts (including sequels to a series which has first been published somewhere else) on a case by case basis. However, you must own all copyrights to your work and be free of any contract with any other publisher before submitting to us.


Preparing your manuscript for submission

Please make sure your manuscript is ready for submission before sending it to us. First of all, make sure it is complete; we will not consider any works in progress. Also, make sure you do not send in your first draft; please make your revisions and send us your most polished work. You should show your work to at least one person (who isn’t your mother or your best friend) before you send it to us.

Remember: we will make our decision based on the quality of what we have in front of us.


What to send

For any type of submission, please note that we accept electronic submissions via email ONLY.

Fiction

Send us a cover letter including your name, contact information, title, genre, and final word count of your manuscript, as well as a short blurb. Let us know if it is meant to be part of a series, and include any other relevant information as described above. After your letter, we ask that you send a short, 1-2 page synopsis of your story (and we mean your entire story, including the end.)

Put the subject heading “Submission: Your title, your name”, and paste your letter, synopsis, and the first ten pages in the body of your email. Along with that, please attach your first three chapters (or first 60 pages for non-chapter divisions, or chapters which are exceptionally long or short.) Please do not end your sample in the middle of a sentence, and save it as a word document. We will not open .zip files. For more information on how to format your three chapter sample, please read “sending your full manuscript” below.

Non-fiction

Send us a cover letter including your name, contact information, title, and final word count of your manuscript, as well as a short blurb. Let us know if it is meant to be part of a series, and include any other relevant information as described above. After your letter, we ask that you send a short, 1-2 page synopsis of your book and/or a table of contents, as well as three sample chapters (or the first 60 pages).

Put the subject heading “Submission: Your title, your name”, and paste your letter, TOC/synopsis, and the first ten pages in the body of your email. Along with that, please attach your first three chapters (or first 60 pages for non-chapter divisions, or chapters which are exceptionally long or short.) Please do not end your sample in the middle of a sentence, and save it as a word document. We will not open .zip files. For more information on how to format your three chapter sample, please read “sending your full manuscript” below.


Sending your full manuscript

We ask that you do not send your full manuscript at first. If we like your project, we will ask for it, and ask that you format it according to the following: your manuscript should be formatted with a serif font, such as Times New Roman or Courier, double-spaced, left aligned. Please include contact information at the beginning of your manuscript, and include page numbers in either the header or footer, along with your last name and title. Make sure to put a page break at the beginning of your chapters instead of pressing enter, and save it as a Word document.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY SUBMISSION WHICH FAILS TO FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES WILL BE DISREGARDED AND UNANSWERED.

Graphic Novels

What we are looking for

We’re looking for novel-length works, and though we will consider colour submissions, we are looking to publish black and white / grayscale works.

How to query

Please follow the guidelines for querying novels, but instead of the first 60 pages, please attach the first 15 complete pages of finished art in a screen-resolution PDF.

Games

Renaissance is producing card games and table-top role-playing games.

How to submit your idea

Please send an email to pressesrenaissancepress (at) gmail (dot) com including the following:

  • A description of your idea (What kind of a game is it? Card game, table-top RPG? What is the theme? How is it played?)
  • What are other games like it on the market, and how is your game different?
  • If your game pertains to a work currently under copyright, do you have a licensing agreement with the copyright holder?
  • Do you already have an illustrator working with you? If so, please attach a sample of their work.
  • Has the game already been play-tested by an independent group?
  • In the case of a table-top RPG, do you have your own system or are you using a system which already exists? If you are using a system which already exists, is it an open license? If not, do you have a licensing agreement? If you have your own system, please attach the rules as a PDF or word document.
  • In the case of a card game, please attach the rules.

Turnaround time

We currently take about one month to respond to a query and three months to reply to a full manuscript submission, though we make every effort to answer as soon as possible. We review and answer the submissions in the order in which they were received. We will let you know whether or not we are interested in your work. If you do not get a reply within these timelines, feel free to send an email to pressesrenaissancepress (at) gmail (dot) com inquiring as to the status of your work.