Quarter Castle Publishing is open for submissions. Please, read carefully to see if your story is a good fit for us.

What we are looking for.

• Fiction between 60,000 and 100,000 words (see below for exceptions)
• Character-driven stories
• Original stories not previously published in print or online
• Stories that show not tell
• Stand-alone stories
• Stories in the following genres: contemporary, cosy mystery, fantasy, science fiction, romance, western, women’s fiction, dystopian, historical, paranormal, humour
• Young Adult in the same genres as above (stories for youth aged 12 and 16); word count between 20,000 and 40,000
• Non-fiction on the following topics; local history and local mysteries (local meaning that of Atlantic Canada), genealogy, gardening (including but limited to permaculture, food gardening, sustainable gardening, herbal gardening), organic spiritualism (including witchcraft (in a positive way only), paganism, tarot cards, magic, etc.), and homesteading (including raising chickens and other animals necessary for being self-sufficient, living off grid (unhooked from the power grid), foraging).

What we are NOT looking for.

• Poems, short stories or stories longer than 100,000 words
• Stories that contain vampires, zombies, 2020 pandemic, political messages, werewolves, humans who turn into wolves (and vice versa), political intrigue, espionage, spies and drug wars
• Stories that contain explicit sex or graphic violence, sexual abuse, bondage, violence against or sex with minors, bestiality and hateful material
• Stories in the following genres: literature, erotica, pornography, comics, graphic novels, children’s picture books
• Fan fiction
• Stories about dogs or politicians

The Overall Guidelines

• Submissions are open to Canadian and American Citizens.
• Manuscript should be edited and polished by the author to ensure their best work is presented.
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed, but please make note of this in the cover letter.

Response Time

6 to 8 weeks

Check List for Submission

1. Cover Letter
2. Brief Synopsis
3. First 10,000 words of a completed novel (ending in a paragraph, or if the chapter is about to end, include the final paragraphs.

Cover Letter should include…

1. Two or three-sentence biography: Let us know who you are and your writing experience. Don’t worry if you’ve never before been published.
2. Novel Pitch: Tell us in a paragraph or two what makes your story great or why someone would read your book.
3. Word Count for the completed manuscript

Formatting: Less is better

• Font: 12 point, Calibri or other plain text
• Spacing between lines: single or 1.5 spacing
• Spacing between sentences: Single
• Spaces between paragraphs: None
• Paragraph Indents: 0.5
• Margins: One inch on all sides
• Paper Size: 8.5 x 11 inches
• Do NOT include headers, footers or page numbers

Send submission either by attaching an MS Word document to an email, or copy and pasting the material in the body of an email.

• SEND SUBMISSIONS to this address ONLY: quartercastle@bellaliant.net
• Indicate in the SUBJECT LINE: QCP Submission [title of story]

If this address is not used and these words do not appear in the subject line, it is highly likely the email will not be noticed or be deleted without being opened.

Quarter Castle Publishing reserves the right to refuse any material that does not meet our vision for publishing. We are not responsible for lost submissions.

Thank you for considering Quarter Castle Publishing.