Turnstone Press is a literary publisher, not a general publisher, and therefore we are only interested in literary fiction, literary non-fiction—including literary criticism—and poetry. We do publish literary mysteries, thrillers, and noir under our Ravenstone imprint.
We publish only Canadian authors or landed immigrants, we strive to publish a significant number of new writers, to publish in a variety of genres, and to have 50 per cent of each year's list be Manitoba writers and/or books with Manitoba content.
We publish eight to twelve books each year in short print runs. If a book sells well, we reprint as necessary.
Our books cover a range of subjects and styles, so if you are interested in submitting to us, we recommend you:
- Buy and read books by Turnstone Press authors . If you have already done so, thank you. If not, please do so. After all, if we do publish your manuscript, buying and reading your book is what you will want people to do. Most important, reading our books is the best way to know what kind of book we are interested in publishing.
- Browse our catalogue. As we don’t expect you to read every Turnstone Press title, but literary tastes and styles evolve so it’s best to know what we’ve published, especially the newest titles and those published in the last 5 years. As well, be curious about the previous ten, fifteen, and twenty or more years.
- Understand what we do not publish. This includes, but is not limited to: young adult, young reader, children’s, speculative/science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, cookbooks, self help, business, and family histories or personal memoirs (a.k.a. “life writing”). Knowing this saves you time and postage.
- Read and follow the manuscript submission requirements.
- Read Deliberation is more important than speed.
- Be dedicated to the art and craft of writing.
Manuscript Submission Requirements
Please read to the end of this section before submitting your work to Turnstone Press.
Please remember that submitting a manuscript to a book publisher is a professional correspondence. We create guidelines to make our expectations clear and to help us handle your submission.
We understand how daunting finding a publisher to submit your manuscript to can be. Therefore, we have an open submissions policy. This means we will review unsolicited complete manuscripts. However, submissions of this kind must be exclusive submissions.
For other submissions, we prefer exclusivity, but if it is a multiple submission, please tell us in your cover letter. If your manuscript is being seriously considered for publication, we will require a period of exclusivity before continuing to assess it.
Turnstone is not an insurer of manuscripts. Therefore do not send your original manuscript, send only a copy; and do not send irreplaceable photographs, maps, or other documents.
We apologize that we are unable to: 1) provide detailed feedback on all the manuscripts we receive; or 2) respond to questions about these submission guidelines.
For all submissions:
- Please include a one page cover letter. Tell us who you are and why you are submitting to Turnstone Press. Tell us how your manuscript fits with our list by comparing it to or contrasting it with at least two Turnstone Press titles. Please list your relevant publication credits, i.e. if you are submitting a poetry manuscript, we expect to see poetry publication credits. Please be specific about the credits—titles of work published and in what journal/magazine/book and what date. If you have substantial relevant publication credits, these may be included on a separate page.
- You may include a synopsis of the manuscript, but it must be limited to one page (we won’t read further).
- Only submissions including a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) will be responded to and/or returned. Please make sure the SASE is of sufficient size, with sufficient postage, for your manuscript if you wish it returned should we not accept it. For Canadian citizens submitting from a foreign country, please include an international reply coupon. Manuscripts arriving without a SASE will not be replied to and will be recycled, as will submissions requesting email responses in lieu of a SASE.
- If you require us to acknowledge the receipt of your manuscript, please include a SAS postcard.
- Send only one (1) submission per envelope.
For fiction and non-fiction:
- Samples must be 40 to 60 pages, typed/printed in a minimum 12 point serif typeface such as Times , Book Antiqua , or Garamond.
- Please use only 8.5 x 11 white paper, print only on one side, double-space the text, and indicate paragraph breaks with an indent.
- Number all pages and put your name and address on all pages.
For Poetry:
- Poetry manuscripts should be a minimum 70 pages. Please submit the complete manuscript.
- Please use only 8.5 x 11 white paper and print only on one side.
- Number all pages and put your name and address on all pages.
We take your submission seriously (your writing may be exactly what we are looking for), but please understand that given the volume of submissions we receive and the demands of actually turning accepted manuscripts into books, delays do happen.
Our goal is to send you an initial response to your submission within 16 weeks. Sometimes we are faster. Sometimes we are slower. If you are concerned about the status of your submission, send us a short note by mail. Please don’t phone, fax, or email us about your submission.
If your manuscript is being seriously considered for publication you will be notified, but a final decision on whether or not to publish may take an additional 2 to 3 months.
We plan our publication schedule approximately 15 to 18 months in advance, so the time from submission to publication is usually at least two years.
Please address your submission to:
Submissions Assistant
Turnstone Press
Artspace Building
206-100 Arthur Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada R3B 1H3