Submissions

Further information

Salt guides for authors

1. For general advice on being published, please read An Author’s Guide to Getting Published.

2. For advice on submitting poetry, please read An Author’s Guide too Making Poetry Submissions.

3. For further reading, An Author’s Pre-Publication Route Map offers advice on preparing for publication.

General information

For manuscript assessment and editorial advice, you might also consider services like The Literary Consultancy.

If you are trying to develop your own writing, we recommend:

The Art of the Novel, edited by Nicholas Royle
Short Circuit: A Guide to the Art of the Short Story, edited by Vanessa Gebbie

Creative Writing Courses

If you want to develop your writing and critical skills further, we also recommend the following MA courses:

Additionally, we recommend the writing courses run by Faber Academy.

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We wish you every success with all your writing.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Do you accept individual story submissions?
A. No, we do however reprint published stories published in magazines and journals for our Best British Short Stories anthology.

Q. Do you publish books that have been previously self-published?
A. No, we cannot take on work that has already been published.

Q. Do you publish books that have been previously published by another press, perhaps in another part of the world?
A. No, we cannot reissue work that has already been published anywhere in the world.

Q. Do you publish memoirs?
A. No, we are only considering fiction, short stories and poetry.

Q. Do you publish non-fiction?
A. No, we are only considering fiction, short stories and poetry.

Q. Do you publish books in which a section of the work has already been published as a book? 
A. No. However, we welcome collections containing individual stories or poems that have been previously published.

Q. When will you close the submissions window?
A. There is no current plan to close submissions.

Q. Do you accept submissions from agents?
A. Yes, we’re happy to receive submissions from agents, as long as you are happy to proceed with Salt being granted world rights for all languages and for all formats.

Q. Do you accept pamphlets?
A. We are currently accepting novels and full-length collections of short stories of fewer than 70,000 words, and full-length collections of poetry.

Q. Do you accept novellas?
A. Yes. We are currently accepting novels of fewer than 70,000 words.

Q. Are you accepting creative non-fiction submissions?
A. No, we are not currently accepting non-fiction.

Q. Do you publish stories or poems in languages other than English?
A. No, we only publish books in English.

Q. I am not a British or Irish citizen, but currently reside in the British Isles, may I submit to Salt?
A. No. We are currently only publishing British or Irish citizens.

How to submit to Salt

We are open to submissions from new and existing authors, and from agents – the submission process for everyone is the same.

There is no fixed window and we have no current plans to close submissions.

Please read carefully the guidelines below. Frequently asked questions are listed in the left hand column of this page.

Fiction and short stories

We are interested in contemporary novels and full-length collections of short stories by Welsh, Scottish, Irish or English authors. Novels and story collections should be no longer than 70,000 words. It will help if writers live in the British Isles to participate in publicity and promotion.

We do not publish translations or purchase rights for work published in others territories.

In the case of novels, please send a plot summary, the first chapter, a biographical note, and two concise and compelling reasons why you believe someone would buy your work, along with any publication history to the address below. If you are submitting a collection of short stories, please send the entire manuscript.

You do not require an agent to submit to Salt. Please note that we require world rights in all formats for any work we eventually publish.

Poetry

We are happy to consider full-length poetry collections by Welsh, Scottish, Irish or English poets of circa 64 pages. It will help if poets live in the British Isles to participate in publicity and promotion.

Please send your complete collection along with your magazine publication history, a brief biographical note, and two concise and compelling reasons why you believe someone would buy your work, to the address below.

Processing your submission

We receive circa 500 submissions each month. Do please note, we are unable to offer critical feedback on any work submitted, or enter into correspondence about writing projects or plans.

Sadly, we are not able to respond to all writers or agents and if you have not heard from us within one month, your submission has been unsuccessful. We do not send rejection notifications, so it is important to keep a note of the date of your submission. This may be no reflection on the quality of your work.

Do explain why your work fits into our list and confirm that you and, if you have representation, your agent, are offering Salt world rights in all formats, should Salt contract your work for publication.

We only accept digital submissions. Paper submissions will be recycled without being read. All attachments must be sent as MS Word files (submissions in other formats, including PDFs, won't be considered). Please send your email to: submissions@saltpublishing.com. Please be aware that we can only process submissions sent to this specific email address. You will receive an automatic acknowledgment that we have received your work.

Many thanks for considering Salt and our best wishes for all your writing.

Last updated 7th November 2022