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.
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.
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.
Q. Do you publish non-fiction?
A. Yes, but we are currently only considering fiction submissions.
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 of fewer than 80,000 words.
Q. Do you accept novellas?
A. No. We are currently accepting novels of fewer than 80,000 words.
Q. Do you publish illustrated works?
A. No, we do not publish illustrated books.
Q. Do you publish romance?
A. No.
Q. Do you publish children’s, middle grade, or young adult fiction?
A. No.
Q. I am not a British or Irish citizen, but currently reside in the British Isles, may I submit to Salt?
A. Yes, if your novels is about the north of England.
We are open to fiction submissions from new and existing authors, and from agents – the submission process for everyone is the same.
Please read carefully the guidelines below. Frequently asked questions are listed in the left hand column of this page.
For new authors, we are only interested in dark and uncanny fiction based in the north of England. Novels should be no longer than 80,000 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.
Please send a plot summary, the first chapter, a biographical note, and two concise and compelling reasons why you believe booksellers would stock your work, along with any publication history to the address below.
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.
We receive many 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.
Many thanks for considering Salt and our best wishes for all your writing.
Last updated 21st February 2024
SALT · SHEFFIELD