Now open for unagented submissions (January 2025)
Wild Hunt Books are open to unagented submissions from 13-26 January 2025. For this submission period we are looking for novels only (50K-90K words with a grace of 1000 words, over/under). We are only looking for standalone novels and are not acquiring series or duologies. We are not seeking short story collections or novellas this time. We are not a home for poetry, non-fiction, screenplays, translations, and children’s or YA fiction.
If you'd like to read more about what the editor is looking for, please read her recent blog post about this. The editor has set up a #mswl which she will periodically update so best to head over there to get a good sense of what she’s looking for. The list is not meant to be exhaustive but to give writers an idea of the sorts of manuscripts we are looking for.
The editor is seeking manuscripts that speak to the heart of the company: Our mission is to foster strong and distinct literary voices and those who experiment with narrative, plot and structure. We are also a home for authors dabbling in the darker genres and liminal spaces.
She loves language that evokes place, voice and mood, and loves when this works as a visceral entry point for the reader into a story. Some of her favourite writers are: Shirley Jackson, Daisy Johnson, Charlotte Brontë, Margaret Atwood and Franz Kafka.
I love books that have clear, engaging prose from the start, and don’t sacrifice on character or story. I’m looking for novels that are close to their characters and worlds. I also like a strong authorial voice. I tend to gravitate towards fiction rooted in reality even if it incorporates genre notes. While I’m not the perfect editor for pure genre (e.g., most fantasy like high fantasy, urban fantasy, etc and science fiction), I do cling to novels that play with genre and upend genre expectations or motifs in a speculative way.
OUR SUBMISSION WINDOW OPENS 13th January 2025 and will run until 26th January 2025, 18:00 GMT (London time).
All Terms & Conditions can be found on our website but here are a few general ones:
We accept submissions from anyone writing in English living anywhere in the world. However, we prioritise authors living in the United Kingdom.
While this open period is keen to hear from unagented authors, we do accept submissions from agented authors who are querying a novel not represented by their agent. If the latter applies to you, please let us know via your query letter.
You may only submit one manuscript during the submission period. Please send a query letter, one page synopsis and your entire manuscript. The word count for your manuscript must be between 50K-90K words (we do allow a 1000 word grace over/under). Please only submit standalone novels; we are not acquiring series or duologies.
It's fine to address your query letter to 'Editor', 'Wild Hunt Books', or 'Ariell'. Queries addressed to 'Dear Sir(s)' will be ignored and deleted.
We are only considering original works of novel-length fiction (no translations). We are not seeking short stories, novellas, essays, screenplays, stage plays or poetry.
All novels must be original and unpublished, including not previously in newsletters, self-published and blogs. We will not consider or respond to AI-generated work.
You will receive an email confirmation. It can take up to 12 weeks to receive an outcome on your manuscript after the closing date (however, we aim to respond much sooner). Please get in touch after this time has passed if you haven’t heard from us.
We do not accept submissions sent outside the open window. We only accept submissions sent through this portal. Any work emailed to us will not be considered.
If you need help or a refresher on submission packages, please check out our advice on writing query letters, synopses and formatting.
For access needs, please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you are receiving any errors with this Google Form, please write to us with details of the issue and screenshots of the error. Otherwise, we will be unable to assist with troubleshooting.