Publishing Submissions
PUBLISHING SUBMISSIONS
Thank you for your interest in publishing with AK Press. Before submitting your proposal to us, we ask that you please familiarize yourself with our list and the range of works we tend to publish. This is the critical first step to an effective book proposal for AK Press.
For submissions to our series of radical speculative fiction, please see the Black Dawn submission guidelines.
For proposals related to distribution of already published works, please see the AK Distro submission guidelines.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
As a radical publishing house and anarchist collective, we're interested in works that reflect the rich traditions within anarchism—its theory, history, art, culture, economics, labor—as well as of fellow travelers in related historical and contemporary movements that share a common spirit. We will not however, publish submissions advocating electoral politics or that look to the state or capitalism for solutions. We are excited about writing that takes on contemporary crises, both international and domestic, through a radical lens.
We strive to publish materials of use to (and written by!) activists, academics, and individuals in pursuit of revolutionary social and economic change. We especially welcome the opportunity to work with authors from backgrounds historically neglected by mainstream publishing institutions.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES or, HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR BOOK PROPOSAL
Please include the following in your materials, clearly indicated. Proposals lacking the below components will not be considered for publication:
- A cover letter that outlines:
- Why you wrote the book and how it fits into our list and publishing program.
- Who the intended readership is.
- A brief synopsis of the book in one to three paragraphs.
- The “market” your book inhabits: an overview of comparable books and, most importantly, how yours stands out from the rest and the uncovered territory or need it fills.
- If your proposal is a simultaneous submission or an exclusive submission to AK Press.
- A table of contents with a detailed synopsis of each chapter. Please be sure to convey the argument of each chapter, piece or essay in the book. We want to know not just what each chapter covers but what it is you have to say about it and how you make your case.
- A brief bio of the author(s) or contributors, including a list of all previous publications.
- If your manuscript is completed: please include it in whole.
If your manuscript is not yet finished: please send drafts of what you do have along with an estimated final word count and an accurate completion date. For authors we haven’t worked with before or who haven’t published extensively, we will generally need to see a completed draft. - Children’s book proposals must include a professional illustrator attached to the project in order to be considered.
The above materials should be submitted as attached files, with the cover letter also copied into the body of the email. Materials sent through external links (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) will not be read. Please email your complete manuscript proposal to submissions@akpress.org.
As a geographically dispersed collective, we can only accept proposals via electronic submission. Exceptions to this are for incarcerated writers who can write us at:
AK Press
370 Ryan Ave. #100
Chico, CA 95973
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND
We do not accept unsolicited submissions of poetry or fiction (except novellas specifically intended for the Black Dawn Series, which has its own submissions process.)
Due to the nature of the book trade, accepted proposals are typically published approximately twelve months after the editor receives your final manuscript.
Although we review every submission, we are unfortunately unable to respond to each proposal individually given the number of manuscripts we receive.