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Submissions

A publisher with a conscience.

CURRENTLY CLOSED.

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PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SUBSTACK HERE FOR A REMINDER OF OUR SUMMER OPENING DATES AS BELOW.

 

Fly on the Wall Press specialises in political fiction, poetry and cross-genre anthologies on pressing issues, from exceptional international authors.

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Fly on the Wall Press won Small Press of the Year in the North of England at the British Book Awards 2024 and a Manchester Culture Award in 2024 for Environmental Sustainability. Our books have been recognised internationally for their quality from poetry awards (The Laurel Prize, The Julie Suk Award) to short stories and fiction (Saboteur awards, the Edge Hill Prize.) Our forward-thinking list and approach to publishing has been praised at the FutureBook Awards 2024, where M.D. Isabelle Kenyon was shortlisted for Future Leader of the Year.

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2025 SUBMISSIONS FOR ALL GENRES:

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1st May - 31st July 2025: Novels and Novellas

1st - 30th June: Short Story Collections

1st - 31st July: Poetry Collections

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DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR MANUSCRIPT OUTSIDE OF THESE DATES, OR IT WILL NOT BE READ.

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What are we looking for?
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  • We are seeking manuscripts with a strong narrative voice that explore human nature and the pressing issues of our time. We are drawn to writing with a distinct, bold style and writers who are unafraid to make a statement or leave a mark.

  • Our primary interest lies in works that incorporate elements of social consciousness and political engagement. This can manifest through direct social commentary, observation of societal issues, overtly political storylines, or simply a unique viewpoint that emerges from the writer's existence within a particular setting. If you consider yourself passionate about planetary conservation; if you consider yourself a feminist; if you consider your writing to be a little bit quirky, you'll likely do well with us!

  • We value writers who have engaged with Fly on the Wall Press before as readers and understand our ethos as a publisher. While we welcome thought-provoking political works, we also believe in accessibility and aim to publish engaging writing that resonates with a broad audience.

  • Ideal submissions should have a cohesive theme or story arc (applying to all genres) and reveal something profound about the human experience through the writer's distinctive voice and perspective.

 

Why Fly on the Wall Press for my book?

 

  • Each stage of the publishing process is managed by Managing Director, Isabelle Kenyon, who works closely with her writers to ensure that they are happy with the way their work is presented, and will suggest ways of improving the work, where it can be even stronger.

  • We work with a range of contacts to sell translation, audio and film rights to our titles.

  • We work with The Literary Consultancy to offer writers on benefits developmental support during the editorial process.

  • All books are marketed to the highest standard, and we work hard to promote them! This includes entering writers into major awards, social media coverage, attending book fairs, review copies to journalists, interview coverage and advertising. This is not standard for a small press and something we take pride in investing our time within. (However, it is worth saying that as we very rarely have a team larger than one, all book marketing requires a team effort.)

  • We are proud to be a member of Inpress LTD, the Indie Press Network and the Northern Fiction Alliance. Our books benefit from the expertise of our book reps and regional partnerships.

  • We publish quality over quantity. 

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How to submit:  (When we open! We are not open until Summer!)

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Write a cover letter (for the body of your email) which includes your 2025 book receipt number.

(If postage costs are prohibitive to book buying, we have EBooks or find a donation link here.. Please donate a minimum of £8 if considering this route.

All funds go to creating new books.)

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Guidelines:

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Please remember that we are not currently open. These are for reference only.

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Novels and Novellas

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  1. Send us the first 30 pages of your novel or novella and a synopsis to flyonthewallpress@hotmail.com with the subject line 'Novel: First Name/Last Name'. Attach both in one word document.

  2. Synopsis length should be minimum 100 words - maximum 800 words. 

  3. We will read your 30 pages and request to read the full novel or novella if required within 8 weeks.

  4. The full novel should not be under 50,000 words or over 90,000 words.

  5. Please use your common sense for formatting, there is no need to email about this prior to submitting! Isabelle is human and really does not mind, as long as the word document is readable. Preferred font: Perpetua 12pt. Preferred page size: A5. Speech marks preferred as double " ". Single-spaced preferred.

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​Short Story Collections:

 

 

  1. No limit on individual story length. Total length of manuscript between 25,000 and 60,000 words with the subject line 'Shorts: First Name/Last Name',  in a word document to flyonthewallpress@hotmail.com

  2. Insert a page break in between each story

  3. Please use your common sense for formatting, there is no need to email about this prior to submitting! Isabelle is human and really does not mind, as long as the word document is readable. Preferred font: Perpetua 12pt. Preferred page size: A5. Speech marks preferred as double " ". Single-spaced preferred.

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Poetry Collections:  

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  1. No line limit on individual poems. Please use a page break so that each new poem starts on a new page.

  2. Each collection should be a minimum of 40 pages of poetry and a maximum of 80 page.

  3. Please use your common sense for formatting, there is no need to email about this prior to submitting! Isabelle is human and really does not mind, as long as the word document is readable. Preferred font: Perpetua 12pt. Preferred page size: A5. Single-spaced preferred.

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​I very much look forward to reading your work and appreciate your time in considering Fly on the Wall Press as a home for your book. Your manuscript will be read with care.

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FAQS

 

  1. Do you accept previously published works (self published or otherwise)? No, sorry.

  2. Will you accept work which is over/under the above length guidelines? If within 5k words either way.

  3. Do you accept cross-genre works? No, sorry.

  4. Do you publish YA books? No, sorry.

  5. Are you accepting poetry chapbooks? Not for 2025 currently. Just collections.

 

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Want feedback and a submission outcome within 3 weeks?

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This is not a line by line editing service - for that, see our Author Services - however, we will advise you on elements holistically such as collection arc, sentence structure and character development as well as a shortlisting decision if we feel it is suitable for the Press (if not, we will suggest alternative publishers).

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For individual stories, this feedback is £50 (fiction up to 11k words) and for short story collections, full poetry collections and novels, this feedback is £80 via the Donation button (up to 70 poems, fiction up to 25k words - we appreciate novels will be of a longer length, however as this is a 'quick' feedback service, we will stop reading at this point in the manuscript. )

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For feedback on the first twenty pages of your novel/novella, this feedback is £55 in the form of an editorial report and line by line notes.

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If you have any issues with the donate button please also find the link here.

Please indicate that you have paid for feedback in your submissions email.

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You can still apply for feedback while our submission period is closed.

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