Submissions Guidelines

Sourcebooks has strong distribution into the retail market–bookstores, gift stores and specialty shops whose primary product is something other than books–and provides tremendous editorial, sales, marketing and publicity support for our authors.

We follow a somewhat out-of-date model for book publishing that makes our passion for books central. In short, we believe in authorship. We work with our authors to develop great books that find and inspire a wide audience. We believe in helping develop our authors' careers, and recognize that a well-published, successful book is often a cornerstone. We seek authors who are as committed to success as we are.

To find out more about us, read The Sourcebooks Story or check out The Sourcebooks Advantage.

Fiction

Our fiction imprint, Sourcebooks Landmark, publishes a wide variety of authors and titles. We are interested first and foremost in books that have a story to tell. However, we are currently only reviewing agented fiction manuscripts, with the exception of romance fiction.

Find out more information about our Romance submission Guidelines.

Children's and Young Adult

Our children's imprint, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, publishes books across all age ranges of children's books. Our young adult imprint, Sourcebooks Fire, publishes the best new voices for the next generation of book lovers.

Find out more information about our Children's and Young Adult Fiction submission Guidelines.

Nonfiction

We are interested in books that will establish a unique standard in their subject area. We look for books with a well-defined, strong target market. Our list includes most nonfiction categories, including memoir, history, college reference and study aids, entertainment, general self-help/psychology, business, parenting and special needs parenting, health and beauty, reference, education, biography, love and relationships, gift books and women's issues.

In order to consider your nonfiction book for potential publication, we need to see a proposal that includes the following items:

• A brief synopsis in 1-2 paragraphs
• Author bio or resume specifying credentials and publication credits, if any
• A complete table of contents, plus estimated length of manuscript in words and pages
• Two to three sample chapters (not the first)
• A description of the target audience
• One page/paragraph on your book's unique advantages
• A list of competing or comparable titles and how your book differs

Please do not send complete manuscripts unless a specific request is made for one. Queries only and simultaneous submissions are OK.

Please email your proposal to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Please note that as of October 2011, we will no longer be accepting hard-copy submissions. If you submitted a hard-copy proposal before this date, your submission will still be considered. Do not send us any original manuscripts or artwork. We will not be held liable for materials lost or destroyed in the mail.

While we love talking to authors, we're a bit bookish, meaning we need to actually read your proposal. That's the long way of saying it's best not to call or attempt to personally email an editor (your email will likely get caught in our spam filters). If you follow the directions above (or if you even come close), your proposal will be given a fair and thorough review. For more hints, try books like our own Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents or any number of books and magazines like it, available in bookstores and libraries.

We usually respond within eight to ten weeks. Thank you again for thinking of Sourcebooks for your book.

The Editors
Sourcebooks