Call for Submissions – Five Rivers Publishing

Five Rivers Chapmanry is an independent micro-publisher of fiction and non-fiction, giving voice to new and established Canadian authors. Five Rivers is committed to bringing publishing back to uncompromising personal editors where it belongs, rather than focus-group marketing. We publish real books by real authors for real readers.

We employ print-on-demand technologies as part of responsible management of environmental and financial resources: by printing only the books required, rather than warehousing thousands, we save trees, energy and capital expenditures, while reducing pollution. We also produce eBooks as part of that mandate.

Five Rivers is committed to producing quality books that have benefited from the scrutiny of a good editor, with attention to layout and cover design. We work closely with our authors throughout the process. And we are very aggressive in our marketing, ensuring both our authors and our titles receive the best possible exposure in the global marketplace.

We are currently looking for submissions in the following categories:

Non-fiction:
All work must be solidly researched using primary references as a foundation.

Canadian history: this covers a broad spectrum, from stories of national significance to regional, from community to individual. For example,

biographies of notable Canadians
the quirky and esoteric field of experimental archaeology: e.g., recreating a 17th century Quebecois bake oven.

Canadian Issues:

First Nation, Métis or Inuit issues
immigrant issues
other current issues of likely interest to Canadians

Self-Help Books:

we have published books on writing, editing, creativity, gardening,

Fiction:

We seek books that are solidly plotted and character driven, with an emphasis on Canadian culture and settings, in the following categories:

Mainstream
Fantasy: We tend to favour cultural and historical fantasies that reflect Canadian mores, although borrowing from other cultures is part of our multicultural nature. Examples would include Shadow Song and From Mountains of Ice.
Science fiction: We’re looking for original concepts from a Canadian perspective.
Speculative: We are absolutely keen about authors who push the borders of fiction and concepts, though again we are looking for a Canadian perspective, insight or flavour.
Historical: We are very keen to encourage writers to delve into the rich historical foundation we have and create solidly plotted, character-driven stories illuminating our diverse history. Shadow Song would be an example of the sort of well-researched historical novel for which we are looking.
Young Adult: Any stories in the above categories with a target audience in the nine to 18 range.

We will not consider vampires or horror, crime, women’s fiction or erotica; and unfortunately do not publish poetry or essay collections; nor can we publish picture books for either children or adults.

Queries:

Email your query letter along with a synopsis and first 30 pages of the manuscript in DOC format to [email protected]. Be sure to include your full (real) name, mailing address, and email address in your query letter.

Every effort is made to respond within two to six weeks, although it may occasionally take longer.

No hard copy submissions can be accommodated: hard copy submissions will be returned unopened. There are no reading fees required.

Payment Rate

Since there is no set printrun in print-on-demand publishing, we cannot offer authors an initial advance against anticipated royalties; we do, however, provide quarterly statements and payments. Author royalties are paid within 30 days of the close of the calendar quarter, based on the industry standard rate of 10% of retail price.