UPDATE: After getting off to running start in 2011/2012, during which the press published four titles, it has essentially not been active since then. Please do not submit, as this press is no longer actively acquiring or publishing titles. Feel free to check back, as the press may be re-activated at a later date.
As a new publisher, Strange Violin Editions welcomes both agented and unagented submissions.
What We’re Looking For:
Strange Violin Editions aims to publish fiction and nonfiction relating in some way to Mormonism. We are interested in books by current and former Mormons as well as those who’ve never been Mormons but write on Mormonism-related topics. Mormonism need not be a direct or central theme, but may play a part in the setting or a major character’s background, or even merely play an oblique role in shaping the world of the narrative (as in novels like Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series or science fiction by Orson Scott Card). Work we publish may come from a variety of perspectives: atheist, agnostic, unorthodox, questioning, or faithful. The most important qualities we look for are intelligent writing, the ability to engage a reader’s interest through a well-structured narrative, and appealing prose.
Fiction may be in any genre or literary. We are open to works that portray moral ambiguity, include graphic content (i.e., books that might be rated “R” or “NC-17” if they were movies), or depict same-sex (GLBT) relationships, characters, and scenes. Our catalogue will attempt to note where books include such content.
For nonfiction, we are most interested in narrative nonfiction, humor, essays, and accessible philosophy and theology.
What We’re Not Looking For:
We are not looking for books that might be considered propagandistic or sensationalist or where the content is subordinate to faith-promoting motives. These types of books are readily available through Church-supported or mainstream publishers. While we are open to works that view Mormonism critically or defensively, we are not interested in books that are straightforwardly polemical or apologetic unless the argumentation is highly original or of unique literary or philosophical merit.
How to Submit:
Strange Violin Editions uses Submishmash to manage submissions. Please be prepared to upload a query letter and sample pages. The query letter should be one to two pages long and should describe your book and any pertinent author credentials or prior publications. For fiction, you may include a sample of up to the first 50 pages of the book. For nonfiction, you may upload one or two sample chapters. Sample pages must be double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font, and with one-inch margins. Acceptable document formats are .doc, .docx, .odt, .rtf, .txt, and .pdf.
We will try to respond to queries within two months. Note that you have the option of making a $10 or $25 donation with your query. While we will give full consideration to all queries, donations help us offer better advances to our authors and will bump your manuscript ahead in the reading queue. Alternatively, if you’ve purchased and read a book we’ve published, mention this in your query letter for the same priority consideration.
Strange Violin Editions 