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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Written submissions are judged on their commercial potential as perceived by our editorial team and the Akan Books Publishing Committee. We will publish books globally in the English language and help writers find a literary agent while providing access to film and TV agents.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR YOU

  • Akan Books accepts submissions from unagented writers over the age of 18.
  • Writers must be from one of the following backgrounds that are underrepresented in UK’s publishing output:
    • Authors from ethnic minority backgrounds
    • Authors who identify as working class
    • Authors with disabilities
  • More guidance on these underrepresented groups can be found here:
  • Please only apply for yourself and not on behalf of another person.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR YOUR SUBMISSION

  • A writer’s submission should not have been previously published (or self-published) in any format and must be written in the English language.
  • If you have self-published a different work, you can submit new material to Akan Books.
  • We do not accept submissions from authors who have had other books published by a traditional publisher.
  • We do not accept: children’s books, science fiction, fantasy, graphic novels, young adult fiction, poetry, cookery or academic texts.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO INCLUDE IN YOUR SUBMISSION

  • A synopsis i.e. a brief summary/outline of your book (maximum 500 words).
  • Three chapters of your book (maximum 10,000 words).
  • Any information about you as a writer that would be helpful for us to know, including whether you have any insight into the subject of your book and any blogs or social media information that you think is relevant (maximum 500 words)
    • Any personal statements will not be shared outside the judging committee without the writer’s permission.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK

  • You will be asked to attach two documents: your synopsis and your chapters. They should each be named with the title of your submission and what the document is. For example, if the title of your submission is The Calendar Years, the documents attached would be named:
    • Manuscript The Calendar Years
      Synopsis The Calendar Years
  • All documents must be in Word or PDF.
  • Your manuscript should have:
    • Page numbers.
    • A title page with your name (or pen name).
  • Manuscript chapters should be in one document and not sent as separate files. The author’s name and book’s title should also appear on every page of each document.

Please remember to check out our FAQs.

We can’t wait to read your work – good luck and please click on the Submit button when you’re ready!

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