Publishing fantastic speculative fiction with big imagination
Lines and Curves Literary imprint is an independent publisher dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, and imaginative storytelling and world building. We are highly selective, seeking the most magic and compelling manuscripts and strong author relationships.
Open for submissions
Science Fiction
Earth based hard-science, far out space operas, near future fiction
FANTASY
Alternative world history, dragons, sword and sorcery, modern fantasy
Romantasy
Slow burn romance, cosy fantasy settings, dilemmas and high drama
DYSTOPIAN
Broken worlds, Big Brother watching, false utopia, unseen enemies
As a selective independent publisher we publish a limited number of titles each year that align with our editorial vision and audience. We are especially interested in working with authors who are looking to publish the first book in a series. Submissions are open for established and debut authors.
Every submission is reviewed on its merits, and publication decisions are made independently of any author services we offer. For more information about our self-publishing author services, please see this page.
Please read the submission guidance below before emailing your query. We aim to respond to all the queries we receive within 8 weeks but unfortunately we are unable to offer individual feedback to unsuccessful submissions.
Submission guidance
Please submit a full synopsis of your book. This should include all the major plot points…yes, including the end! We want a detailed idea from start to finish of what your story is about with all the spoilers so we can decide if it is the right fit for us. The synopsis should be no longer than 1000 words, in a sans serif font and should fit on a single page. If you are writing a series and have already have an idea of where you imagine the series will go, please also submit a brief outline for the main characters and plot arcs you envision. If you don’t yet have this in mind, we understand not all authors work this way, but please submit a document that outlines the number of titles you expect to write in the series with a brief description of the world you are aiming to build, maximum 200 words.
We would also like to see the first three chapters of your book or the first 15,000 words. Please submit this as a single document in a sans serif font, 12pt, double spaced format. If you have any illustrations please feel free to include them in the document but please ensure the file size does not exceed 200MB.
Lastly, please include a cover letter with your submission, maximum 500 words. Your query should include a brief description of the work you are submitting, 2-3 comparable titles, and a short bio. Please do not include any links other than to your author website in your query letter.
All documents should be submitted as .doc or PDF file types.
Please email your query to submissions@lac-literary.com
AI Policy
We are looking to nurture true creative literary talent and showcase genuine authors who have spent time honing their prose and pursing the art of story crafting without machine learning. This is usually very evident in a good piece of writing because genuine authors tend to possess a unique voice which shines through the pages.
Effectively, AI is soulless and AI generated manuscripts bear hallmarks which are detectable to the trained eye. Saying this, it is not always possible to tell if someone has used AI to edit their work but there may be some tell-tale signs. Lines and Curves Literary endeavor to be an open and honest organisation who work closely with authors, giving the best advice and support to our authors. In return, we’d hope for and expect the same; if you are an avid AI generator of literature or a casual fan of feeding your own writing to AI for a “polish up”, then your work is very likely not going to be for us.
We do not support the use of generative ai in writing and cannot accept submissions where we suspect AI has been used to write or edit all or part of your manuscript.
Your query letter and synopsis, too, are vital parts of your submission, and we are looking to see your unique author voice shine through there as well as in your sample chapters. Please do not rely on AI to write these parts of your submission. If your query looks like AI to us, it likely won’t be read.
We understand that AI is massive and integrated into many different programmes that authors may use to create their work. Ai is here to stay and we accept that and embrace it’s use in some areas of research and marketing.
Here is an outline of what Lines and Curves Literary consider acceptable AI use:
