Manuscript Pitches

CALL

We are open for Manuscript Pitches until 9/1/2020 at midnight (PST)! Send us a cover letter and pitch query; if applicable, send 10 manuscript pages. We're open to many genres, though we tend to lean to semi-experimental literary styles. The project doesn't have to exist yet. We are open to long-term projects!

Again, we tend to prefer work that pushes the bounds of literary norms, but that isn’t to say we only like that. We welcome surprise. Try us (but only try us with pitches). We don't know what we want, but we're pretty sure you do. Send us your pitch, we’ll read it, and if we love it, we’ll publish it. If your submission is not for us, we'll try to offer suggestions, but we can't promise that.

We welcome authors and editors in all stages of development. Do not self-reject!

One chosen manuscript may be published in 2022 or 2023. We may choose more than one and if so, it/they will be published no earlier than 2023.

GUIDELINES

Introduce yourself and talk about your aesthetic or what you did today or maybe a topic that really interests you, or just give us your bio and a straight-up cover letter. Please include a detailed manuscript pitch. Tell us what the project or manuscript is, tell us why we should be interested, what the target demo is, what the marketing plan is, why it's relevant. Be as detailed as you possibly can.

If applicable, submit your manuscript sample in standard manuscript format within a Word doc or PDF. Make sure to number your pages and put the font in a readable style (we like Garamond, but we don't mandate it). Don't do Comic Sans, Windings, Papyrus or anything of the sort without a very specific reason. We'll assume you're trolling us otherwise. We won't automatically decline, but it won't help.

Email our Acquisitions Editor, Tomas Moniz at MJPAcquisitions@gmail.com.

Reading Fee: $0
Optional: Support our press and authors by purchasing a book.

WHAT WE WANT
Finished manuscripts
A thought-out project and sample pages
A sketch of an idea
(Almost) any genre
Translations

WHAT WE DON'T WANT
Anything that isn't a pitch

If you are unsure of anything, ask us questions!

PAYMENT
Our writers are paid with a small advance, contributor copies and a share of the profits. If we get to that stage, we’ll have discussions, meetings and contracts.

NOTES

Please submit one pitch. We will decline a second submission unread.We encourage simultaneous submissions, provided you let us know when your work gets accepted elsewhere. We'll cheer for you in the event of publication! If you haven't heard anything within 90 days of the deadline (September 1), send us an email. While we love graphic novels, we're not currently equipped to publish them. Maybe in the future. English-language only please. None of us are qualified to read in another language, sad to say. Translations are permitted, with express written permission of the original author.We expect to have made a decision by January 1, 2020 (give or take).

Please meet our readers:

We are a team and most of our editors will dip a toe in this reading period. In addition to our Staff Readers, we also recruit to give us more voices and different tastes. Below, read a little about us, what we like and are looking for. Maybe it will help you decide to submit or not.

Jennifer Caroccio Maldonado is a nuyorican from Queens NY. She has published poetry in Poydras Review, New Voices (2016) and Post-Traumatically Stressed Feminist Anthology (2018). You can find her critical writing in the HuffPost, The Establishment, Comicosity and Bold Media. She has a forthcoming essay in The Routledge Companion to Gender and Sexuality in Comic Book Studies. Jennifer has a PhD in American Studies from Rutgers University-Newark and is currently working on her first book project. It investigates the connections between subject formation, memory, and trauma in Latinx graphic narratives. 

Tomas Moniz is not only Acquisitions Editor with Mason Jar Press, he's also an author with them. He enjoys the collaborative process of working with writers on projects. He has stuff on the internet but loves penpals: PO Box 3555, Berkeley CA 94703. He promises to write back.  

Mike Urquidez is a writer, poet, and a former fiction editor for Fourteen Hills: The SFSU Review. He enjoys writing that seeks to stretch boundaries and challenge traditional conventions of genre. He lives and teaches in Los Angeles. 

Brenna Ebner is an intern for Mason Jar Press. She enjoys writing that doesn't always fit into one specific genre and stories with unexpected elements to them that might share a new perspective. Currently she is on a memoir binge and in the middle of Tonight I'm Someone Else by Chelsea Hodson.

Taylor Lynn is a reader at Mason Jar Press. She enjoys working on creative projects such as photography and bookmaking when she is not reading. She is currently reading Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.  

Anthony Moll (@anthonywmoll) is the author of Out of Step: A Memoir and a co-host of the literary podcast Lit!Pop!Bang! They teach writing, literature and journalism in Baltimore, Maryland. Regardless of genre, they like writing that tells intimate stories about and between flawed people. As of Summer 2020, their OKCupid lists their favorite writers as Thom Gunn, Toni Morrison, John D'Agata and Jamaica Kincaid.