The Common Threads Press publishing programme is developed collaboratively through conversations with writers and artists.  New ideas are welcomed for work that centres around:​ Art, Culture, Craft, Social change, Radical histories, Alternative types of making, Self-publishing practices, Textile and fibre work.

The focus is particularly on publishing work by authors from underrepresented backgrounds. Submissions from writers of every background, age, location, career stage and professional focus are welcomed. Please do not be deterred if this is your first time submitting, publishing or even writing something of such a length, Common Threads Press is open to working with you.

How do I submit?

1. Write a short description of your idea

Start by pretending you’re describing your idea to someone who has never heard of what you want to write about. Describe it from the beginning. Who or what is the main subject, what period of time does it cover, why is it important that this knowledge is shared with others?

2. Tell us about you

What is your background, what angle will you be taking as you write this, what does it mean to you to write this? Give us some insight as to where you’re coming from, and why it should be you that writes this story. You don’t need to have a professional literary background, but we need to know why you are the right person to write this.

3. Examples of your writing

In your email, include 2-3 links or pdfs to past examples of your written work. Again, this doesn’t need to be professionally published but it needs to give us a sense of how you would write the work you’re pitching. If you have anything of a similar subject matter or nature, send it over and we can get a full picture from your submission.

How many words do you require?

Publications are typically between 10–20,000 words. However, we do not have any word limits we need to reach. We care more about the subject and quality of the work than the length.

Do I have to be based in the UK?

Absolutely not. We welcome perspectives and histories from all around the world.

How much do you pay authors?

Unfortunately we are not in a position to offer advances, but we do offer a healthy royalty rate that is above industry standard. What this means is that we take a percentage of the sales of each publication each quarter and send it directly to authors. This is the same across the slate of authors, regardless of the length of work.

How long does it take to hear back about a submission?

Due to the amount of submissions we receive, it can take anywhere up to 4 weeks to receive a response. If you have not heard back after this time, do follow up, as we do try to get back to every submission regardless of the outcome.

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