Split/Lip Press is dedicated to publishing boundary-breaking fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid books, lifting the transition boards that prevent fluidity and smashing those we cannot pry up. 

Split Lip Press

We are currently looking for previously unpublished essay collections, memoirs, and nonfiction/hybrid full-length book manuscripts. Individually published pieces within the manuscript are absolutely fine (and expected!) but the book should not have been published as a book before. We won't define "full-length" (our only hard limit is the lower end: minimum of 125pg), but 150-250 pages tends to be the sweet spot.

Nonfiction Full-Length Book Manuscripts

Manuscript call
We are currently open for multigenre full-length books over 125 pages.
When we say "multigenre," we're looking for hybrid prose! A little fiction, a little nonfiction, a little genre-blurring...first and foremost, we seek out manuscripts that question boundaries (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional—you get the gist). Our editors are drawn to work with a twist, whether that means blending fact with fiction, employing speculative elements, placing lyricism alongside criticism, and/or image-based work interacting with text. Some of the books we've published which could be considered potential multigenre comps would be Sienna Liu's Specimen, Aubrey Hirsch's Graphic Rage, Sean Enfield's Holy American Burnout!, Heather Bartel's Exit the Body, Calvin Walds' Flee, and SJ Sindu's I Once Met You But You Were Dead.
Examples of (non-SLP) multigenre books that fit our definition: I Hope This Helps by Samiya Bashir, Borderland Apocrypha by Anthony Cody, Root Fractures by Diana Khoi Nguyen, A Window That Can Neither Open Nor Close by Lauren Russell, Tetra Nova by Sophia Terazawa, and Blackouts by Justin Torres.
Historically underrepresented perspectives are WELCOME and ENCOURAGED and HIGHLY SOUGHT—we want to help bring your voice to the world!
Our press mission
We publish boundary-breaking fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid books, lifting the transition boards that prevent fluidity and smashing those we cannot pry up. We love work that questions the concept of truth, and work that reinterprets what we think we know. We prize experimentation (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional); we welcome the unanswerable. We want to see the dark and the light side of the moon—or we want to see it obliterated. If your book is a wedge in a crack, Split/Lip Press is the hammer helping you split the wall apart.
However, Split/Lip Press does not tolerate manuscripts celebrating racist, homophobic, or misogynistic perspectives, and will discard such manuscripts unread. We believe in breaking boundaries at Split/Lip, but we will not assist agendas of hate.
Basic formatting details
Times New Roman 12 (or similar), double-spaced (unless you are specifically using special formatting—which we'd love to see), and PLEASE remove your name from the manuscript and file name—we want to review your manuscripts without names attached. There is a box on the submission form where, if you choose, you may indicate any information about positionality which may be helpful for the readers to know.
While we love and welcome work which includes images/diagrams/etc, images may need to appear in black-and-white within a 6" x 9" printed book, so please keep that in mind when submitting.
Hugs + thanks
We work closely with our authors on all elements of their book, from design to promotion. We are engaged in the literary community, and as writers ourselves, we know how important it is to have a book that you love that is supported by a press that loves you. We'd love for you to be part of the Split/Lip Press family.
Simultaneous submissions are obviously welcome. Our reading process is a process and we move quickly and efficiently, but we also don't interrupt it prematurely. So if another publisher snags you first, we just ask that you withdraw your submission (and congrats to you!).
We intend to reply to all submissions by September 15, 2026, so please do not query about the status of your manuscript before that date. If you haven't seen anything from us by 9/15/26, check your status in Submittable and double-check your email spam filter because Submittable's messages sometimes get stuck there—we will definitely respond!
Thank you for considering Split/Lip Press as the home for your book!
PS: The reading fee helps cover our costs as a press, and our MG/C reading team splits 25% of the submission fees collected during this reading period as compensation for their hard work. But we don't want a fee to keep us from finding the best work out there. If you can't afford the reading fee, please send an email to splitlipthepress@gmail.com before submitting to receive a manuscript fee waiver, no questions asked.

Multigenre Full-Length Manuscripts

A little over a year ago, we launched our Lost/Found, our new imprint dedicated to republishing beloved books from small presses that have ceased production. We were unbelievably fortunate to publish Brooke Shaffner's Country of Under as our first-ever L/F title!
Now, we are BACK with our first open call for additions to the Lost/Found catalog! That's right! Do you have a previously published prose book in need of a new home? Does your book dismantle boundaries and force us to reconsider what we think we know? Does your book push the limits of experimentation and dive into the unknown?
If so, we'd love to consider your book for republication under our Lost/Found imprint! We want to see the dark and the light side of the moon—or we want to see it obliterated. Since 2014, SLP has been honored to publish innovative and culturally relevant books. And with the recent addition of our Lost/Found imprint, we would be honored to give your book a new home and thrilled to welcome you into the SLP family.

 

      On to the nitty-gritty!
To be considered for the Lost/Found imprint, please include the following in your submission:
1. the files for your published book (.doc or .docx preferred, but a .pdf is fine as well)
2. proof of your contract termination/confirmation that you hold all rights to your book
3. any relevant information about the press where your work was originally published
Please understand that we need this information up-front in order to sustainably run the imprint and avoid potential miscommunication down the road.
Because we're committed to compensating readers and editors for their work, we're charging a small submission fee for this open call, immediately redeemable toward free shipping on any SLP book. If our reading fee is prohibitive, please email splitlipthepress@gmail.com to receive a manuscript fee waiver, no questions asked.
At Split/Lip, we know firsthand how much labor and love goes into the process of writing and publishing books. The Lost/Found imprint is Split/Lip's small way of giving beloved books a second life and celebrating the legacy of the press who first published them, while offering new generations of readers the chance to discover (and rediscover) old stories. The Split/Lip team sincerely appreciates the resilience of every author who's committed to sharing their stories with the world, and we can't wait to read your work!

Lost/Found Book Submissions - Fiction

Lost/Found Book Submissions - Nonfiction

Manuscript call
We are currently looking for previously unpublished novel or novella manuscripts. We're looking, in particular, for books that question boundaries (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional—you get the gist). Dazzle us with your version(s) of truth! Our only hard page limit is the lower end: minimum of 100pg. If your book is shorter than 100pg, keep our multigenre/chapbook reading period in mind next April!
To get an idea of what we love, please check out our novel/novellas currently at Split/Lip Press: Chelsea Sutton's novella Krackle's Last Movie, Brooke Shaffner's novel Country of Under, Colleen Burner's novella Sister Golden Calf, Anurag Andra's novella Submarine, Emily Thomas Mani's novella The Church of Wrestling and Mila Jaroniec's novel Plastic Vodka Bottle Sleepover. We'd love it if you'd add a copy to your submission, and we'll happily throw in free shipping (US only, our apologies) as a thanks!
Historically under-represented perspectives are WELCOME and ENCOURAGED and HIGHLY SOUGHT—we want to help bring your voice to the world!
Our press mission
We publish boundary-breaking fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid books, lifting the transition boards that prevent fluidity and smashing those we cannot pry up. We love work that questions the concept of truth, and work that reinterprets what we think we know. We prize experimentation (physical, emotional, metaphysical, meta-emotional); we welcome the unanswerable. We want to see the dark and the light side of the moon—or we want to see it obliterated. If your book is a wedge in a crack, Split/Lip Press is the hammer helping you split the wall apart.
However, Split/Lip Press does not tolerate manuscripts celebrating racist, homophobic, or misogynistic perspectives, and will discard such manuscripts unread. We believe in breaking boundaries at Split/Lip, but we will not assist agendas of hate.
Split/Lip Press values the independent creative work done by human authors, and by submitting your manuscript to our press, you are verifying that no generative AI was used during the ideation, in the creation, or during the editing of your manuscript. If your manuscript was developed through the use of AI in any capacity, including creative critique, we ask you to explain your process in the Additional Notes section.
Submissions reading fee info
The submission reading fee helps cover our costs as a press, and our novel/novella reading team will be splitting 25% of the submission fees collected during this reading period as compensation for their hard work. But we don't want a fee to keep us from finding the best work out there. If you can't afford the reading fee, please send an email to splitlipthepress@gmail.com before submitting to receive a manuscript fee waiver, no questions asked.
We hope to find the next novel or novella addition to our press catalog during this reading period! That said, our press mission is paramount, and if we are unable to acquire a book from this period that fits, the remainder of the proceeds from this period's reading fees (after paying the readers) will be applied toward submission fee waivers for the next novel/novella reading period.
Basic formatting details
Times New Roman 12 (or similar), double-spaced (unless you are specifically using special formatting—which we're open to seeing), and PLEASE remove your name from the manuscript and file name—our readers want to review your manuscripts without names attached. There is a box on the submission form where, if you choose, you may indicate any information about positionality which may be helpful for the readers to know.
Please note that while we love and welcome work which includes images/diagrams/etc, all images may need to appear in black-and-white within a 6" x 9" printed book, so please keep that in mind when submitting.
Hugs + thanks
We work closely with our authors on all elements of their book, from design to promotion. We are engaged in the literary community, and as writers ourselves, we know how important it is to have a book that you love that is supported by a press that loves you. We'd love for you to be part of the Split/Lip Press family.
Simultaneous submissions are obviously welcome. Our reading process is a process and we move quickly and efficiently, but we also don't interrupt it prematurely. So if another publisher snags you first, we just ask that you withdraw your submission (and congrats to you!).
We intend to reply to all submissions by December 15, 2026, so please do not query about the status of your manuscript before that date. If you haven't seen anything from us by 12/15/26, check your status in Submittable and double-check your email spam filter because Submittable's messages sometimes get stuck there—we will definitely respond!
Thank you for considering Split/Lip Press as the home for your book!

Split Lip Press

Highlights

About

Featured Call

Nonfiction Full-Length Book Manuscripts