​1st May - 31st July 2025: Novels and Novellas​​​

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 What are we looking for?

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• Manuscripts with strong narrative voices and bold, distinctive styles that make a statement

• Works that incorporate social consciousness and political engagement through:

  • Social commentary or observations

  • Political themes or storylines

  • Unique perspectives from lived experiences

• Content that resonates with values like environmental conservation, feminism, or quirky viewpoints

• Cohesive themes or story arcs that reveal profound aspects of human experience

• Accessible yet thought-provoking writing with broad appeal

• Familiarity with Fly on the Wall Press' publishing ethos is valued

 

Why Fly on the Wall Press for my book?

 

At Fly on the Wall Press, Managing Director Isabelle Kenyon oversees every stage of the publishing process, working closely with each author to ensure their vision is honoured—and their work shines even brighter.

 

We go beyond the book: partnering with experts to pitch translation, audio, and film rights, and offering developmental editing support through The Literary Consultancy for writers on benefits.

 

Marketing is our priority. We champion every title with award submissions, social media campaigns, journalist outreach, book fair appearances, interviews, and advertising—far more than most small presses. (That said, great marketing is always a team effort.)

 

As proud members of Inpress LTD, the Indie Press Network, and the Northern Fiction Alliance, we bring strong regional partnerships and dedicated sales support to every book.

 

We believe in quality over quantity. And we invest in our authors—every step of the way.

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How to submit:  

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Write a cover letter (in the body of your email) which includes a receipt for a book purchased in 2025 from our website's shop (paperback or ebook).

You can use our cover letter template or create your own.

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Guidelines:

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Novels and Novellas

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1. Send us the first 30 pages of your novel or novella and a synopsis to flyonthewallpress@hotmail.com with the subject line 'Novel (or novella): First Name/Last Name'. Attach both in one word document.

2. Synopsis length should be minimum 100 words - maximum 800 words. 

3. Write a cover letter (for the body of your email). You can use our template or create your own. The cover letter must include your 2025 book receipt number from our website's shop.

4. We will read your 30 pages and request to read the full novel or novella if required within 8 weeks.

5. The full novella/novel should not be under 40,000 words or over 90,000 words. 5,000 words either side of these guidelines is allowable.

6. Please use your common sense for formatting, there is no need to email about this prior to submitting! Isabelle is human and really does not mind, as long as the word document is readable. Preferred font: Perpetua 12pt. Preferred page size: A5. Speech marks preferred as double " ". Single-spaced preferred.

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​​I very much look forward to reading your work and appreciate your time in considering Fly on the Wall Press as a home for your book. Your manuscript will be read with care.

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FAQS

 

1. Do you accept previously published works (self-published or otherwise)?
   No, we only consider original, unpublished manuscripts.

2. Will you accept work that falls outside the stated word count guidelines?
   We may consider submissions within 5,000 words either side of the specified range.

3. Do you accept cross-genre works, novellas in verse, or novellas in flash fiction form?
   No, we're currently not accepting these formats.

4. Do you publish Young Adult (YA) fiction?
   No, we are not accepting YA submissions at this time.

5. Are you currently accepting poetry chapbooks?
   When poetry submissions are open (see below), we will only be considering full poetry collections.

6. What if international postage makes it difficult to purchase a book?
   EBooks are available in our shop. Alternatively, if you'd prefer not to order a book, you can make a donation instead – we kindly ask for a minimum of £9. All funds directly support the creation of new books. [Donation link]

7. Should I submit my sample pages in A5 or A4? Ideally an A5 word document, but if you can't figure out how to do this, you're welcome to submit in A4.

8. What is a 2025 book receipt?
   This refers to proof of a 2025 book purchase from our website – either your email confirmation or order number.

9. Why is purchasing a book part of the submission process?
   As an independent, unfunded press, all our profits are reinvested into publishing new titles. We don't charge for our time reading, but ask that prospective authors support our work by purchasing a book to demonstrate their interest in our list and to ensure their work aligns with our publishing ethos.

 

 

 

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SUBSTACK HERE FOR FUTURE READING WINDOWS FOR SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS, POETRY AND ANTHOLOGIES. (Please do not email asking about these dates as these have not yet been decided.)

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Want feedback and a submission outcome within 3 weeks?

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This is not a line by line editing service - for that, see our Author Services - however, we will advise you on elements holistically such as collection arc, sentence structure and character development as well as a shortlisting decision if we feel it is suitable for the Press (if not, we will suggest alternative publishers).

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For individual stories, this feedback is £55 (fiction up to 11k words) and for short story collections, full poetry collections and novels, this feedback is £85 via the Donation button (up to 70 poems, fiction up to 25k words - we appreciate novels will be of a longer length, however as this is a 'quick' feedback service, we will stop reading at this point in the manuscript. )

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For feedback on the first twenty pages of your novel/novella, this feedback is £60 in the form of an editorial report and line by line notes.

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If you have any issues with the donate button please also find the link here.

Please indicate that you have paid for feedback in your submissions email.

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You can still apply for feedback while our submission period is closed.