Hub City Writers Project is a literary nonprofit organization located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Comprised of an acclaimed literary book publisher, an independent bookshop, and a literary programmer focused on education and outreach, our mission is cultivating readers and nurturing writers in both the Spartanburg community and throughout the South to foster an inclusive literary arts culture. Open positions will be reflected below.
Hub City Press publishes books of literary fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, regional nonfiction, nature, and art. We are seeking new and extraordinary voices from the American South who have written well-crafted, high-quality works. We are particularly interested in books with a strong sense of place. We believe strongly that the publishing industry needs to promote a more diverse range of experiences, and so have committed ourselves to spotlighting lesser-heard Southern voices including: people of color, members of LGBTQ and gender diverse communities, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, as well as ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities. Hub City is a small press, publishing eight to ten titles per year. In general, our publication schedule operates at least 12-18 months in advance of release.
Hub City publishes writers living in or from the South. What's the South? A complicated issue, to say the least, but the short answer for our purposes: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia. (Are you from a border state like Missouri, Oklahoma, or Ohio? If you feel like your book is a good fit for us, make a case in your query.)
We do not publish romance, science fiction, true crime, mystery, cookbooks, how-to books, horror/paranormal or specific-religion inspirational books. We do not publish books for young people (YA, middle grade or childrens). Please do not send us a query if your book has already been self-published, even only as an e-book. We are looking only for full length works, rather than single stories, essays, or poems. We will automatically reject works with evidence of AI authorship.
About our Open Submission Periods:
Hub City Press opens for unagented manuscript submissions during the following submission periods:
Fiction: March 1-15, September 15-30
Nonfiction: March 16-31, October 1-15
Open Call for BIPOC-Identifying Writers: September 1-15
You may only submit queries during these months. (Agents: it's best to contact Kate McMullen directly to pitch us a book.)
What to send us:
- A brief, informative query letter about your manuscript (include the title, genre, length, description of the work, author background and publication history)
- Any credentials that particularly qualify you to write your book. If you have access to special markets or promotional opportunities for your book, we’d like to know about them as well.
- Your full manuscript (.doc and .docx preferred) Please note incomplete manuscripts will be automatically rejected.
We can no longer accept queries for poetry collections or short story collections during our open submission period unless otherwise specified. Please wait to submit in these genres through our New Southern Voices Poetry Prize (open every other spring) and C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize (open every other fall). We do occasionally open for poetry and short story manuscript queries, so keep an eye out on our social media for dates. If you are a South Carolina fiction writer, we hope you’ll consider submitting your novel to the South Carolina Novel Series.
Due to the size of our staff and the volume of queries we receive, we are unable to respond to every query. We will be in touch with you if we have interest in your work. If you have not heard back within six months of your query or manuscript submission, assume your manuscript was not a good fit for us. Please feel free to withdraw and resubmit to another open submission period after 12 months if you have made revisions to your project and have not heard back from us.
Our open period for unagented query submissions for nonfiction opens in April 1-15 and October 1-15. You may only submit queries for nonfiction projects during these months. Fiction and poetry queries will not be read if they are submitted in this form. Fiction queries open in March and September.
About us:
Hub City Press is a small press, publishing eight to ten titles per year including books of literary fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, regional nonfiction, nature, and art. Focused on finding and spotlighting extraordinary new and unsung writers from the American South, our curated list champions authors who represent the many people of this region and books that don’t fit neatly into the commercial or academic publishing landscape.
In general, our publication schedule operates at least 12-18 months in advance of release.
When submitting your query, please have ready:
- A one-page query letter about your novel, including: the title, genre, length, description of the work, author background and publication history, any credentials that particularly qualify you to write your book (if you have access to special markets or promotional opportunities for your book, we’d like to know about them as well), and;
- Your full manuscript (.doc and .docx preferred). Please note incomplete manuscripts will be automatically rejected.
- Your biographical information and a list of writers you know who might be willing to support your book.
We are looking for:
Well-crafted literary works by new and established authors with an emphasis on the Southern experience and a strong sense of place. We will expect to read completed manuscripts, and we rarely accept unfinished work.
We are committed to publishing and supporting lesser-heard Southern voices, including Black and Indigenous people, queer and trans people, immigrants, people with disabilities, as well as people from ethnic, cultural, and religious groups who have been oppressed and underrepresented by the publishing industry.
Hub City publishes writers living in or from the South. What's the South? A complicated issue, to say the least, but the short answer for our purposes: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia. At the same time, we're interested in boundaries, borders, and in-betweens, so if you want to make a case for a state not listed here, we'll take a look.
We are not looking for:
Submissions in the following categories: books for young people (YA, middle grade, or children's), romance, science fiction, mystery, how-to books, horror/paranormal or specific-religion inspirational books. Please do not send us a query if your book has already been self-published, even only as an eBook.
We can no longer accept queries for poetry collections or short story collections during our open submission period. Please wait to submit in these genres through our New Southern Voices Poetry Prize (open every other spring [2022, 2024...]) and C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize (open every other fall [2021, 2023...]). If you are a South Carolina fiction writer, we hope you’ll consider submitting your novel to the South Carolina Novel Prize (open every other spring via the South Carolina Arts Commission).
What to expect from us once you have submitted:
Due to the size of our staff and the volume of queries we receive, we are unable to respond to every query. We will be in touch with you if we have interest in your work. If you have not heard back within six months of your query or your manuscript submission if we have asked for it, assume your manuscript was not a good fit for us. If we pass on your project and you go on to make revisions, the best way to tell us about it again is to re-submit your project in a new query period.
SUBMISSIONS EXTENDED IN LIGHT OF HURRICANE HELENE OUTAGES until 10/11
Our open period for unagented query submissions for novels is in March 1-15 and September 15-30. You may only submit queries for novels during these months. Nonfiction and poetry queries will not be read if they are submitted in this form. Nonfiction queries open in April and October.
About us:
Hub City Press is a small press, publishing eight to ten titles per year including books of literary fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, regional nonfiction, nature, and art. Focused on finding and spotlighting extraordinary new and unsung writers from the American South, our curated list champions authors who represent the many people of this region and books that don’t fit neatly into the commercial or academic publishing landscape.
In general, our publication schedule operates at least 12-18 months in advance of release.
When submitting your query, please have ready:
- A one-page query letter about your novel, including: the title, genre, length, description of the work, author background and publication history, any credentials that particularly qualify you to write your book (if you have access to special markets or promotional opportunities for your book, we’d like to know about them as well), and;
- Your full manuscript (.doc and .docx preferred). Please note incomplete manuscripts will be automatically rejected.
- Your biographical information and a list of writers you know who might be willing to support your book.
We are looking for:
Well-crafted literary works by new and established authors with an emphasis on the Southern experience and a strong sense of place. We will expect to read completed manuscripts, and we rarely accept unfinished work.
We are committed to publishing and supporting lesser-heard Southern voices, including Black and Indigenous people, queer and trans people, immigrants, people with disabilities, as well as people from ethnic, cultural, and religious groups who have been oppressed and underrepresented by the publishing industry.
Hub City publishes writers living in or from the South. What's the South? A complicated issue, to say the least, but the short answer for our purposes: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia. We're interested in boundaries, borders, and in-betweens, but your manuscript needs to be primarily focused on the American South.
We are not looking for:
Submissions in the following categories: books for young people (YA, middle grade, or children's), romance, science fiction, mystery, how-to books, horror/paranormal or specific-religion inspirational books. We do not publish novels in series. Please do not send us a query if your book has already been self-published, even only as an eBook.
We can no longer accept queries for poetry collections or short story collections during our open submission period. Please wait to submit in these genres through our New Southern Voices Poetry Prize (open every other spring) and C. Michael Curtis Short Story Book Prize (open every other fall). If you are a South Carolina fiction writer, we hope you’ll consider submitting your novel to the South Carolina Novel Prize. More information on our prize opportunities can be found at hubcity.org/publishing.
What to expect from us once you have submitted:
Due to the size of our staff and the volume of queries we receive, we are unable to respond to every query. We will be in touch with you if we have interest in your work. If you have not heard back within six months of your query or your manuscript submission if we have asked for it, assume your manuscript was not a good fit for us. If we pass on your project and you go on to make revisions, the best way to tell us about it again is to re-submit your project in a new query period.