About Northwest Passage Books
NWP Books is an independent publisher and publishing services provider.
We specialize in fiction and nonfiction by authors with an academic background in philosophy
and the humanities.
In 2010, while writing his book "Clear and Present
Thinking", Brendan Myers put together a team of editors and designers,
and together they raised almost $17,000 on Kickstarter to cover the cost of production:
around 250% of the initial goal. Two years
later, the team did it again, raising more than $5,000, 160% of the goal. Today, we are still
a small independent publisher, although the team has grown. Most members are creative people with graduate degrees
in their various fields. Our goal is to publish works of fiction and
nonfiction which assist the academic careers of the authors, and which are accessible to
the general reading public.
Submission Guidelines
What We're Looking For:
In non-fiction, we are primarily looking for works of philosophy, between 50,000 and 100,000 words,
addressing any major philosophical question or problem. We will consider works in other fields of the humanities: including
literature, classics, religion, history, education, women's studies, cultural and environmental studies. We will
also consider works in the sciences, including mathematics, if they are aimed at the general reading public.
In fiction, we are looking for "high concept" works that pose significant philosophical questions
and explore serious answers. We want to publish works from novella length (around 20,000 words) to full novels
(50,000 words and up) in the following genres: literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy,
detective and crime dramas. We may be open to other genres if the work is of
outstanding quality. We do not publish screenplays, teen / young adult, or "fan fic".
How To Submit:
Please send an email to our director (bmyers33 (at) live.ca) with the word "QUERY" in the subject line, along with
the title and genre of the work you are proposing, and your name. In the body of the email,
include a one-paragraph summary of your work,
and a list of the chapters. If you are proposing fiction, your list of chapters should also include
a plot outline. (Do not leave any cliffhangers: summarize the entire story.) Finally, please
include a short biography of yourself, including your academic background (programs of study,
in progress or complete, etc). If we like what we see, we will ask for a sample of the text.
Do not include any attachments in your query email. We will not open them.
Please allow six to eight weeks for us to reply to you. If you do not hear from us in that time,
you may assume that your query was rejected.
