We are on the lookout for new and exciting authors in the commercial fiction space. If you’ve written a romance, crime thriller or historical fiction novel that you think could be the next bestseller, then we’d love to hear from you!
In December after National Writing Month, Hodder’s digital list open submissions inbox was open for 7 days and received an incredible 700 submissions. We were amazed with the quality of the writing and submissions, and have been working closely with several authors on their ideas. We are also really excited to share that we have acquired a debut romance author from the inbox, which will be announced in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to find even more talent!
About us
As the digital-led team of Hodder & Stoughton, we publish global bestsellers, distinctive new voices and emerging talent. With a focus on commercial fiction, we publish our books in eBook, audio, and paperback, tailored to be at the forefront of the eBook market.
In terms of submissions, we are currently looking for:
- Crime & thrillers
- Psychological thrillers
- Cozy crime
- Historical fiction
- Romance & romantic comedies
You don’t need to have any prior publishing experience to submit to us, and we encourage authors of all backgrounds to send us their manuscripts.
We currently don’t accept non-fiction, science fiction, YA, children’s books, literary fiction, poetry or short stories.
Submission guidelines
Please submit your full-length manuscript to: opensubmissions@hodder.co.uk
In your email, please also include a short pitch, other authors/titles you think are comparable to your writing, and a little bit about yourself.
Uncertain how to pitch your book? Think about how you would sum up your book in one sentence. This could look something like: when (character) experiences (challenge), they must (action), to achieve (result).
We will aim to come back to you within a month of your submission. But please note, due to the volume of submissions we receive, we are not able to provide a detailed response with editorial feedback.
If we love your writing, but don’t think your manuscript is quite what we’re looking for, then an editor might reach out to you to discuss any other ideas you might have. We might also share your manuscript with other members of the Hodder Fiction team, but we will contact you before doing so.
Our open submissions window will close on 28th June. We may look to re-open our open submissions window again in future, so keep an eye out on our Instagram @HodderBooks for updates.
Good luck!
Deadline: 28 June 2026
Source: Instagram
This is for books not plays??? They do not publish plays!!! Erh!
Hi John, we occasionally feature opportunities outside of playwriting when we think they might be of interest to our readers – lots of our members write books/ films as well as plays.