For memoir and narrative nonfiction writersStatus updated
Submissions are now open.
We are accepting queries now. NOTE: To submit your book for consideration, you must open and read our Author Guidelines. The link to submit your query is inside.
NOTE: Please note we are not accepting self-published books at this time.
We're looking for high-concept memoir.
Shake Ridge Press combines close attention to narrative with the practical craft of making a book readers cannot put down.
We love "Memoir-plus..."
....meaning a personal story layered with extra: research, history, science, journalism, cultural criticism, or theology
Careful craftsmanship
A thoughtful narrative structure, clear voice, character arcs, dialogue, cinematic scenes, and attention to setting are important to us.
A book WE want to read!
Editorial rigor, professional design, and strategic positioning will work together to create a compelling story WE want to read, too!
P.S. This is Crucial
Many memoirists are new to writing books. I was once there, too. But please know this: the kernel of a story is not enough. Publishing at this level requires hard work, instruction, critique, and mentoring. Please make sure you've honored the process before you submit to Shake Ridge Press. Spend at least a year on the work, and two or three is not out of line. Listen to wise, experienced memoirists and put in the work to make this a project we can't turn down.
What do we publish?
- Transformational & spiritual memoir
- Adventure memoir
- Cross-cultural memoir
- Fish-out-of-water memoir
- How-to memoir
- Nature & animal memoir
- Children’s memoir
- Graphic memoir
- Poetry or episodic essays
- How-To books on memoir
- Clean romantasy (coming soon)
Before you query us.
When submissions open, read one or more of these books for a clear sense of the memoir craft and storytelling level Shake Ridge Press is looking for.
Sanctuary
An immersive, emotionally grounded memoir and a strong example of the level of storytelling Shake Ridge Press values.
Thunder Dog
Susy’s most commercially successful book and a model of propulsive true-story structure, character, and emotional stakes.
The Unbreakable Boy
A memoir whose storytelling reached a wide audience as a Lionsgate feature film released in theaters nationwide.