If you’ve written a queer story and you’re ready to find it a home, the landscape of LGBTQ+ publishing is richer, more varied, and more welcoming to new voices than it’s ever been. Independent queer presses aren’t just a fallback when the big five say no. They’re often the better choice: editors who genuinely get the work, readers who are actively looking for it, and communities built around celebrating queer literature rather than just tolerating it.
This guide is for emerging and new writers who want to get published, and for readers who want to know which indie publishers are putting out the most exciting queer content right now. We’ve dug into submission windows, what each press is actually looking for, and where to go when the doors are open.
A quick note: submission windows shift, and small presses update their guidelines frequently. Always check the submission page directly before sending anything.
The Big Ones: Dedicated LGBTQ+ Presses
These publishers exist specifically to publish queer work. Their entire catalog is queer, their editors are queer, and they know the community they’re publishing for.
Bold Strokes Books
One of the largest dedicated LGBTQ+ publishers in the world, Bold Strokes has been putting out queer fiction since 2004. They publish across a huge range of genres: romance, literary fiction, mystery, thriller, sci-fi and fantasy, young adult, nonfiction, and erotica. Their distribution is strong enough that you’ll find their books in Barnes and Noble.
What makes Bold Strokes worth your attention as a new writer is that they accept unagented submissions year-round, and they welcome authors of all identities writing queer content. They will also consider previously published and self-published work if you can provide proof that rights have reverted.
Word counts range depending on genre: romance, crime, and speculative fiction sit between 45,000 and 120,000 words, novellas between 15,000 and 30,000 words, and young adult between 45,000 and 75,000 words. They do not publish poetry.
One thing to know going in: Bold Strokes does not allow simultaneous submissions. Send your manuscript exclusively and expect a turnaround of around 16 weeks.
Bywater Books and Amble Press
Bywater Books has carved out a specific and beloved space in queer publishing, focused on lesbian and feminist fiction and narrative nonfiction. If you’ve written a sapphic mystery, a lesbian romance, a WLW historical novel, or a feminist memoir, this is one of the first places you should look. They’re especially interested in mysteries, romances, and general lesbian fiction, with manuscripts of at least 60,000 words.
Their imprint Amble Press, which operates out of the same house, has a complementary but distinct mission: publishing fiction and narrative nonfiction from writers who identify as people of color, and those writing across the broader queer spectrum. If your work lives at the intersection of queer and BIPOC identity, Amble is worth a close look.
Both imprints accept submissions on a rolling basis through their online submission forms.
NineStar Press
NineStar Press is a New Mexico-based boutique publisher run by LGBTQ+ people, publishing LGBTQ+ romance and literary fiction. They are openly committed to trans, ace, aro, nonbinary, and genderfluid characters in particular, which makes them a standout press for writers whose stories center identities that are often sidelined even within LGBTQ+ publishing.
For romance, they accept manuscripts between 20,000 and 120,000 words with an LGBTQ+ romance at the story’s core. For literary novels, they’re looking for 45,000 to 120,000 words with an LGBTQ+ main character, no romance required. All genres are considered.
A few things worth knowing about NineStar as a business: they don’t offer advances, pay monthly royalties, ask for a three-year contract, and they don’t require right of first refusal on future work. Their financial model is transparent in a way that matters for new authors figuring out what a publishing relationship actually looks like.
Riptide Publishing
Riptide is a Burnsville, North Carolina-based publisher with strong values built into their editorial philosophy. Most notably, they have an explicit policy against publishing stories where queer characters die. As they put it directly on their submissions page: enough of us die in real life. That commitment to queer joy and survival in fiction is reflected across their catalog.
They publish under three imprints: the main Riptide imprint for adult genre fiction with romantic or erotic focus; Triton Books for young adult fiction; and Anglerfish Press for upmarket literary genre fiction. Anglerfish submissions are temporarily closed, though they accept one-line pitches via social media.
Riptide actively seeks work by authors of color and is clear about wanting to represent the full spectrum of queer experiences, not just a narrow slice of them.
JMS Books
JMS Books is a small electronic press that has been publishing LGBTQ+ romance since its founding, and as of 2026 they’ve expanded to welcome all forms of queer fiction. Every story must feature LGBTQ+ main characters, across any genre, any heat level, any subgenre, at a minimum of 12,000 words.
What sets JMS apart for new writers is their speed. They acknowledge receipt within 24 hours and typically respond within a week. For writers who’ve experienced the months-long silence that often comes with manuscript submissions, that responsiveness matters.
They pay 50% royalties on all electronic and print sales, no advances, and contracts run for an initial two years.
Interlude Press and Duet Books
Interlude Press, founded in 2014, has built a reputation for award-winning LGBTQ+ literary and romantic fiction. Their catalog includes Lambda Literary Award winners, IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award recipients, and Foreword INDIES honorees. They’re a boutique press in the best sense: they publish a small list with real attention to each title.
Their main imprint and their YA imprint, Duet Books, both accept novel submissions between 60,000 and 90,000 words featuring lead characters from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. They emphasize well-crafted, ethically told stories and do not publish explicitly sexual content.
No simultaneous submissions are accepted.
Speculative Fiction and Genre Queer Presses
For writers working in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction, several presses are doing particularly exciting work at the intersection of genre and queerness.
Neon Hemlock Press
Publishers Weekly called Neon Hemlock “the apex of queer speculative fiction publishing,” and their catalog earns it. This Washington, DC-based small press publishes queer speculative short fiction, novellas, flash fiction, chapbooks, and the annual “We’re Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction” anthology.
For new writers, their submission windows are worth bookmarking. Their “What Elegant Stars” anthology, focused on space opera stories involving style, fashion, and society, is open for original short stories on Submittable between January 15 and April 15, 2026. A limited submission window prioritizing trans women and writers of color opens June 15 to June 30, 2026, with a general window running October 15 to October 30, 2026.
Neon Hemlock pays $0.08 per word for accepted anthology stories, and they’re explicit that they use the most inclusive definition of queer: queer, trans, ace, undefinable.
Lethe Press
Lethe Press is a long-running independent press based in New Jersey that publishes speculative fiction with a queer focus, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, transgender and genderqueer fiction, and gay romance. Founded by Steve Berman in 2011, Lethe has broadened its scope over the years while keeping queer work at the center.
Their general submissions are currently closed, but they do open periodically. If speculative queer fiction is your area, keep their submissions page bookmarked.
Lesbian-Focused Publishers
Desert Palm Press
Founded in 2014, California-based Desert Palm Press focuses specifically on adult genre fiction that amplifies lesbian and LGBTQ+ voices. Their catalog includes romance, action, adventure, mystery, suspense, intrigue, historical, fantasy, speculative, erotica, and general fiction. They also publish poetry and nonfiction.
Word count minimum is 60,000 words for novels.
Launch Point Press
Launch Point Press is dedicated to publishing fiction where the main characters are lesbians. Their genre interests span crime, suspense, mystery, intrigue, thriller, historical, literary, romance, sagas, speculative, paranormal, and horror. They accept manuscripts on a rolling basis.
Canadian Queer Publishers Worth Knowing
Arsenal Pulp Press
Arsenal Pulp Press is one of the most important queer publishers in the world, operating out of Vancouver, Canada. With more than 300 titles in print, their list spans literary fiction, queer and trans literature, cultural studies, graphic novels, and cookbooks. Their authors have been finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards, the Giller Prize, and numerous other honors.
Arsenal publishes work that matters culturally, not just commercially, and they’ve been a consistent champion of LGBTQ+ voices, particularly those at intersections of queerness with race, disability, and other marginalized identities. Recent titles include works that have become Lambda Literary finalists.
They accept unsolicited manuscripts for literary fiction and nonfiction on a rolling basis. If you’re a Canadian queer writer, this is one of the first places to look.
Literary Journals and Anthologies for Short-Form Work
If you’re not yet ready for a full manuscript, or if you write short stories, flash fiction, or poetry, several publications offer real opportunities and actual pay.
Plenitude Magazine
A Canadian literary journal specifically for LGBTQ2S+ writers, Plenitude publishes fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. They pay CAD $60 per accepted poem and CAD $125 per prose piece, which puts them solidly in the paid literary magazine tier. They maintain separate submission slots for Canadian and international writers, with monthly caps on each genre. Worth checking regularly for open windows.
Sinister Wisdom
Founded in 1976, Sinister Wisdom is a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal that has been a cornerstone of lesbian publishing for nearly five decades. They are always open to submissions of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and visual art from and for lesbians.
Honey Literary
Honey Literary focuses on BIPOC women, nonbinary, and trans writers, including those from the LGBTQIAP2+ community. They publish various forms and genres, including erotic work. If your writing sits at the intersection of queerness and BIPOC experience, this is a publication to know.
Screen Door Review
Screen Door publishes work by individuals who are Southern and queer, including flash fiction and poetry. This is a niche publication in the best sense: it exists to amplify a specific intersection of identity and regional experience that is often underrepresented.
For Writers Just Starting Out: What to Know
The queer publishing ecosystem is genuinely more accessible to unagented writers than mainstream publishing. Most of the presses on this list accept manuscript submissions directly, without an agent, which means the path from finished manuscript to published book doesn’t require cracking into the New York literary agent world first.
A few things that will help regardless of where you submit:
Read the catalog before you submit. Every press listed here has a track record you can actually look at. If your book doesn’t resemble anything they’ve published, that’s useful information. If your book fits right in, say so in your cover letter.
Follow the guidelines exactly. Small presses are running on limited staff and resources. A submission that ignores the word count range, the genre focus, or the formatting requirements signals to an editor that the writer didn’t do their homework.
Simultaneous submissions policies vary. Some presses (like Bold Strokes) explicitly prohibit them. Others are fine with it as long as you withdraw immediately if you accept an offer elsewhere. Read the guidelines.
Be patient, but follow up. Response times at small presses can stretch to several months. Most will indicate an expected window in their guidelines. If that window has passed without word, a brief, professional follow-up is appropriate.
For Readers: Why These Presses Matter
Every publisher on this list exists because queer stories deserve to be published, distributed, and celebrated on their own terms. These aren’t charity projects. They publish some of the best queer literature being written today.
When you buy from a dedicated queer press directly, or through a queer-friendly retailer like Bookshop.org, a larger portion of that sale reaches the author and keeps the press running. That matters more for small presses than it does for imprints of massive conglomerates.
If you’re looking for your next read, start with the catalogs. Bold Strokes publishes across so many genres that there’s almost certainly something in their list for any reader. Arsenal Pulp’s catalog skews literary and political in ways that reward readers looking for something more challenging. Neon Hemlock is the place for speculative fiction that takes queer identity seriously as subject matter, not just window dressing.
The queer literary world is alive and producing remarkable work. These are the publishers making that happen.
This guide is updated periodically. Submission windows change frequently at small presses. Always verify the current status of any submission window directly on the publisher’s website before submitting. Want to be included in this list? Message us at hello@queerbookclub.org.
