Submission Guidelines

Before submitting your book to Hellebore, take a look at these guidelines. See the FAQs below for more info.

You are a self-published author or a small/micro press.
Your novel has had a sizable number of sales/readers.
Your novel is a YA or new adult romance, fantasy, romantasy, sci fi, or thriller.
You have a digital version of your book and a query letter to send us.
Having an agent is acceptable but not necessary.

How To Submit

You can submit to Hellebore by emailing a query letter telling us about you and your book, along with your full novel to

info [at] helleborelit [dot] com.

If you have a series you would like to submit, please include in your query letter the information of all books, and book one of the series.

We are interested in representing YA and new adult romance, fantasy, romantasy, sci fi, and thriller novels. If you aren’t sure about your manuscript’s genre, or if it could be listed under multiple genres, go ahead and submit just in case! (But use your best judgment; we do not accept nonfiction, poetry, middle grade, or children’s book submissions at this time.)
“Self-published” to us means that you have gone through a non-traditional process to publish your manuscript. That could mean that you have used a program such as KDP or Apple Books. Maybe you have garnered thousands of readers on a platform like Wattpad or Inkitt. Or maybe you have started your own press for the sole purpose of publishing your books. Those all count!
Great (and tricky) question! Success is relative, but from a foreign publisher’s standpoint, your book needs to have a sizable number of sales and/or readers to speak for its viability in the marketplace. We’re not talking NYT Bestseller levels; if you have a small but dedicated fanbase of at least a few thousand people, that’s what we’re looking for.
We will be making detailed guidelines that address this question. For now, we recommend you use Jane Friedman’s article to guide your letter.