Your story deserves to be read.

COMING SOON! Submissions by QTBIPOC Writers

In late 2019, Tiyahna and Merryl-Royce sent their manuscript to eight different publishers. Seven never responded. One made so many changes that the creators could barely recognize their work. Frustrated by the gatekeeping of traditional publishing, Tiyahna and Merryl-Royce considered self-publishing Trailblazers. But that presented its own set of challenges. Finally, thanks to a fundraising campaign that mobilized thousands of supporters and raised nearly $50,000 CAD, the pair were presented with publishing options that they otherwise would not have had access to. Trailblazers was released in 2020 by a subsidiary of Indigo Books and went on to become an Indigo bestseller. This experience became the origin for Counterstory, a nonprofit publishing agency committed to creating space for more books written by and about Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour.

Counterstory will begin accepting submissions of adult non-fiction, poetry, children’s picture books (fiction and non-fiction), and photo books by and about Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour in the coming months. We also encourage submissions by authors with disabilities.

Interested artists will be asked to email submissions as a single .pdf document in sans-serif font (e.g. Arial) , 11-point type, to contact@counterstory.ca and include;

• A cover letter introducing yourself and your story

• A CV that lists your writing experience and previous publications (if applicable)

• For poetry, photo books, and children’s picture books: Please send the entire manuscript (no artwork samples unless you are a professional artist or working with a professional artist)

• For adult non-fiction: Please send a 300-word summary of your manuscript, a chapter-by-chapter outline, and 3 sample chapters

As a small press we will aim to review submissions every 4-6 months.

Thank you, we look forward to reading your stories!