It's fantastic, we promise 🖤

You also might know us from POUR ONE FOR THE DEVIL, a Southern Gothic novella about a college professor who accepts a speaking engagement that proves too good to be true...

Another one of our most well-known horror titles is SUNDOWN IN SAN OJUELA by @olivasthewriter.bsky.social (who you probably saw in full swing at StokerCon if you were there).

THE GLASS GARDEN is the second novella by @authorlevai.bsky.social and is perfect for readers who like the work of S.A. Barnes, Lina Rather, or Jeff VanderMeer.

Our most recent horror release is a sci-fi horror (weird horror, if you prefer) following an archaeologist and her scavenger sister as they try to uncover the origins of a strange extraplanetary finding.

WE DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, WISH TO RECEIVE MANUSCRIPTS "CREATED" OR "WRITTEN" WITH GENERATIVE AI.

AI-generated work is entirely antithetical to our company and individual values. We don't want to see your AI-generated work. Don't send it to us. There's no exception to this rule. Don't ask.

❓ What are we not looking for?

❌ No young adult fiction or books for children of any age level. We publish for adult audiences.

❌ We don't accept unsolicited submissions of poetry or short story collections.

❌ We don't publish erotica.

❓ What are we looking for during our open submissions period?

Lanternfish Press readers love gothic fiction of every type. Cross-genre and dark historical fiction are both high up on our list as well.

We're very interested in intersectional memoir, but we're very selective in this category.

Our most recent title acquired from slush:

🏜️ Sundown in San Ojuela by M.M. Olivas

Our next-up titles acquired from slush:
😾 The Barefoot Followers of Sweet Potato Grace by Megan Okonsky
🍂 A Harvest of Furies by Hayden Casey

While Lanternfish Press does accept agented work year-round (agents—you can get in touch with @editorfish.bsky.social directly at any time!), we've only published a few books sold to us by agents.

❓ Do we actually acquire books from our open reading period?

We sure do! The vast majority of our authors come to us through the open submissions period. In 2025, half our books came from slush and half from previously published authors. (Our authors have been BUSY.)

And, since we always get asked...

❌ No, we don't want to see fiction between 40k-60k
❌ No, we don't accept anything under 20k or over 90k

Please don't contact us through social media or the contact form on our website to ask for an exception! We don't respond to inquiries of this kind.

We're looking for the following formats:
📕 Novellas 20,000-40,000 words
📗 Novels 60,000-90,000 words
📘 Memoirs between 20,000-90,000 words

For novels and novellas, we love to see the rare and strange, gothics of every region, and works that push the boundaries of genre.

Thank you so much! We're very proud of our authors and their books that we publish 🖤🖤🖤

We are indeed taking unsolicited manuscripts until June 30! We'll have a few FAQ/Q&A threads about our open reading period throughout the month on different social media platforms as well 🖤