AUTHORS’ GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION

Thank you for your interest in Pennant Books. Before submitting your work, please take some time to familiarise yourself with our lists and decide whether and why we may be the right publishing house for you.

Pennant Books, has gained a reputation for being one of the most hands-on publishers of non-fiction in the UK. We are especially interested in titles that fill demonstrated niches in the trade book market. Books that contain a cutting edge, emerging trends or give a unique angle to an established topic that can make them stand out from other publications.

Specialising in biography and autobiography, sports, true crime, popular culture and pulp faction, our growing list has benefited from the direct working relationship we enjoy with our authors.

THE TYPE OF BOOKS WE HAVE PUBLISHED:

Notable Pennant titles include: 30 Years of Hurt by Cass Pennant (our founder) and Andy Nichols, a much-acclaimed social history of the UK’s football hooligan culture; 39 Days of Gazza by Steve Pitts, the popular tragicomic account of Paul Gascoigne’s fated tenure as a non-League manager; Killer in the Shadows, an insightful study of the crimes of Robert Napper by psychologists Laurence Alison and Marie Eyre, and the corresponding Innocent as Charged by Colin Stagg (with Ted Hynds) – the memoir of the man wrongly accused of the murder of Rachel Nickell.

Pennant Books are also innovators in the growing field of PUA (or ‘pickup artistry’). These self-help/lifestyle books offer a map through the minefield of modern sexual relations. Our earliest title in the genre, The Natural Art of Seduction by Richard La Ruina, is a reader-friendly account of utilising techniques mooted in Neil Strauss’s US bestseller The Game on the UK club scene; the next in the ongoing series, Men Who Make Chemistry by Kezia Noble, offers an entertaining guide to becoming a master seducer by a female PUA trainer.

Pennant Books are dedicated to publishing compelling and accessible works on the real-life subjects and individuals that concern the modern reader. Our new paperback fiction imprint, Pulp Faction, combines such popular genres as crime, war, espionage, horror and erotica with themes and situations that might come direct from the news headlines.

WHAT YOU SHOULD INCLUDE IN MAKING ANY NEW BOOK SUBMISSION OR PROPOSAL TO US:

If you feel you have something of mutual benefit to offer one of the UK’s newest and most vital publishing houses, we invite you to get in touch. Unsolicited manuscripts are considered for publication, but this is strictly subject to presentation of:

• A basic outline of the project and its theme – no more than one or two A4 pages.
• A more detailed breakdown of contents, with each chapter synopsised in a minimum one paragraph/maximum one page.
• One to three sample chapters – with accompanying explanation as to how this section is representative of the book.
• A mini-biography of the author, including any publishing credits.
• A description of your intended primary readership market, and how your work meets their interests/needs – the more research you’ve undertaken into the market the better chance we have to decide on its marketability potential if were to publish.
• A list of any comparative titles in print, with direct comparison to any similarities with/differences from your own work.
• If your work is expected to be completed with any photos, sketches, diagrams etc we’d like a list and description of their quality and how they will be need to be obtained or created by yourself and/or the publisher.

INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

Please note that Pennant Books and its imprints publish works that range across a wide variety of styles – but readability is all important. We will rarely consider an MS that does not meet an accepted standard of literacy – although editorial guidance may occasionally be given for the revision of a work whose subject or theme is of significant interest to the modern reader.

Initial enquiries should be made by email to:

info@pennantbooks.com or editor@pennantbooks.com

Please note that (subject to your initial enquiry) submission of a completed MS is preferably made via hard copy, (WE DO NOT SEND BACK MANUSCRIPTS) with a corresponding disc containing the work and a self-addressed stamped envelope for any reply , to: Pennant Books, PO Box 5675, London W1A 3FB. Telephone enquiries are discouraged due to their disruptive effect on our work.

Authors are encouraged to approach Pennant Books directly, although appropriate submissions sent via agents would also be considered. We are a small independent Publisher so please allow at least three months for your work to be perused – although occasional intermittent enquiries are acceptable (but no pestering please!) after six weeks. After consideration, the publisher’s decision is final.

Our guidelines regarding content are as above. We do not publish poetry or children’s books. The biographies of obscure or unknown individuals will only be considered when the corresponding subject or theme is of sufficient interest to the modern reader. Overseas submissions may be considered when written in the English language, subject to appropriate subject/style.

Where the author provides original artworks or photographs to accompany the work, they should be either subject to the author’s own copyright or permissions should be pre-emptively cleared. High-resolution scans are preferable to original prints, which risk being lost in the post.

Payment or royalty terms are negotiable as appropriate, but will compare favourably with current market rates if your book submission is successful and you receive an offer of a contract from us.

Thanks for your attention. Writing a book is a major commitment on the parts of both Publisher and Author. You should be as realistic as possible about how long it will take you to write a book so we the publisher can list its entry and workout a production delivery schedule and publication date.

Thanks for your attention. If you believe that your work fits the bill, then we very much look forward to hearing from you.

Paul Woods
Editor.