Lyrical Press Submissions

 

ALL EMAILED MANUSCRIPTS WILL BE DELETED.

 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Kensington is actively looking for submissions for Lyrical Press!

We are looking for fresh stories in a variety of categories including all romance genres (specifically suspense and historicals with unique settings), compelling psychological suspense fiction, thrillers, women’s fiction, new adult, and cozy mysteries. We’re hoping to find edgy and daring voices that readers will love. We welcome novellas, serials, and full-length novels as long as they tell a satisfying and well-written story.

FOR DIRECT EDITOR SUBMISSIONS, PLEASE QUERY US BY EMAIL AND INCLUDE YOUR SYNOPSIS AS A WORD ATTACHMENT. 

SUBMIT TO ONE EDITOR ONLY. From the list of each editor’s areas of interest below, determine which one would be best suited for your submission, or the most interested in the type of book you are proposing. Address the submission to that editor’s attention.

ALLOW AT LEAST THREE MONTHS FOR RESPONSE. PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE KENSINGTON OFFICES. 

IF YOU DO NOT HEAR BACK ON YOUR QUERY, IT MEANS THAT YOUR PROJECT DOESN’T FIT OUR CURRENT EDITORIAL NEEDS.  

We are currently not accepting Children’s, Middle Grade, Young Adult or Poetry submissions.

 

EDITORIAL STAFF

John Scognamiglio, Editor-in-Chief of Kensington: Fiction (historical romance, contemporary romance, women’s contemporary fiction, Amish romances and inspirational romances, historical fiction, gay fiction, cozy and historical mysteries, dark suspense and thrillers). Word count for mysteries is 75,000-100,000 words.  jscognamiglio@kensingtonbooks.com

Michaela Hamilton, Editor-in-Chief of Citadel, Executive Editor of Kensington: Nonfiction (including popular culture, narrative nonfiction, true crime, biography, law enforcement, pop science). mhamilton@kensingtonbooks.com

Alicia Condon, Editorial Director: Fiction (80,000-word contemporary romance—either sexy or sweet, Amish and inspirational romance, women’s fiction, romantic suspense, historical romance with unusual settings, cozy mystery).   acondon@kensingtonbooks.com

Wendy McCurdy, Editorial Director: Now especially looking for historical fiction and nonfiction, with the nonfiction focused on military/wartime history. Also open to mainstream women’s fiction including southern fiction, beach reads, sagas, commercial literary fiction, romance, romcom fare, etc. Please include the first chapter as an attachment. wmccurdy@kensingtonbooks.com

Esi Sogah, Senior Editor: Fiction--Romance: historical (esp. American historical), contemporary, cozy mysteries, historical mysteries, suspense/thrillers, upmarket fiction. Non-fiction--narrative non-fiction (with a focus on arts and culture) and personal memoir (with a focus on identity).   esogah@kensingtonbooks.com

James Abbate, Assistant Editor: Historical fiction, nonfiction (biography, memoir, pop science, music, culture, true crime), dark suspense, psychological suspense, thrillers, with a particular emphasis on WWII fiction and nonfiction. jabbate@kensingtonbooks.com

Norma Perez-Hernandez, Assistant Editor: Fiction (historical romance, contemporary romance, LGBT romance, traditional and cozy mysteries, suspense, and thrillers). nperez-hernandez@kensingtonbooks.com

Elizabeth May, Assistant Editor: Fiction (Romance, Mysteries, Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction, and Sci Fi/Fantasy) emay@kensingtonbooks.com