Submissions
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
SUBMIT TO ONE EDITOR ONLY VIA EMAIL. From the list of editors and their areas of interest below, determine which editor would be best suited to or most interested in the type of book you are proposing. Address the submission to that editor’s attention. If an editor passes, it’s a pass for Kensington; do not re-query or re-submit to another editor.
Please send a QUERY ONLY in the body of the email.
Do not attach manuscripts or proposals to e-mail queries.
An editor will respond if he or she is interested in seeing your material based on your query. Due to the volume of submissions, editors may only respond to projects they wish to further consider.
Requested manuscripts should be Word documents unless otherwise specified, typed in 12-point font, double-spaced, and paginated. Include title and author in file name.
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.
EREWHON SUBMISSIONS
Speculative fiction imprint Erewhon Books typically accepts agented submissions only, with limited opportunities for unagented submissions. More information on their submissions process can be found here.
EDITORIAL STAFF—KENSINGTON AND CITADEL
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, current issues, 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
Denise Silvestro, Executive Editor, Citadel Press: Specializing in nonfiction, especially, but not limited to, narrative nonfiction, history, memoir, biography, social issues, pop culture, current events, and issues of special interest to women. DSilvestro@Kensingtonbooks.com
Leticia Gomez, Editorial Director—Dafina – Multicultural fiction and nonfiction of all genres including literary fiction, commercial fiction, historical fiction, romance, mystery, and narrative nonfiction of all genres with a focus on authors of color as well as specific nonfiction projects for marginalized communities. LGomez@Kensingtonbooks.com
Elizabeth May, Associate Editor: Looking for familiar stories told in new and interesting ways, especially projects from diverse, and historically underrepresented voices. Fiction: Historical fiction, particularly untold women's stories in history, and 20th century conflicts. RomCom, or Women's Fiction crossover. Magical realism. Western and Americana fiction. Mysteries in all subgenres including historical and cozy. Upmarket thrillers and horror. NonFiction: New Age/Spiritual, 'Occult,' Micro-Histories, Hidden-histories, stranger-than-fiction non-fiction, social commentary, pop-culture, prescriptive, and True Crime. emay@kensingtonbooks.com
Norma Perez-Hernandez, Assistant Editor: Fiction—upmarket commercial fiction, book club fiction, historical romance, contemporary romance, LGBTQ+ romance, traditional and cozy mysteries, suspense, and thrillers. Magical realism, speculative, and horror elements are welcome. Nonfiction—commercial history and biography including film and true crime. nperez-hernandez@kensingtonbooks.com
James Abbate, Assistant Editor: historical fiction, nonfiction (biography, memoir, true crime, pop culture, pop science, film/TV, music), dark suspense, psychological suspense, thrillers, with a particular emphasis on WWII and Holocaust nonfiction. jabbate@kensingtonbooks.com
Shannon Plackis, Assistant Editor: Fiction—upmarket commercial fiction/commercial literary fiction, contemporary and historical women’s fiction, book-club fiction, magical realism, romantic comedies/women’s fiction crossover, historical mysteries, and upmarket psychological thrillers (dark academia is of particular interest). Nonfiction—culture, social sciences, relationships, and true crime. splackis@kensingtonbooks.com
Elizabeth Trout, Associate Editor, Fiction—seeking voice-driven women's fiction with romance crossover, historical fiction, gothic fiction, mysteries that are not fully cozy but not procedural, and general fiction with a paranormal or magical realism tilt, but grounded in our world. etrout@kensingtonbooks.com