Submit Your Work
to Pen & Muse
Pen & Muse is a press. We publish a small number of works we believe in, and we make some of them enterable — living editions a reader can step inside, where no two readings are the same.
Submitting here means asking an editor to read you. Every submission is owed a real reading, a real response, and — if the answer is no — a reason.
A Press, Not a Platform
This is not self-publishing. Pen & Muse is curated, and we say so plainly.
A gate only means something if it is honest about being one. Ours is legible: your work is read by a person, judged on its craft, and answered. Selection is not a formality — most submissions will not be taken. The ones that are will be published with care, because the imprint's name is the promise we make to readers.
We exist to protect serious authored work while creating new ways to inhabit it.
What Is an Experience?
Some of the works we publish carry a second life: an Experience, which lets readers enter a book rather than simply read it.
An Experience is a performance of your work — staged within its laws, faithful to its voice, and different in every reading.
- In fiction, the story becomes a place a reader can stand inside.
- In non-fiction, the ideas meet each reader in their own way of thinking.
The book remains the book. The path through it becomes alive.
What We're Looking For
We're currently reading submissions in:
- Fiction (literary, speculative, narrative-driven)
- Non-fiction (insight-led, reflective, conceptual, guidance-based)
We care more about clarity of voice and depth of ideas than genre, length, or credentials. First books are welcome.
Your Work Stays Yours
The book is canon, and canon is immutable. An Experience performs your work; it never rewrites it. Nothing enters the published fabric of your book except what you have approved — and nothing changes without your say.
- You keep your copyright, your name, and your right to publish elsewhere
- Your prose is never altered — interactivity is built around it, not into it
- Nothing goes live without your explicit approval, ever
The Shape of the Partnership
We are building the economics of this press around a simple conviction: the author's share should be the generous one. The work is yours; the larger part of what it earns should be too.
We won't publish numbers here until they are settled and true. Every author we select sits down with us and sees the full terms — in writing, in plain language — before anything is signed or goes live. If the terms don't earn your yes, nothing happens.
When the specifics are fixed, they will be published on this page.
What Happens Next
No technical setup. No public exposure without consent.
Submission does not guarantee publication.
Every submission receives a reading, a response, and a reason.
What Authors Ask
Will you change my prose?
No. Your original text remains untouched. We add interactivity around it, not into it — and nothing joins your book without your approval.
How long does the review take?
We aim to respond within 2 weeks. If selected, preparing the edition typically takes 2–4 weeks.
What formats do you accept?
PDF, EPUB, DOCX, or TXT. Any length — we care more about voice than word count.
Do I keep my rights?
Yes. You retain full copyright and authorship. You can continue publishing elsewhere.
How do I earn?
The economics are being designed to favour the author, and we’d rather show you real terms than quote provisional ones. Selected authors see the full terms before anything is agreed; when the specifics are settled, they’ll be published here.
Questions? Reach out at authors@penandmuse.com