Wakefield Press – For authors

A B O U T W A K E F I E L D P R E S S

Wakefield Press is South Australia’s leading publisher of general books for adults, publishing about fifty books a year. Our main areas of interest are true stories, literature, gastronomy and culture. At present we do not accept submissions of fiction, poetry or children’s books.

P R E P A R I N G Y O U R M A N U S C R I P T F O R S U B M I S S I O N

All submissions should be typed with numbered pages. It is important to ensure that your name and address are on the manuscript itself. If you’re using a word processor include your name and address in the running head. If not, it is advisable to have a rubber stamp made up, and stamp the first and last pages, as well as a few in the middle, in case a page goes astray. Wakefield Press does not accept submissions on disk or by email. Please do not ask for confirmation of your manuscript’s arrival by post. If you want to make sure it has arrived, please give us a call after the time we should have received it.

W H A T T O S U B M I T

We prefer authors to supply the whole manuscript (unless it is longer than 300 printed A4 pages, in which case send only part).

Include with your manuscript:

a covering letter, including the date and full contact details (author’s name, postal address, phone, fax and email). If you are likely to be moving house or travelling in the next few months, it is a good idea to include a forwarding address;
a synopsis of the project (about 200 words);
a brief biographical note on the author (about 150 words);
a 300-word outline of the book’s projected readership, and any special factors that need to be taken into account (competing works, relevance to educational courses and so on); and
a total word count.

If you wish your submission to be returned, you must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope large enough to hold the manuscript. To safeguard against loss or damage, always send a copy (never send original artwork, photos etc).

R E S P O N S E T I M E

Wakefield Press has a small staff and receives a lot of submissions. We usually reply within four months; if we are taking longer, please give us a reminder call or email.

To download an Adobe Acrobat version of these guidelines right-click (PC) or control-click (Mac) here.