Submit A Proposal
MISSION AND SUBJECT MATTER
NAB publishes a diverse catalogue of non-fiction at the intersections of healing, wholeness, and liberation. Our subject areas include trauma healing and somatics; herbalism and plant medicine; physical movement and manual therapy; ritual, religion, and spirituality; social and racial justice; resilience during polycrisis; engaged activism; Indigenous wisdom and ecology; and psychology and personal growth. We continue to push at the edges of these subject areas as we support societal healing and a liberatory worldview.
Publishing with NAB offers you the benefits of working with a small team that advocates for your work at all stages. We want the best for your book and will use our editorial, design, and market expertise to ensure we’re reaching your audience. Additionally, we receive valuable sales feedback from our distribution partners, helping us meet the most current publishing standards.
NAB actively strives to dismantle systemic oppressions caused by colonialism, white supremacy, and patriarchal power structures. We aim to uplift the voices of people who have been traditionally disenfranchised from publishing, including Black people, Indigenous people, immigrants, sick and disabled people, and queer people.
If you are unsure whether your book idea fits in with our publishing program, please review our most recent and upcoming publications.
Author Resources
To browse any of our documents on different aspects of publishing a book with North Atlantic Books, simply click on the relevant link below:
Proposal Questions for North Atlantic Books
WHAT OUR AUTHORS ARE SAYING
SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES
The acquisitions team at North Atlantic Books (NAB) is now accepting submissions during dedicated open submission periods, rather than on a rolling basis. This change is part of our overall approach to equity as we consider how our editorial team is asked to allocate time and resources to multiple projects and tasks, and as we work to ensure that all submissions are afforded dedicated, careful review periods.
Our Submittable page will be open for submissions from December through March, and again from July through September. We will not be accepting submissions during other months. Please refer to our Submittable page for additional submission information.
We will do our best to respond to your proposal within three months of receiving it, though due to the quantity of submissions we receive, we cannot respond to every proposal individually. In most circumstances, we are unable to offer feedback on proposals or submissions that we choose not to pursue. There are several talented freelancer developmental editors you can reach out to for this type of support, including the folks at Editcetera and Writing Diversely.
North Atlantic Books does not accept phone calls, faxes, direct emails, or other inquiries regarding unsolicited submissions. Please do not mail us submissions.
Trade Nonfiction Self-Help
Many of our books are trade nonfiction self-help books that are intended for an audience without a specific professional affiliation. These books tend to be prescriptive, though we appreciate and encourage literary craft and creativity. The text should be clear and free of excessive jargon. Generally between 50,000 and 60,000 words, these books are direct in the premise and promise to the reader.
Specialized Nonfiction Handbooks
Specialized nonfiction is written for a professional or niche audience. These books generally run longer than our trade nonfiction, up to 90,000 words. Readers of specialized nonfiction generally have an advanced degree or are looking for training materials or continuing education materials for their careers. Books that might fall under specialized nonfiction include guidebooks for specific therapy modalities, training programs for specific branches of yoga, physical therapy guides for a type of injury or a specific body part, and more. We expect these books to be well referenced and clearly organized. We also expect these proposals to be easy to understand, as we would for any proposal, even if the vocabulary and organization may be more complex than those in a trade book.
AI Usage Guidelines
NAB champions original human voice, thought, and creativity in its books. Unless specifically inherent to the subject matter of the book, NAB does not publish books with AI-generated text. AI-assisted improvements to human-generated texts for brainstorming, research, outlining, and editing is permitted; however, we ask that you disclose the use of any AI tools during the ideation and writing periods so we can understand their role and appropriately tailor our editorial feedback. Proposals should not contain AI prompts, breadcrumbs, or AI-generated competitive book titles. For questions about ethics, AI, and publishing, we recommend reviewing this resource by Jane Friedman: https://janefriedman.com/ai-