our books.
word west aims to publish exciting new works of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and whatever else we feel like. from the best authors in the west and beyond.
collective gravities
by chloe n. clark
july 7, 2020
"Like Kelly Link channeling Ray Bradbury."
— Jason Heller, NPR Books
"I loved these stories and I loved Clark’s deeply hopeful voice.”
— Amber Sparks, author of And I Do Not Forgive You
"Chloe N. Clark is a writer of terrific imagination and insight.”
— Sara Lippmann, author of Doll Palace
"...a delightful, genre-bending kaleidoscope."
— Kendra Fortmeyer, author of Hole in the Middle
"...so good, so fabulous, and so necessary in these strange times."
— Juan Martinez, author of Best Worst American
not i
by sebastian castillo
september 15, 2020
"I didn't want this book to end."
— Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I'm Someone Else
Sebastian Castillo is the author of 49 Venezuelan Novels (Bottlecap Press). You can find his writing in Hobart, Peach Mag, X-R-A-Y, and elsewhere. He lives in New York, where he teaches writing. Twitter: @bartlebytaco.
no good for digging: stories
by dustin m. hoffman
december 3, 2019
"Few writers working today care as deeply for their characters."
— Matt Bell, author of A Tree or a Person or a Wall
“...an ardent love letter to the Midwest.”
— Anne Valente, author of The Desert Sky Before Us
"Hoffman feels like a Sherwood Anderson for our time."
— Seth Fried, author of The Municipalists
"An elegy to the theory and practice and meaning of work."
— William Lychack, author of Cargill Falls
"Dustin Hoffman is a writer who deserves our attention."
— Donald Ray Pollock, author of The Devil All the Time
secrets of the wild
by dustin m. hoffman
november 5, 2019
“...surreal, funny, and terrifically endearing.”
— Michelle Ross, author of There's So Much They Haven't Told You
“Hoffman doesn’t just bend genres, he twists them into balloon animals.”
— Adam Schuitema, author of Haymaker
dawg towne
by alice kaltman
april, 2021
Alice Kaltman is a writer and surfer who splits her time between Brooklyn and Montauk, New York. She is the author of STAGGERWING a collection of stories from Tortoise Books . Her work appears or is forthcoming in numerous places including Whiskey Paper, Hobart, Storychord, Longform Fiction, the Atticus Review, Chicago Literati and Joyland. Her website is pretty. She likes Twitter more than Facebook, but trolls around both sites more than she’d like to admit.
a study of frustration
by dillon thomas jones
2021
Dillon Thomas Jones is a writer living in Pittsburgh, PA. He holds a BA in English (Creative Writing) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is an MFA in Creative Writing candidate at the University of Pittsburgh. He writes poetry, fiction, and cultural criticism about television, film, and books. He is currently at work on a memoir about growing up the adopted and black only son of a white single mother in Omaha, NE. Contact him at
submission guidelines
completed manuscripts only. queries are ok (and welcomed) as long as they are representative of a “completed” work. that said, we don’t have any length restrictions. so if your completed work is a 30 page chapbook, great! we’d be happy to look at it. our goal is to find exciting literary work we love and get it out into the world no matter what shape, size, or form it comes in.
what we like?
we tend to like work that’s dark, sad, funny, surprising, surreal—things that make us look at the world in a new way. the truth is, we don’t always know what we’re looking for. our mindset at this stage is to remain open and ready for the unexpected. so what does that mean? we don’t necessarily have any genre restrictions. we’re probably not the best place for fantasy or sci-fi, but give us vision and great writing and we’re willing to go anywhere.
ps: we have a soft spot for the weirdo, offbeat stuff that traditional agents and publishers wouldn’t even touch.
reading fees?
we do not charge reading fees.
turnaround?
our current turnaround is approximately 3-4 months. we’re trying our best to stick to this; we’re writers too, and we know how frustrating the waiting game can be—but keep in mind we are a small team and the timeline could vary depending on the volume of submissions. so, thank you for your patience. if you haven’t heard from us after 4 months, feel free to reach out: hello@wordwest.co
simultaneous submissions are ok as long as you notify us if the manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
manuscript feedback?
due to the volume of submissions, we regret we are unable to give detailed, individual feedback re: each submission. if this is something you’re interested in, please contact us about our manuscript consultation services.
word west?
while we are certainly interested in writing coming out of the west, especially from perspectives not as often represented, we are not limited in any way to stories or authors specifically from the western usa.
money?
At this time, we can offer our authors an advance upon acceptance and 15% royalties on print sales and 35% on ebook sales, to be paid out quarterly.
other questions?
please contact us at hello@wordwest.co with any further questions.
thank you so much for trusting us with your work. we look forward to hearing from you!