Submission Guidelines – Submit Your Manuscript to Histria Books

Histria was an important center of culture, commerce, and civilization in the ancient world, located on the Black Sea coast, near the mouth of the Danube. Histria Books continues the legacy of its namesake, publishing general interest books, fiction and literature, and children’s books, as well as scholarly books in broad range of categories. Originally established in 1996 as an academic publishing house, since 2017,  Histria Books is an independent publishing house with offices in Las Vegas, London, New York, and Palm Beach. Our imprints include:

• Histria Fiction – an imprint dedicated to immersive adult fiction across a range of genres, from historical dramas to detective thrillers. Featuring masterful storytelling from new and established authors, these books transport readers to diverse times and places.
• Histria Romance – an imprint dedicated to historical and Regency love stories rich in passion and detail. Whether set in grand ballrooms or sweeping landscapes, these novels celebrate love that defies the odds.
• Histria SciFi & Fantasy – an imprint that explores boundless worlds through epic fantasy and visionary science fiction. With imaginative storytelling and intricate world-building, this imprint sparks wonder and adventure.
• Histria Perspectives – an imprint dedicated to insightful nonfiction on lifestyle, culture, true crime, politics, and biography.
• Histria YA – an imprint dedicated to young adult fiction that entertains, inspires, and explores themes of identity, growth, and discovery. These stories resonate with teens while broadening their perspectives.
• Histria Kids – an imprint dedicated to books for children and middle-grade readers. From picture books to adventurous stories, these titles both educate and entertain. For children’s picture books, we give priority to book proposals that already have an illustrator, although occasionally we consider works for which we will engage our own illustrator.
• Histria Christian – an imprint dedicated to faith-based books on theology, Christian living, history, and inspiration. These works nurture spiritual growth and reflect the enduring values of faith, hope, and love.
• Histria A&E – an imprint that celebrates art, entertainment, and pop culture through books on sports, film, biography, comics, and more. These books celebrate creativity, challenge conventions, and enrich cultural conversations.
• Histria Classics – an imprint dedicated to reviving important works of literature, memoir, and cultural history that have shaped generations of readers. Carefully curated and newly presented for modern audiences, these editions bring enduring voices and forgotten masterpieces back into print.
• Histria Academic – an imprint dedicated to peer-reviewed scholarly works in history, culture, literature, and the arts. These rigorous studies support academic inquiry and advance scholarly dialogue.
• Center for Romanian Studies – an independent academic research institute affiliated with Histria Books, dedicated to promoting knowledge of Romanian history and culture in the world, publishing leading scholarship on Romanian history and culture in English for an international audience.
• Vindicta Publishing – an imprint that, in partnership with CDM, publishes books that examine politics, history, and global affairs from alternative perspectives. This imprint encourages critical dialogue through bold and thought-provoking works.

We have extensive experience working with international authors and we encourage authors from around the world to submit their book proposals for consideration by our Editorial Board.

After reviewing our imprints and the areas in which we publish, please submit an email query to info@histriabooks.com. Your query should include a brief biography, a description of the proposed book, the book’s intended audience, and the first 2-3 chapters of the manuscript. If the book is to be illustrated, please include some sample illustrations as well. Our Acquisitions Manager will then assign the proposal for an initial review by one of our editors. This screening process usually takes 6-8 weeks, depending on the volume of submissions. Once completed, our Acquisitions Manager will indicate if we will invite you to submit a formal proposal and completed manuscript for review by our Editorial Board which will make the final decision concerning publication. Because of the high volume of submissions, it is not always possible for us to respond to every submission, so we encourage authors to reach out to us if they have not heard from us within the time indicated.

Please note that Histria Books accepts simultaneous submissions for queries or initial proposals, but if you are invited to submit a formal proposal and a completed manuscript for review by our Editorial Board, we will ask that it first be withdrawn from consideration at other publishing houses because of the time and expense involved in the formal review process.

A proposal should give the board members, editors, and marketing staff at Histria Books — most of whom will not necessarily be specialists in your area — a clear and detailed idea of what your book is about. As we publish a wide variety of book on differing subjects, the format of your proposal may vary, but a good proposal should include as much of the following as appropriate for the subject matter:

1. A Brief Description

In two or three paragraphs, describe the work. This narrative description should identify the audience for which the book is envisioned, explain the proposed book’s purpose, how it will achieve that purpose, and what you consider to be the outstanding, distinctive, or unique features of the work. Also include the relevant themes, arguments, contribution to scholarship, and place in the literature. In essence, this should be a promo piece to sell your book.

2. An Outline or Table of Contents

Include a detailed outline of the book with paragraph-length descriptions of each chapter. This is especially helpful for academic books.

3. Photographs and Illustrations

Estimate the total word count of the completed book (including the main text, footnotes, bibliography, and any appendices).
Approximately how many photographs and/or line drawings (charts, graphs, diagrams, etc.) do you plan to include? If illustrations are planned, please send scans of sample art in JPEG format — do not send original photographs, artwork, negatives, or any materials that are irreplaceable.

4. Market Considerations

This is an important element in any proposal. For what type of reader is your book intended? Specialists in your field, or in some particular area of a larger field? Is it intended for general readers without specialized knowledge? In the case of fiction or children’s books, who is the intended audience. Please tell us about any ideas that you may have to market and to promote your book.

5. Comparable and Competing Volumes

For academic books, describe existing books in this field and spell out how your book will be similar to, as well as different from, these works. Discuss specifically their strengths and weaknesses, how your coverage may vary from the competing titles. Please discuss each book in a separate paragraph. If possible, please provide the publisher and date of publication as well. Please discuss your project’s place in the current scholarship and its distinctive contribution (although one can point out that there is no other book that addresses your particular topic, it is more useful to explain how exploring that topic advances current scholarly discussions).

For works intended for a general audience, discuss your project’s unique perspective and outline how it can be differentiated from other titles covering this topic. Consider sharing a “sales handle” or “elevator pitch” — 2-3 sentences that quickly states what’s special about your book compared to others.

For fiction titles or children’s books, tell us what sets your story apart and makes it unique and innovative.

6. Status of the Work

What portion or percentage of the material is now complete? When do you expect to have a complete manuscript?
Do you plan to include material requiring permission (text, music, lyrics, illustrations)? To what extent? Have you started the permissions request process?

7. Reviews

For academic books only, please provide the names and contact details for two or three people whom you feel would be competent to review your material and whose opinion you would find valuable. We will try to use some of these along with our own selection. Naturally, we do not reveal the names of reviewers without their permission.

Please read the Submission Guidelines above thoroughly. It is to your advantage to be as complete and organized as possible in preparing your proposal for consideration. It also is to your advantage to demonstrate familiarity with our publishing program or to have read other books in our catalog. Due to the high volume of submissions that we receive, there are sometimes delays in the review process. It is not always possible for us to contact you to inform you of the delay, so feel free to reach out to us to check on the status of your proposal if the time frame initially established has passed.

Histria Books is currently publishing approximately 50 titles per year. Please be aware that, if your book is selected for publication, it will likely be from 1 to 3 years before it will actually appear in print. Authors new to the publishing process are sometimes unaware of the lead time necessary to properly prepare a marketing plan and to ready a book for publication. We strive to work closely with our authors throughout the publication process and to develop the best strategy possible for the success of your book. We appreciate authors who will be active and involved in marketing their book.

Note to self-published authors: Due to increasing difficulties in removing previously self-published works from distribution channels, we will only consider previously self-published works for publication if they have been completely removed from all sales channels, including print, digital, and audio, PRIOR to submitting the work for consideration. Thank you for your understanding.

If your proposal is selected for publication after review by our Editorial Board, we will then present you with a sample contract for review. The terms we offer may vary slightly depending on the requirements of the specific book, but in general our contracts are competitive industry contracts.

Histria Books is distributed in the United States and Canada by Simon & Schuster Publisher Services and internationally through Unified Book Distribution in partnership with Ingram Publisher Services UK.