Enter the Serving House Books
International Series Contest
2025: We are now seeking manuscripts from authors born in any country of Asia.
Objective
Our goal is to publish as many books from as many authors from different countries as possible. This is your chance to represent your birth nation.
General Guidelines
Open to writers who are native to the countries of Asia. You may be a current citizen of a different country now, but your birth country must be verifiable. Please upload proof of birth/citizenship. Winners (and finalists) may be asked to provide further proof of birth/citizenship.
Any genre from the following: short story collection, novella, novel, or poetry collection
Works must be written in English with soul by a soul. That means absolutely no AI generated content at all.
Word count: 80,000 words maximum
The work does not need to be about your homeland, but it's a real bonus if it is!
Translations allowed only for works older than 100 years.
Previously published works seeking North American or global second editions are also eligible as long as you have the rights.
Short excerpts of the work previously published in literary magazines (print or online), will not disqualify the manuscript.
Submission Process: All manuscripts must be submitted through Submittable in PDF or word.doc format. Manuscripts sent to Serving House Books’ email or postal addresses will not be read.
All novel and novella submissions must be accompanied by a <250 word synopsis included at the beginning of the manuscript.
Anonymity: Manuscripts must be anonymous; there should be no appearance of your name or any other identifying features anywhere on or in the manuscript, or in the document name of your submitted work.
No multiple submissions.
Simultaneous Submissions allowed, but please notify us of acceptance elsewhere. No refund can be provided for withdrawals.
Cover Letter: Please include a separate cover letter with a 3rd person BIO for the editor. Committee readers will not see this document, and again there should be no appearance of your name or any other identifying features anywhere on or in the manuscript, or in the document name of your submitted work.
The award winner will receive:
A standard publishing contract with generous royalties and placement in the SHB International Series
About the press:
It's always a smart idea to get to know the press you're submitting to. Have a look at our previously published books. Read a few of them!
Serving House Books is proud to have published award-winning international writers with a catalogue of over 125 books and counting. Please read about the history of our press on our website.
We are an international press, founded in Denmark and the United States, so we naturally welcome English writing authors from around the world.
This contest submission has a fee of $9, which helps us to maintain the press and goes towards publication costs.
Please note, due to shipping restrictions, we are unable to ship to and sell in some countries. Winners will be offered a publishing contract with global distribution limited by what countries the distributor works in.
While it would be a feat to publish a book representing all countries, it may not be possible based on the number/quality of submissions.
2026 Broken Tribe Press Novella Award
submissions open October 16- December 20.
We are seeking a novella for the 2026 award, 90 pages +, excluding front and back matter.
Simultaneous submissions are okay. Please withdraw your work immediately if it is accepted elsewhere.
We only accept unpublished works for this submission.
Translations are welcome.
Submit a separate brief cover letter with a brief bio in third person (no more than a page total)
There is a $7 reading/processing fee for this contest. Proceeds go toward the production of the winning book.
Manuscript Guidelines:
· Do not include any identifying information on your manuscript. This is a blind reading. The work is judged solely on the work, not who you are or where you’re from.
· Please, human-produced art with a soul only. NO AI.
· Please submit as Word files only.
· Number the pages
· Include an acknowledgements page
Previous Winners:
2024: Stefan Kiesbye's The Nine Thoughts
2025: Eleanor Keisman's New Animal
Broken Tribe Press is a North American press with writers across the continent and beyond.
Our books are paperback, perfect bound, color cover, with printed spine (writer's name, title, press). We are committed to publishing accepted titles within twelve months of acceptance. We offer a standard contract, a small number of author copies, a substantial discount on additional copies purchased by the author, and an annual royalty payment. There are NO fees to publish your book once accepted; however, we do offer optional fee-based marketing services. Our novels and memoirs are sized in 6 x 9 paperback. Our novellas, and poetry/story collections are in classic 5 x 8 size. Ebooks follow when possible.