SCANTIC BOOKS ~ HOME

 

SCANTIC BOOKS ~ HOME

~~ Scantic Books is OPEN to submissions. ~~

Scantic Books is a small, independent publisher located in New England.

The Scantic River flows through many small towns of Connecticut and Massachusetts and brings with it local history and lore. Named after a local Native American tribe who settled nearby, the Scantic roars in the spring, murmurs in the summer, and once powered such mills as the Hazard Gunpowder Company. This hidden river in the heart of New England now lends its name to a publishing house dedicated to bringing high-quality authors to light.

New!  View the Scantic Books trailer by clicking the link below!

Scantic Books

 

Our Editors:

Are experienced writers, editors, and instructors who work in higher education teaching English (Composition, Literature, Creative Writing, Communication, etc) to college students. They are widely traveled, have held seminars on writer's block, led fiction writing and journalism clubs, and have served as reviewers and tutors for other authors. They are animal lovers, newspaper columnists, and literary club advisors. They believe small press has the ability to publish voices that otherwise may go unheard by major publishing corporations. They believe in working closely with their authors to produce and publish quality literature that all involved can be proud of.
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What We Are Looking For:

In FICTION:

Women’s Fiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror (for Horror think scary, not buckets of blood.) Short Story Collections, Novels and Novellas, Young Adult, and Children’s Literature.  Limited Historical Fiction.
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In NON - FICTION:

Memoir, Essay Collections, Politics/Current Events.
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We are now accepting GRAPHIC NOVELS.  Finished PDFs only.  If your novel falls under one of the genres listed above (For example, fantasy), and is finished in PDF format, send it along!

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What We DON’T Look For:

No Romance, Dystopia, Mystery, Religion.

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What Acquisitions would LOVE to see: A fresh take on Sci-Fi.

 

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS TO SCANTIC BOOKS:

Please send a cover letter, synopsis, and first 15-25 pages in the body of the email to: ScanticEditors@yahoo.com Be sure to include the word QUERY in the subject line, followed by the title of the manuscript. For example: Query - Heartbreak Hill.  No attachments unless requested.

Questions? Contact us via email.  We are also on Facebook.
We prefer to work with un-agented authors, and never charge reading fees.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 

 

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS TO SCANTIC BOOKS:

Please send a cover letter, synopsis, and first 15-25 pages in the body of the email to: ScanticEditors@yahoo.com Be sure to include the word QUERY in the subject line, followed by the title of the manuscript. For example: Query - Heartbreak Hill.  No attachments unless requested.

Questions? Contact us via email.  We are also on Facebook.
We never charge reading fees. 

What We Are Looking For:

In FICTION:

Women’s Fiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror (for Horror think scary, not buckets of blood.) Short Story Collections, Novels and Novellas, Young Adult, and Children’s Literature.  Limited Historical Fiction.
*

In NON - FICTION:

Memoir, Essay Collections, Politics/Current Events.
*

We are now accepting GRAPHIC NOVELS.  Finished PDFs only.  If your novel falls under one of the genres listed above (For example, fantasy), and is finished in PDF format, send it along!

 *

What We DON’T Look For:

No Romance, Dystopia, Mystery, Religion.

 *

What Acquisitions would love to see: a fresh take on Sci-Fi.

"Once Upon a Blue Moon" by Jessica Barone

 

NOW AVAILABLE!!!

 

Once Upon a Blue Moon: Stories to Enrapture the Mind, Delight the Senses, and Chill the Soul

 

Scantic Books is proud to present this inspiring story collection by Jessica Barone. A blood-drinker offers protection to the daughter of a drug lord. A guardian is more than he seems. A girl is taken on the ride of her life. The inner beast takes control. Obsession is made into art. Blood is thicker than water. Some things just aren’t worth coming home for. Stuck between fire and water. The end of the world really isn’t. Anything is better than marriage. When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back. Jessica Barone, author of The Shadowlands series, offers this collection of short stories to enrapture the mind, delight the senses, and chill the soul.

 

 Available now at Amazon.com!  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZFJ44LK?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860&fbclid=IwAR2Khjv7YRiJnhraFHfcct79i1TzEhjjUEOndcrbPGv34A4adVdpBa2D6NY

"Master of Arts" by Colleen Alles

Scantic Books is proud to publish a new novel by up-and-coming author Colleen Alles. Recent college graduate Viola Hartman is happy to answer her sister Natalie’s cry for help. After all, Viola has no permanent job, no boyfriend, no place to live, and, really no idea what she’s doing next. Viola moves in with Natalie and Natalie’s husband, a big-deal writer, to care for their two children. And while Viola shows up ready for midnight feedings and dirty diapers, Viola isn’t prepared to learn that her sister has been keeping secrets for years. Slowly, Viola must unravel the truth about perfect, put-together, successful Natalie. And little by little, Viola needs to learn how to tell the secrets she’s been keeping, too. 

“… a well-crafted, relatable yarn about figuring out your life. Alles balances humor and heart while wonderfully capturing those intricate dynamics we must navigate among family, friends, and lovers.” -Adam Schuitema, author of The Things We Do That Make No Sense.

“… absorbing and intimate … A refreshingly honest reflection on sisterhood and friendship; Alles writes with such humor and heart, I couldn’t put it down.” -Meagan Lucas, author of Songbirds and Stray Dogs, and editor of Recon Review.

 

 You can order Master of Arts here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFVCL9W2?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

"The Green Ray" by Gregory J. Wolos.

 Scantic Books is proud to publish The Green Ray, the new story collection by award-winning author Gregory J. Wolos. Short stories are deceptively simple: characters in situations do things for a limited amount of time. In the hands of short story master Gregory J. Wolos, simplicity leads to a rare depth of literature that holds a reader’s mind well beyond the final line. A grandfather nearly doesn’t make it to a new phase of life. A candle maker waxes on about his complex life. A family reemerges from isolation after an alternative-universe pandemic. An aging musician may be betrayed by his own brain. A teacher puzzles over how to be present for a traumatized young student and his own son. Wolos brings these and other stories to life with suspense, empathy, and the power of a writer whose work will captivate readers for years to come.

“Gregory J Wolos’s work will make you laugh out loud and, in the next moment, transport you to the other side of the mirror. Like Kurt Vonnegut, he shows us life’s dark and heartbreaking absurdity. Wolos captures moments of ordinary life and turns them upside down to uncover their truth.” – Jessica Barcomb, author of Letting Go.

“In The Green Ray and Other Stories, Gregory J. Wolos is at the pinnacle of his conspicuous talent, and that is really saying something because his previous short fiction collections occupy a prominent place in the pantheon of best short fiction. By any measure, he is one of the most original and adept writers at work today, and this new volume is an occasion to celebrate. The literary canon is enriched by Wolos’s formidable imagination and authentic voice. In every one of Wolos's masterful tales, we witness his dedication to the art and craft of storytelling. There is nothing facile here. Hard work has been done to consummate effect, and the reader is lavishly rewarded.” – Michael C. Keith, author of The Late Epiphany of a Low-Key Oracle.

 You can order The Green Ray and Other Stories here:

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Ray-Other-Stories/dp/B0B9R2MBDL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=349TDDV5LEG98&keywords=The+green+ray+and+other+short+stories&qid=1661363111&sprefix=the+green+ray+and+other+short+stories%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-1 

"The Late Epiphany of a Low-Key Oracle" by Michael C. Keith

Scantic Books is proud to publish The Late Epiphany of a Low-Key Oracle, Michael C. Keith’s latest collection of microfiction. This book contains 188 mini-epics, each one beaming with quirky characters, oddball situations, and biting irony.

“Michael C. Keith is a champion of truth, a connoisseur of the absurd, a somewhat bewildered student of human nature, and one of the undisputed masters of short fiction.” – Rob Dinsmoor, author of Toxic Cookout and You’ll Never See it Coming.  

“The Late Epiphany of a Low-Key Oracle by Michael C. Keith is filled with concise, insightful flash fiction that shines a light on our current era of paradoxes and contradiction. Take for example this story: “When Leon declared that no American restaurant could hold a candle to the Kuushuur served at the Khan Buuz Bistro in Ulanbataar, everyone argued the point.” Keith has the background and authority to regale us with tales that zero in like lasers to illuminate our lives. Like Lydia Davis, Keith combines credible dialogue with concrete details and surprising moves that have us by turns laughing and reflecting. The author of more than twenty books, Keith is someone you will want to add to your reading list this year.” – Ed Meek, author of Luck and High Tide.

 You can order The Late Epiphany of a Low-Key Oracle here:

https://www.amazon.com/Late-Epiphany-Low-Key-Oracle/dp/B0B9QWHFNT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3F5YIVNL2YHAV&keywords=the+late+epiphany+of+a+low-key+oracle&qid=1661362724&sprefix=The+Late+Epi%2Caps%2C429&sr=8-1

 

"Hotel of the Siren" by Antoinette Carone

Scantic Books is proud to publish Hotel of the Siren, the richly textured debut novel by Antionette Carone. 

In the late twentieth-century, before cell phones and the internet, Lucy comes home from work and finds her artist husband Jon slumped over his easel. Some days later, Jon dies. At his funeral, Lucy watches a lady in a green scarf linger by his grave. When Lucy later finds the green scarf carefully placed over Jon’s grave, she begins to suspect Jon may have been having an affair. Lucy collects Jon’s life insurance, sells her house, and moves to Naples, Italy. She takes the scarf with her. There, she changes her name to Lucia, meets new friends, enjoys running along the bay, and begins a love affair of her own with Antonio. Unbeknownst to Lucia, Antonio is The Lady of the Green Scarf’s cousin. Hotel of the Siren tells of lovers and a city where reality can differ from appearance and expectations can be overturned.

 

You can order Hotel of the Siren here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V34QY2Q