Write For Us

Founded by Jessica Kingsley in 1987, JKP started as an independent publisher and was later acquired by Hachette UK under John Murray Press, the oldest imprint of HUK which has been publishing since 1768. Being a small part of a larger company affords us the benefits of working with specialist teams such as Rights, Sales and Audio to name a few. View our brief history here.
 

In the world of publishing, there are countless reasons to write a book. You might want to share specialised knowledge or your own lived experience, or you might realise you have a unique idea that has not been written about before. Whatever the reason, writing a book can offer a powerful platform for connecting with others and making an impact.

Authors can reach a wider audience, inspire change, and open doors to new opportunities. Books spark conversations, share insights, and build meaningful relationships with readers, leaving a lasting impression on both author and audience.

No, we accept both agented and non-agented submissions.

Yes

The proposal form is made up of a set of questions about your proposed project. It is an opportunity for you to tell us about your book idea – what it’s about, the primary audience and why it is needed. It also asks you to provide a short author bio where you can outline your expertise, experience or specialist knowledge related to the book. 

If you have a sample chapter available, you can include it with your proposal. However, this is not essential at this stage.

You can save and edit your proposal at any time, so it doesn’t need to be completed in one go. 

Self-publishing can be a great option for anyone who wants to have control over the entirety of the publishing process.

Traditional publishers, like JKP, will help you develop your ideas; provide advice and guidance on your manuscript and handle all aspects of design and production. We’ll also manage sales through all mainstream bookshops, and organise global distribution as well as investigating rights sale opportunities (such as foreign language translations).

Specialist publishers like JKP who have been active in publishing within their fields for many years will have a clear understanding of what readers in their specialist fields really want. This knowledge will help shape your book into the best book it can be – from the format and length, to the cover and fonts, through to the marketing treatment it receives. Trade publishers are less likely to have specialist knowledge of your subject or know how to reach its readership.

At JKP, direct marketing is at the heart of how we sell books. Unlike most trade publishers, we have direct and ongoing relationships with our readers and communities - they engage with us on social media platforms, meet us at conferences and order titles directly from our website. We have extensive mailing lists we use to keep our readers up to date about new publications in their specialist areas, and remind them of books they may be interested in buying.

We don’t routinely offer publicity to mainstream channels, or organise book launches or book tours, as the majority of our titles are selling to specialist communities who can be reached more effectively in other ways. We prioritise marketing spend on activities that we know will maximise the sale of your book to its intended readership. This is more likely to be investment in ad spend on Amazon or social media and targeted campaigns that will reach the community of readers interested in your book.

Advances are more commonly offered by trade publishers releasing books within commercial genres with broad appeal. They are not "extra money" on top of royalties,
but rather an advance payment that the author receives upfront against their
future earnings from book sales.

As a specialist publisher, our standard model is not to pay advances, but authors get a royalty and we invest time and resources into marketing and selling your book over time so that it will continue to sell and generate income.

Visibility on mainstream online channels is prioritised to ensure our books fulfil their sales potential worldwide. This includes online retailers such as Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and Bookshop.org among others. Our specialist sales team also works to create sales opportunities with organisations, charities and councils.

JKP books' presence in physical bookstores may be less pronounced due to their specialist nature, and the fact that each bookshop manager has control over their stock. However Customers can order in your book to their local bricks and mortar bookshop, if it’s not already available there.

JKP books are usually cross-promoted and sold over long periods of time to the targeted communities we publish for. The shelf life of a specialist book is therefore usually longer than a trade book, as trade publishing focuses on selling a lot of copies in the first year or two, then might opt to make a title out of print. 

All of our books are also made available as ebooks, publishing at the same time as the print edition. These can be used with screen readers for accessibility purposes.

Audiobooks are agreed on a case-by-case basis depending on whether the content lends itself to this format and whether there’s a market need. For audiobooks we work with a dedicated audio team to plan recording, production and release.

At JKP we understand how much of an impact small adjustments to working practices can have in terms of wellbeing and confidence.

We will always be happy to have a conversation about your individual needs, and how we can work with you most effectively.

For example, you might like to talk to us about the following:

• Video calls: please let us know if you prefer to have
  significant conversations via video call or email. If using video calls, cameras can be on or off at your preference. We are happy for you to record calls and/or use software to capture minutes.
• Email: we will always try to make our written communication clear, but please let us know if you have any specific preferences (for example: to be sent a list of actions with due dates following a meeting). Note that not all editors are office-based so, when trying to get in touch, sending an email rather than trying to reach by phone may be more effective.
• In-person meetings: most of our work happens digitally, but if you are due to meet the team in-person please talk to us about the environment that would work best for you/any concerns over travel, etc.
• Planning: if not already offered, you can request agendas for meetings in advance to help you prepare and you can flag particular times of day when you feel at your best to talk. We welcome clarifying questions afterwards too as we understand that there can be a lot of information to absorb, particularly on initial calls. Our author guidance pages have been designed to act as a resource to help you as well.
• Managing anxiety: we recognise that undertaking a book
  project can be daunting – we’re always open to hearing from authors who simply want to check in, and we will aim to provide reassurance where possible.

If you have any queries about our processes and what you can
expect throughout your writing journey with us, please speak to your editor. No
question is too small, and we will always be happy to help.