Publish With Us
Between the Lines publishes non-fiction books in the following subject areas: politics and public policy, social issues, activism and social movements, development studies, critical race studies, Indigenous issues, history, sociology, popular education, the environment, gender and sexuality, social work, labour, globalization, criminology, technology, media, and culture. For examples of the kinds of books we publish, please browse our catalogue. Please note that we do not publish fiction, poetry, or children’s books.
Our books are widely adopted for academic use and some have won prestigious academic awards. However, BTL books remain accessible to a broad audience of engaged readers and our titles span both the academic and trade market.
BTL is proudly left-wing and the books we publish reflect our activist roots and our commitment to social justice struggles. BTL authors are academics, journalists, artists, and activists—all our authors hope their books will spark political and social change.
Note that Between the Lines does not publish works that were produced using generative AI, whether in whole or in part. This applies to text, images, and any other content intended for inclusion in the book. As part of our contract, authors will be required to confirm they have not used generative AI and will not use it for their book.
Due to the large volume of proposals we receive, we will not respond to proposals that do not follow our guidelines or fit our publishing mandate. If we like your proposal, we will try to get back to you within two months; it may take up to six months for us to review and respond. We will accept simultaneous submissions, but we request that you advise us if this is the case and inform us right away if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
We prefer to receive proposals rather than completed manuscripts for consideration. A proposal should contain the following:
- a cover letter stating your primary intent in writing the work, its main themes and objectives, your sense of its potential market including courses for which it might be appropriate, your reasons for writing it, why you are the person to have done so, who the ideal reader for it is, an explanation of what makes it a BTL book, a timeline for completion of the manuscript, and an estimate of its final word count;
- a 2-page outline of the whole manuscript—either its table of contents, if sufficiently detailed, or a schematic summary;
- a sample of your writing, ideally a representative chapter from your manuscript;
- a brief list of the existing literature on the topic and an indication of how your book would be different;
- your resume (no more than 5 pages long).
Submit your complete proposal, including the cover letter, as one single document in PDF format by email to submissions[at]btlbooks.com.
Are you just embarking on your writing career? Contact the Ontario Arts Council Literature office for information on Ontario book publishers and Recommender Grants for Writers or the Association of Canadian Publishers for information on Canadian book publishers and advice on how to get published.