What kind of books does Unbound accept?Updated 2 years ago

Please read this article for more information on the type of books Unbound commissioners are looking for. These are the type of books that work best on the Unbound platform and our unique way of publishing books.

PLEASE NOTE: We are not currently accepting children's or YA books, poetry books, or photography books.  

Mathew Clayton

I love books by cultural trainspotters and pop culture magpies - people with an obsessive interest in their chosen subject - it could be gaming, the history of graphic design, cult bands or cult brands, record labels, board games, trading cards, retro computers, fanzines, analogue synthesisers, space, science fiction films, Minecraft, vintage fashion - you are probably already documenting your passion on a blog, on YouTube or on twitter. I am also interested in working with illustrators that use social media as their gallery/magazine/shop or create webcomics. I love archives, collections and collectors - and people that can tell stories visually. My favourite Unbound books are: Letters of Note, Fuck Yeah Video Games and Dice Men.

John Mitchinson 

Over the past thirty years I’ve published everything from The Beatles and Michael Palin to Haruki Murakami and Alan Garner. I co-founded Unbound as a place for writers with a unique vision of the world, original artists whose work deserves wider readership; books that make you sit up and think. Please send me:

Mould –breaking fiction: Paul Kingsnorth, The Wake; Alice Jolly, Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile; Patrick McCabe, Poguemahone; Edward Powys Mathers, Cain’s Jawbone

Texts where landscape, myth and culture meet: Jonathan Meades, Museum Without Walls; Neil Philip,The Hidden Matrix; Martin Shaw, Bardskull; Richard Wells, Damnable Tales

History with an axe to grind: Simon Napier-Bell, The Business; Kate Lister, A Curious History of Sex; Russell Jones, Four Chancellors and a Funeral; Robert Elms, Live! Why We Go Out

Books where words and images matter equally: Shaun Usher, Letters of Note; Wolfgang Wild & Jordan Lloyd, The Paper Time Machine; Jackie Morris, The Unwinding; Graham Smith & Chris Sullivan, We Can Be Heroes

Aliya Gulamani 

I never want to be too prescriptive in what I’m looking for as my growing list at Unbound is delightfully varied.

I do however have a huge interest in food writing - I’ve commissioned Sanjana Modha’s brilliant debut cookbook, an anthology on the intersections between food, identity and culture edited by Zoe Adjonyoh, and a gorgeous Gothic literature inspired cookbook by Ella Buchan and Alessandra Pino.

I’m also really keen on books that reinforce important conversations - such as Shahed Ezaydi’s The Othered Woman, which is an essential addition to the intersectional feminism discourse.

I also love books that are a bit otherworldly and magical like Sacha Coward’s brilliant Queer as Folklore.

I’m always interested in reading submissions on pop culture, queer history, biographies on historic figures and political movements that changed the world, and nature writing.

In fiction, I manage Unbound Firsts - our imprint that champions debut writers of colour, and across this genre, I’m looking for writing that moves me, a solid story, and am interested in all genres.