Submission Guidelines

deCoubertin Books is a small publisher of non-fiction. We specialise in sport, although that is not our only focus and we welcome submissions from across a wide range of non-fiction - in particular, reportage, memoir, narrative non-fiction, travel, history.

The main guideline for submitting work to deCoubertin Books is simply to write well, be fresh, interesting and relevant.

Here is a list of things that deCoubertin Books does not publish:

• Celebrity biography.
• Straight academic works or text books.
• Works whose primary interest is immediate. We have a minimum 8 month lead time. All subjects we publish should outlast their publication period by several years.
• Evangelical religious/ spiritual tracts. It's nothing personal, we're just not interested.
• Travel writing without a focus. There should be a narrative purpose and reason for you to tell us the story

Here is a list of practical things that will help us deal with your submission:

• Please enclose a cover letter telling us a little about yourself, what your book is about and why you think we should publish it.
• Enclose an outline, which should include a synopsis not longer than two pages long, plus a chapter by chapter breakdown -- you can add a paragraph or so describing each chapter within a paragraph if you feel it relevant.
• Submissions should include three chapters, ideally the first three.
• Submissions should be made by post only. Emails are not accepted.
• We will acknowledge the receipt of all submissions so please enclose either a current address or email address; international submissions will be responded to by email only. We aim to read every manuscript within six weeks but unfortunately we can only respond individually to successful submissions. We cannot return unsuitable work.
• Please be patient and don't bombard us with emails or phone calls. We will get round to you.
• Don't be discouraged if we don't ask to see your work after your initial enquiry. We are a small publisher with finite resources.

Send submissions to: deCoubertin Books, PO BOX 65170, London, SE18 9HB

We welcome submissions from literary agents. They should email an enquiry in the first instance.