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Our AI Policy

First of all, let us be absolutely clear: WoodPig Press does not accept submissions that have been created or assisted using AI. Our reasons for this are many, but the primary ones are:

  • AI training often involves the theft and piracy of copyrighted work;
  • AI undermines the ability of creatives to make a living;
  • AI is having a harmful effect on culture, intellectual development and education;
  • AI simplifies, homogenises, dumbs down, distorts, lies and hallucinates.

You may or may not agree with these assertions, but our policy is non-negotiable. If we find out that your submission has involved AI, then it will be deleted.

However, we do understand that AI is basically in everything now, so it is hard to completely avoid. We also want to acknowledge the distinction between general computer-aided creation (using spelling and grammar checkers, internet searches, etc), and the creation of words and images from prompts (using such things as ChatGPT, Sudowrite, Claude, etc). We can see that there may be a potential grey area here – using AIs for research, or as an editorial tool – but it’s really fairly simple: if your computer assistant goes beyond putting a squiggly red or green line under certain words (e.g. by suggesting rephrasing, tone, plot points or story structure), then your book is probably ineligible. As for research, well, you really shouldn’t be using AI for that – ever.

But as with all things, if you’re not sure, get in touch. We want to find authors who share our values and practices, not police the way you write.

What We Want

WoodPig press specialises in speculative fiction and non-fiction. If your book falls outside of that, then we’re unlikely to consider it.

Fiction

Speculative fiction is anything with a “What if…?” premise. Wikipedia has a useful overview of what the term generally covers. It can apply to the past, present or future, and includes (but is not limited to):

  • science-fiction
  • fantasy
  • alternate history
  • time travel
  • horror
  • the paranormal and the supernatural
  • weird/slipstream fiction
  • the dystopian and utopian
  • apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
  • magical realism
  • fairy tale/fable
  • satire (assuming some speculative form – e.g. Gulliver’s Travels)

Or any blend of the above – we are less worried about whether your book is a neat fit for a particular genre, and more interested in the quality of your writing. If your story has some speculative element, then whatever the genre, we will likely consider it. This also applies to graphic novels or anything with a non-conventional format: if there’s a speculative element, then we’ll take a look.

Non-Fiction

In terms of non-fiction, we’re looking for anything broadly philosophical that questions established beliefs and dogmas. This needn’t be “philosophy” as such, but can be cultural critique, literary criticism, popular psychology, sociology, anthropology, or anything that looks to explore and analyse some potential of human experience. So, for instance, the feasibility of colonising Mars, or how social media is destroying our children’s mental health. But speculative non-fiction need not be about the future; you could argue that the contemporary obsession with zombie films is an unconscious cultural expression of the dehumanising forces of capitalism, or that the Asterix books have done more to shape our understanding of Ancient Rome than Mary Beard. Again, the key thing here is “speculative”, and while we are open-minded to almost anything, the more of this speculative element there is, the more likely we are to be interested.

Aside from this, the book should be aimed at the general reader. This doesn’t mean that it should dumb down or patronise, but rather that it doesn’t assume any prior knowledge or expertise.

What We DON’T Want

In terms of genres, we do not accept:

  • poetry
  • short stories/flash fiction
  • plays
  • romance
  • erotica (where this is the main thrust of the story)
  • literary fiction (where there is no speculative element)
  • academic monographs/theses
  • textbooks
  • self-help books
  • business/crypto/management books
  • young children’s books
  • memoir
  • partisan political treatises
  • ANYTHING WRITTEN BY OR COMPOSED WITH AI (just to reiterate that – sorry for shouting)

Again, this is not an exhaustive list. We are also happy to consider any of the above where a strong case can be made for it being “speculative” (e.g. a handbook on how to survive the apocalypse, a sci-fi story told in verse, or a children’s philosophy book). If in doubt, get in touch before submitting.

How to Submit

First of all – in the words of the great Douglas Adams – DON’T PANIC! We are publishing professionals who have all experienced the pain and humiliation of rejection in our careers. As creative people, we also appreciate the vulnerability that the submissions process involves, and so even if we decide to pass, we will respond to your submission in a way that respects the time and effort you’ve put into your work.

The submission process itself is very straight forward, and the information required is intentionally minimal. Just head over to the Submissions Portal and fill out the form.

Our Response

If your book meets our criteria, and we like the sound of it, we’ll email you back and ask to see a sample. This should be a Word doc of the first 10,000 words ONLY, give or take. While it would be nice if your sample stopped at a natural point (e.g. a chapter break), we know that this isn’t always feasible. Don’t sweat it. 10,000 words is plenty to decide whether we want to see the full manuscript.

Please send your sample in standard manuscript format (see e.g. here), using 12 point Times New Roman, with double spacing. Do not include a bio or a CV – we don’t want to know anything about you. We want the book to speak for itself. We won’t even Google you or search for your socials. So, send it via your auntie’s Hotmail or an anonymous email account, if you want – all we need is somewhere to respond to. There’ll be time for introductions later.

Once you’ve sent a sample, you’ll receive a submissions number. WoodPig Press closes to submissions every fifty queries, so your number will be somewhere between 1 and 50. We aim to respond to queries as soon as possible, ideally within a month, but it can take longer.

If we are interested in reading more, we will respond with a request for a full manuscript (fiction), or additional chapters and an outline (non-fiction). We aim to respond to full manuscripts within three months, but again, this is not always possible.

If at any time during the submissions process you receive an offer of agent representation or publication, then please let us know, stating whether you still wish us to consider your submission; if so, we’ll either give an immediate decision, or an estimate of when we can respond to you by. Other than that, please do not contact us to chase the progress of your submission, to provide updated versions, or to discuss any other matter while you’re waiting to hear back from us. We will respond as soon as we can.

In the event of a rejection, we will try to provide something other than a boilerplate response – usually just a line or two. We know how frustrating the submissions process can be, and if we can help or encourage you in even a little way, then we will. However, other than regarding requests for clarification, we regret that we cannot enter into correspondence regarding the feedback provided.