Torrey House Press publishes 8-10 books per year of literary novels, full-length short story collections, essay collections, creative nonfiction, and the occasional anthology. We are interested in well-crafted work with environmental, natural history, or natural landscape themes, and writing which explores the value of well-managed public lands and the transformative power of wilderness. THP does not currently accept submissions for poetry or books for children.
Please familiarize yourself with our books to see if your work and our list are compatible. Most independent bookstores and libraries carry our titles; you can also browse our online catalog.
For fiction, short story collections, and essay collections, please submit full manuscripts. For nonfiction, please submit a query first and a full proposal upon request.
The review process for submissions can take 4-6 months, or longer in some instances. We understand what it’s like to await a response, and we appreciate your patience. Phone calls, emails, or letters of inquiry will not hasten the process.
Our Mission
Torrey House Press publishes books at the intersection of the literary arts and environmental advocacy. THP authors explore the diversity of human experiences and relationships with place. THP books create conversations about issues that concern the American West, landscape, literature, and the future of our ever-changing planet, inspiring action toward a more just world.
Our Values
We believe that lively, contemporary literature is at the cutting edge of social change. We seek to inform, expand, and reshape the dialogue on environmental justice and stewardship for the natural world by elevating literary excellence from diverse voices.
Torrey House Press and Zion Canyon Mesa announce Voices for the West: Writing Workshops and Community Conversations February 4-5, 2022.
Generate new work, take risks, and learn from experienced instructors and fellow writers in a supportive and intimate space. The stunning redrock scenery of Springdale, Utah, provides inspiration for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction writers -- writers of all levels are welcome. Hone your craft at writing workshops during the day, and enjoy public events and readings with the award-winning instructors in the evenings. Each workshop will have a maximum of 15 attendees. Ten full scholarships will be awarded to attendees on the basis of financial need.
To apply:
Please submit a writing sample of 2,000-5,000 words (if applying for fiction or nonfiction workshop) or three poems (if applying for poetry workshop) in a single Word document. Please name the file with your last name and the writing track you are applying for (i.e.: Lastname_Poetry). If applying for a scholarship, please also fill out and attach the scholarship application form. Applicants will be informed of registration status by November 15.
For fiction, short story collections, and essay collections, please submit full manuscripts. For nonfiction and anthologies, please submit a query first and a full proposal upon request.
The review process for submissions can take 4-6 months, or longer in some instances. We understand what it’s like to wait for a response, and we appreciate your patience. Phone calls, emails, or letters of inquiry will not hasten the process.
FULL MANUSCRIPT GUIDELINES (fiction, short story collections, essay collections):
Please submit a cover letter along with your manuscript. The cover letter should include:
- A synopsis of your manuscript
- How your work fits with the THP mission and values
- Some background on yourself
- Comparable titles
- Marketing and readership development plans
QUERY GUIDELINES (nonfiction):
Please submit a one- or two-page overview of your book idea along with information about yourself, why you are qualified to write on the subject, who your audience is, and how you propose to market your work. If we think there is a reasonable chance that we might pursue your book, we will request a full proposal.
FULL PROPOSAL GUIDELINES (upon request):
Include most or all of the following items in a single Word document:
- A cover letter
- A resume
- A preliminary table of contents
- A one- or two-paragraph summary of each chapter
- Marketing research such as: descriptions of other books on the same or similar topic and an explanation of why your book is different; any special sales potential; events where attendees will be interested in you as a speaker; your target audience (be specific); biographical material, expanded from that in the query letter; any completed sample chapters
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Our shared home, Salt Lake City, has a rich and complex natural and cultural history. Often that history is informed by narratives that leave behind the voices, experiences, and knowledges of communities and neighborhoods—past and present. Nonprofit publisher Torrey House Press believes that by enriching the narrative of Salt Lake City, we can unearth hidden environmental and cultural histories in order to better love this home to protect it for the future.
Torrey House is inviting writers and storytellers from across the city of Salt Lake to highlight ecological and cultural sites of interest. Choose a site in your neighborhood or a place that you know well. What natural histories are hiding in plain sight? We invite you to write the hidden and forgotten histories that you know, to share the story of a place that you consider part of your home. Send your piece to connect with other highlighted sites in the Sites and Sightlines project, which includes an online journal, a chapbook, and community conversations.
Do you know about the Salt Lake hot springs, Plum Alley, the Jordan River Corridor, the Marmalade District, the White Lake, the Avenues Wall, or another overlooked place within the city? Share your story with us and help reshape the story of Salt Lake City to incorporate the urban ecological entanglements along the Wasatch Front.
This project began with the University of Utah Environmental Humanities Graduate Program, and now in collaboration, Torrey House Press will create a soft-bound chapbook to grow the community of Sites and Sightlines. By connecting individual sites, we are hoping to set up collective sightlines: new paths to explore together. The chapbook will include a variety of essays from both community members and university students that focus on place. These essays will immerse readers in overlooked sites and unmapped sightlines across the city. What hidden histories and ecologies can we illuminate and share? What happens when we practice heightened and thoughtful noticing? Torrey House Press will develop community events during October 2019 featuring Sites and Sightlines writers and places.
Please focus your writing on one site/place in up to 800 words and include three photos (jpeg) of your site. Submit your story by June 24th.
In the 2017 State of the Air report, the American Lung Association ranked Salt Lake’s air quality as the 6th worst in the nation and gave Utah as a whole an “F” for ozone and “D” for particulate pollution. For years, environmental groups, moms, doctors, activists, and concerned residents of Utah have worked tirelessly to advocate for clean air. What we need more of, though, is story. Utah officials know the statistics on our polluted air, but they need to hear from you. To fully emphasize the gravity of our air pollution problem, we need your story.
In coordination with local clean air groups, Torrey House Press will create a soft-bound chapbook called Breathing Stories: Utah Voices for Clean Air. During the first week of the legislative session in January, we will deliver a copy to every state legislator and make copies available to city, county, and tribal officials. This project will also empower our community. Your story will inspire others to speak up, to share their air story, and demand a clean future.
Breathing Stories is an ongoing project, and we will continue to publish stories online after the January 2018 chapbook is produced. We welcome clean air stories from Utah and around the world.
We need your most moving, impassioned, carefully argued words you have ever crafted in the name of clean air. This may be a fragment, a paragraph, a poem, an excerpt, or an essay. Please write no more than 800 words.