Volume I: Here Be Dragons
An Indie Author Anthology
Submission Guidelines
Submissions open: 4 July 2026 Submissions close: 31 December 2026 Publication target: 2027 (The Book Dragon’s 5th Anniversary)
About the Anthology
Tales from The Book Dragon is a new anthology series from The Book Dragon Press, showcasing the work of The Book Dragon’s member authors. Here Be Dragons is to be the inaugural volume, published to mark The Book Dragon’s fifth anniversary.
This is a promotional anthology — its purpose is to celebrate our member authors and introduce their work to new readers. Contributors will receive free copies and the right to purchase additional copies at print cost.
The Theme
Dragons — interpreted as broadly as you like.
Your story should feature a dragon in some meaningful capacity, but we are not looking for high fantasy exclusively. A dragon can be:
- A literal dragon
- A metaphorical dragon (a fear faced, a challenge overcome, a destructive force)
- Something incidentally dragon-related that carries weight in the narrative (a pub called The Dragon, a character with a dragon-themed nickname, a dragon tattoo that means something to the story)
The dragon element should have genuine presence in your story — not a throwaway mention — but genre is entirely open. Fantasy, horror, literary fiction, contemporary, humour, and anything in between are all welcome.
Eligibility
- Members only. Submissions are open to current members of The Book Dragon.
- Previously published work is eligible, provided you hold the rights to republish. If your story has appeared elsewhere, please confirm in your cover note that your prior publication was non-exclusive or that rights have reverted to you. Responsibility for clearing rights rests with the author.
- Simultaneous submissions are permitted, provided there is no conflict on the other publication’s side (e.g. a competition requiring exclusivity during judging). If your story is accepted elsewhere before we have made a decision, please notify us promptly at submissions@bookdragonpress.co.uk.
- One story per author. You are welcome to submit more than one story if you would like to give us options, but we will publish a maximum of one story per author in this volume.
Word Count
2,000–10,000 words.
Stories outside this range will not be considered. Stories at the upper end of the range are welcome but please note that the anthology will include multiple contributors; very long entries may affect editorial decisions around balance.
Formatting
We will be resetting all accepted stories to a consistent anthology style, so we are not prescriptive about formatting. However:
- Preferred: Standard manuscript format — double-spaced, 12pt, readable font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri)
- Accepted: Any clean, readable formatting
- Please ensure paragraph breaks are formatted as paragraph breaks, not as manual line breaks at the end of each line. Stories with incorrect line formatting may be returned for correction before review.
How to Submit
Send your submission to submissions@bookdragonpress.co.uk with the subject line:
ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSION — [Story Title] — [Your Name]
Please include:
- A cover note with your story title, word count, and a sentence or two on how the dragon theme features in your work. If your story has been previously published, please include details and confirm you hold the rights to republish.
- Your story as an attachment (.docx preferred) or as a shared Google Doc (please share with submissions@bookdragonpress.co.uk with at least viewing rights before sending).
What Happens Next
We will acknowledge receipt of your submission. Given the submission window runs to the end of the year, editorial decisions will be made in early 2027. We will contact all submitting authors with a decision before production begins.
Due to the volume of submissions we may receive, we are unable to provide progress updates during the review period. Please do not resend your submission.
Contributors
Accepted contributors will receive:
- A credit and short biography in the published anthology
- A set number of free print copies (to be confirmed)
- The right to purchase additional copies at print cost
- A non-exclusive licence to TBD Press for publication of their story in this edition of the anthology — authors retain full copyright
Full contributor terms will be confirmed in writing before final inclusion is agreed.
Questions
For queries about the submission process, contact submissions@bookdragonpress.co.uk.
Tales from The Book Dragon is a Book Dragon Press publication. Book Dragon Press is the publishing arm of The Book Dragon Ltd, Stockton-on-Tees.
