Big, Weird, Lonely Hearts

Big, Weird, Lonely Hearts cover
Big, Weird, Lonely Hearts cover
by Allen C. Jones

PB 224 | 198 x 129 |
ISBN: 9781922858344 | $24.99
Short Fiction | Also available as ebook
MidnightSun Publishing | November 2023
Distributed by NewSouth Books

One part absurd humor, one part social commentary, Big, Weird, Lonely Hearts throws the most unlikely couples into bed together. This hilarious book includes a man mistaken for a bush, a mermaid refugee, a bird who dreams of weaponizing cats, a boy with a computer for a face, and a woman in love with a severed arm. These and more are the weird and lonely characters who drag their broken hearts through this collection, diligently searching for someone to stitch them up.

Allen C. Jones’ debut collection reads like a meeting between Peter Carey, Nikolai Gogol, and Lydia Millet where the task at hand is to write a love story. While the surface of these stories seems humorous and even absurd, beneath it runs a desperate nostalgia carried by a set of characters who will do anything to force their way back into love. Continue reading Big, Weird, Lonely Hearts

Allen C. Jones

Allen C. Jones
Allen C. Jones

Allen C. Jones is an award-winning writer from California. He received an MFA in poetry from the University of New Mexico and a PhD in English from University of Louisiana. He has lived and taught in Spain, Mexico, Korea & China, and presently serves as associate professor of literature and culture at the University of Stavanger, Norway. His scholarly work investigates experimental writing and literary game pedagogy.

His debut novel Her Death Was Also Water came out in 2022 with MidnightSun Publishing, and his debut book of poetry, Son of a Cult, is out in 2023 with Kelsay Books, USA. His writing appears widely in print and online. Find links to it Continue reading Allen C. Jones

Strangely Enough

Strangely Enough cover
Strangely Enough cover
edited by Gillian Hagenus

PB 240 | 198 x 129
ISBN: 9781922858313 | $24.99
Short Fiction | Also available as ebook
MidnightSun Publishing | November 2023
Distributed by NewSouth Books

Neglected by society, a group of caravanning 60-somethings encounter a place where time stops. A baby swims in a witch’s cauldron. A statue of Jesus grows fat off fish and chips. An ancient Egyptian God swims through the sewers under a suburban street and a desperate family harvests the fingers they find growing in their soil after their final food supplies wither.

Strangely Enough is a celebration of the far-reaching possibilities of short fiction from some of Australia’s most creatively ambitious minds. Surreal and haunting, funny and gripping, these intensely strange tales encompass what it means to grieve, love, wonder, fear and change, each ultimately offering something entirely unexpected and strangely, deeply Continue reading Strangely Enough

Gillian Hagenus

Gillian Hagenus
Gillian Hagenus
Gillian Hagenus is a writer, editor and book devourer living and working on Kaurna land in South Australia. Her short fiction has appeared in various journals across Australia, including Voiceworks, SWAMP, Social Alternatives and Aniko Press, and internationally in The Antigonish Review. She has a Masters degree in Creative Writing from the University of Adelaide, where her thesis focused on Australian Suburban Gothic fiction. In 2022, her unpublished short story collection was the winner of the AAWP/UWA Publishing Chapter One Prize. In her free time, Gillian helps Continue reading Gillian Hagenus

Polluted Sex

Polluted Sex cover
Polluted Sex cover
by Lauren Foley

PB 240 | 198 x 129
ISBN: 9781922858214 | $24.99
Short Fiction | Also available as ebook
MidnightSun Publishing | October 2023
Distributed by NewSouth Books

A pregnant woman takes the ferry to the UK.

A fractious intimate relationship develops between an Irish woman, an English man, and her girlfriend.

Two ungendered characters contest the same female body.

A deserted wife takes a lover but remains unsatisfied.

Lauren Foley’s debut collection of dramatic short stories, Polluted Sex, is fearless in its depiction of women’s bodies and sexuality, offering an unflinching window into Irish girl and womanhood.
Continue reading Polluted Sex

The Weaver

The Weaver cover
The Weaver cover
by Melanie Kanicky

PB 352 | 198 x 129 | ISBN: 9781922858283 | $19.99
Young Adult | Also available as ebook
MidnightSun Publishing | October 2023
Distributed by NewSouth Books

In a remote village, bordered by woods and an endless winter, Saatcha lives in the attic of her ailing father’s blacksmithery. As her father’s health fades and he is no longer able to work, Saatcha takes it upon herself to keep the forge running.

But when a pair of thieves appear in the dead of night, Saatcha’s duty to her father is torn from her. Forced to leave her home behind, the bounds of magic that once held Saatcha begin to slip away.
Continue reading The Weaver

Melanie Kanicky

Melanie Kanicky
Melanie Kanicky
Melanie Kanicky is a Melbourne-based author. Born in the Yarra Valley, Melanie has a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Film & Television) from Deakin University, and is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Writing & Literature with a focus on creative writing. Outside of her studies, Melanie currently manages a bookstore, where she delights in sharing her love of reading and literature with others. Her short fiction has appeared in the Wyndham Writing Awards Anthology and the Forty South Short Story Anthology, as well as being shortlisted for the Continue reading Melanie Kanicky

Raised by Moths

Raised by Moths cover
Raised by Moths cover
by Charlie Archbold and Michelle Conn

HB 32 | 230 x 270 | ISBN: 9781922858184 | $29.99
Picture Book | MidnightSun Publishing | October 2023
Distributed by NewSouth Books

Willow jumps on the Ferris Wheel and is intrigued to see a boy surrounded by moths.

As they travel high above the fairground he tells her the reason why the moths love him so much: he was raised by moths. Wonderfully fantastical and thought-provoking with stunning illustrations, Raised by Moths is quite unlike anything you’ve read before.
Continue reading Raised by Moths

Charlie Archbold

Charlie Archbold
Charlie Archbold
Charlie Archbold is a writer and educator. She has worked in Australia, the UK, and in Indonesia. Her middle grade novel The Sugarcane Kids and the Red Bottomed Boat won the 2022 Readings Children’s Prize. It was shortlisted for the Text Prize and was a 2023 CBCA Notable book. Charlie’s debut YA novel Mallee Boys was a 2018 CBCA Honour book. Her 2020 YA novel Indigo Owl is a science fiction adventure. Raised by Moths is Charlie’s first picture book. Her blogs, short stories and poems are about Continue reading Charlie Archbold

Michelle Conn

Michelle Conn
Michelle Conn
Michelle Conn is a children’s book illustrator and author who lives in the coastal town of Torquay, Victoria. She combines watercolour and pencil with digital illustration to create worlds filled with wonder and emotion. Michelle has a Bachelor of Design from The College of Fine Arts in Sydney and has worked as a graphic designer in print and corporate illustration. She has also completed a Continue reading Michelle Conn

City Knife

City Knife cover
City Knife cover
by Rachel Hennessy

PB 344 | 198 x 129 | ISBN: 9781925227970 | $19.99
Young Adult | Also available as ebook
MidnightSun Publishing | September 2023
Distributed by NewSouth Books

The chimera of the city are on the hunt.

After years of being individually slaughtered, they have come together to make war on Pandora and her people.

In the conclusion to The Burning Days, the sins of the past will be revealed and all hope for the future will be Continue reading City Knife

We are Reopening Submissions!

Submissions will from now on only be accepted from the 1st to the 7th of each month, with submissions reopening from the 1st of September until the 7th of September 2023. Submissions will then be closed again until the 1-7st of October. So you have a week of every month to submit. Please note, any submissions sent outside of this time will not be considered and will not be replied to.

Please send a digital copy of your submission to submissions@midnightsunpublishing.com. Please include a subject line stating your name, the title of your manuscript, and its genre (e.g.: Jane Doe, ‘High Tea’, Picture Book). Please attach your manuscript as a Word document or Word docx. only, titled, ‘Name: Manuscript Title’ (e.g. Jane Doe: High Tea).

Send the first 20 pages only! If we are compelled to read more, we’ll ask for the rest. We want digital manuscripts with 1.5 or double line spacing. Choose Times New Roman or another easy-to-read font.

Please also include a synopsis of your manuscript (if it’s a longer work. This is not needed for picture books) where you tell us about the main movements in the story, its themes and how it ends. We want to know this. You should not make it a mystery or an enticing blurb. You can attach it as a separate document or make it the first page of your submission.

Please proofread thoroughly and always let someone else read it too before sending us your manuscript. Typos really put us off and we don’t want to turn away an otherwise fantastic project because we have spotted a simple mistake in the first paragraph.

Include a cover letter in the body of the email with your name, the title of your manuscript, your contact details (including email address and phone number) and the word count of your project. If you have previous publications or other relevant experience, please feel free to include it in the letter and also write a paragraph about yourself and your interests if you wish. We would also like to know how you would classify the genre and where it fits in the market. For example, are there any other authors or books you would compare your manuscript to?

Only send one manuscript at a time and wait to receive a response before sending any further projects. This applies to picture books as well as longer fiction. Look at our list carefully and choose only the manuscript that you think would intrigue us the most. Here are some of things we are looking for: stories that are well written (fiction or non-fiction) about interesting characters who are developing a sense of self. The environment, gender diversity, sexuality and desire, feminism, ageing, mental health, physical differences, adversity, racism, love and many other topics are all on our reading lists. We love short stories and novels for adults as well as middle-grade and YA novels and of course picture books.

We are not currently publishing poetry, plays, horror, romance or memoir so please don’t submit manuscripts that fit into those categories.

If you have submitted to us within the designated timeframe and not received a response from us within six months you may email us to check on your submission. Please do not email us earlier than this as your email will not be responded to.

While we do accept simultaneous submissions, it is absolutely essential that you contact us to withdraw your submission if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere or you pursue another mode of publishing, such as self-publishing.

If you follow these guidelines, your manuscript submission will be read by one of our editors. If you have already sent your manuscript according to our previous guidelines, please don’t panic, we will still read your manuscript and respond in due course.

If we love what we read, we will be in touch by email to request a hard copy of the full manuscript to be sent to our office. Please be aware it may take 3-6 months for us to get back to you about your submission. Unfortunately, due to our large workload, we cannot provide individual feedback on submissions.

Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will not be reviewed or responded to.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Publishing Brilliance