Small presses provide a wonderful way for new writers to break into print or to publish their early work online. While small presses, in most cases, will not garner you a wide readership, they can help you build a writing resume before sending your work out to literary agents. Here are a few resources to help you find small presses that are worth watching and submitting to.

Small presses worth submitting to

Poets & Writers has an up-to-date list of small presses

Electric Lit’s 2017 Indie Press Review

Bustle’s 13 Indie Presses You Should Know

A small press for flash fiction

Of course, I also have a soft spot for my micropress, Fiction Attic, which publishes flash fiction, short stories, and essays by new and established writers. We love discovering work by unpublished writers. The best way to break in to Fiction Attic is by submitting your flash fiction.

University presses

University presses are especially attractive for writers who have a story collection but no novel, and for anyone whose work doesn’t have much “commercial” appeal. It can be difficult to get literary agent representation if you don’t have a novel to sell. University presses often publish story collections, and they do not require submissions to come from an agent. My first book, The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress, was published by University of Massachusetts Press, after it received the AWP Award for Fiction (now called the Grace Paley Prize for Fiction). The Associated Writing Programs runs an annual contest for debut novels and story collections. The winning entries are published by a university press.

Newpages list of university presses

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