Submissions

If you have a great idea for a book and the right experience to write it, we’d love to hear from you. To give your proposal the best chance of success, please read the information below and try to make your submission as complete as possible. We look forward to hearing your ideas!

What we’re looking for:

• Books in the following areas: climbing; walking; fastpacking; road cycling; mountain biking; gravel cycling; bikepacking; running; swimming; stand-up paddleboarding (SUP); and adventure travel.
• Within those areas we’re looking for: books which inspire and equip people to plan their own adventures, with great photos and well-researched information; and unique and well-told stories about innovative, human-powered adventures, compelling and inspiring stories of overcoming obstacles.
• Specifically we’d currently love to hear from you at the moment if you have a proposal for: a wild swimming guide to London and the South East; a wild swimming guide to England; paddling guides; camper van/adventure travel touring guides; road cycling guides; a guide to doing the Munros; a guide to doing the Ethels; books aimed at climbing/running/cycling training.
• New ideas. Can you see the next big outdoor trend coming? Get in touch and we can use our experience to take a look at the potential market.

What we’re not looking for:

• Fiction, poetry or children’s books.
• Walking guides which duplicate our existing guides in terms of region.
• A straightforward diary of an adventure, or a personal memoir.

Who we’re looking for:

• Enthusiastic authors with fresh ideas, who are passionate about adventure.
• Authors keen to work with us to help promote the book pre- and post-publication, both online and in person.
• A strong platform on social media or in outdoor media is a positive, but not imperative. 

Submitting a proposal:

• Please ensure that you can answer all of the questions below before submitting your proposal to us – give us as much information as you can.
• Make the sample material as representative as you can of the style and content of the book. We need at least a full chapter to read, to get a feel for the book. If you submit an entire manuscript we can’t guarantee to read it all, but we’ll certainly read a few chapters.

Questions to answer in your proposal:

1. What is the title of your book?
2. Can you give us a brief outline of what the book is about?
3. Who is the intended market for your book?
4. Why do you want to write this book and why are you the best person to do it? Tell us about your writing experience, your social media platforms and any other relevant experience such as speaking engagements.
5. Are there any existing books or resources which might compete with your book, or similar books in a different market that you’ve taken inspiration from?
6. Can you give us three compelling selling points of your book?

(Don’t forget to include a table of contents and some sample material too.)

How we make decisions:

• For guidebooks and larger format books designed to inspire readers to create their own adventures we have some successful series, such as Day Walks, Big Trails, 1001 Tips, mountain biking guides, climbing guides. Ideally, new books will fit into an existing series.
• For narrative books we’re looking for a good premise, a great story, strong themes and something which really singles the book out and makes it a compelling read. We will be very selective, so please make your proposal as comprehensive as possible and your sample material as polished as possible.

Contact information:

• Please send your proposal and sample material to our commissioning editor, Kirsty Reade, at kirsty@v-publishing.co.uk
• We will reply to every submission as quickly as possible, but please allow up to two weeks.
• Please do not send submissions by post, or phone us to tell us about your idea. We will only consider submissions sent by email.