Gival Press Basics:
Gival Press is an award winning, privately owned press located in Arlington, Virginia, and founded in 1998. They publish only a few fiction titles each year, but they tend to keep their books in print longer than a commercial press might. The average print run is 500-1,000 copies.
Fiction Editor Robert L. Giron completed this profile.
What They're Looking For:
We publish literary work that has a social or philosophical message. We publish work in English, French, and Spanish.
Two Titles Representative of Gival Press's Fiction List:
Carlos Rubio's Dead Time / Tiempo muerto, a bilingual novel, and Iqbal Pittalwala's Legacy, a short story.
What They Offer Writers That Commercial Presses Don't:
We work closely with our authors and encourage them to take an active part in promoting the work by setting up readings and spreading the word about their work.
Number One Thing Most Likely to Put Them Off a Manuscript:
One that is not ready for a publisher to see; one that needs lots of work. We simply pass on these.
Number One Thing Most Likely to Put Them Off a Cover Letter:
Trying to be cute without giving us the information that we need to make a serious decision. Having to go back and forth to get information, etc. gets tiring and wastes time.
Number One Thing Most Likely to Spark Their Interest:
A ms that is professionally written and presented, one with background information and one that reflects our mission.
Address for Submissions:
Gival Press, LLC, PO Box 3812, Arlington, VA 22203. We prefer to be queried first before any ms is forwarded to us. Mss are not returned unless they are accompanied with an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope).
Gival Press also sponsors four annual contests for fiction and poetry. See their site for details.
Additional Advice for Submitting Work:
Make sure you read the guidelines a press has posted on its website before querying or sending work.
