Book Author Guidelines 

General Guidelines for Book Queries: You may submit a query letter, and if our editors consider your topic a fit for our current publishing plans, we will be in touch to request your manuscript and proposal documents. Please be aware that we do not accept submissions that have been simultaneously submitted to other publishers. We do our best to respond within 8-10 weeks of initial submission of a query letter. May God bless you and your work for his Church!

What should I know about OSV?

OSV is the country’s largest not-for-profit Catholic publishing company. It was founded in 1912 by Father John Noll to “serve the Church.” Today, OSV publishes a newspaper, periodicals, religious education materials, pamphlets, and books. We publish about 40 new books each year while maintaining a robust backlist.

We publish our books in two seasons: spring (January - June) and fall (July - December). The bulk of our sales are to distributors (web and print), bookstores, parishes, schools, and individual consumers. Our primary audience is North America. 

What kinds of books are of interest to OSV?

We are particularly interested in the following categories for our adult and family books. (Please note, we do not publish fiction or poetry.)

• Spiritual Growth and Devotionals: Books that accompany readers on their spiritual journey and offer unique, practical insights for growing in friendship with God, especially through prayer, growth in virtue, and the sacraments
• Prayer Books: Collections of prayers and books that offering guidance for specific kinds of prayer
• Scripture: Books from experts about how to read, understand, pray, and apply Scripture, as well as Bible studies
• Growing in Faith as a Family: Books that provide an opportunity for families to discover and practice their faith together
• Advent: Books for living and praying through Advent with prayer and intention
• Lent: Books for living and praying through Lent with prayer and intention
• Liturgical year: Accessible, approachable guides and aids for living liturgical seasons, solemnities and feast days, and fasts.
• History and Biography: Informative and inspiring biographies of saints and key events in the Church's history
• Faith and Culture: Books about the intersection of faith and contemporary culture
• Evangelization: Books that help readers explain, defend and share the Faith with others
• Parish and Pastoral Ministry: Books that help pastors, ministry leaders, and parishioners conduct parish life more effectively, and books that can provide comfort and guidance for Catholics seeking help and healing in times of difficulty

We are also actively seeking submissions for our children’s book imprint, OSV Kids. *Please include “OSV Kids” in your query subject line for children’s books.* 

OSV Kids is on a mission to champion the Catholic Church by helping children learn about, live and love the Catholic Faith. Our children’s books are overtly Catholic (not generically Christian), and we consider books in the following categories and age groups:

• Board books for infants and toddlers (ages 1 - 3): Simple stories and concepts related in no more than 300 words. We are particularly interested in saints, sacraments, scripture, and prayer.
• Picture books for younger readers (ages 3 - 6): Stories that incorporate aspects of the Faith to excite children’s imagination and sense of wonder. These should be between 600 and 1,000 words. We are particularly interested in saints, sacraments, scripture, virtue, relationship, and prayer.
• Short chapter books for early readers (ages 7 - 9): Fiction or non-fiction stories that incorporate aspects of the Faith to excite children’s imagination and sense of wonder. Word count 6,000 - 10,000
• Middle grade chapter books (ages 8 - 10): Fiction or non-fiction stories that explore the experience of living the Catholic Faith and inspire children to live their faith themselves. Word counts may vary, up to 30,000 words.
• Works of interest to tweens (ages 10 - 13): Fiction or non-fiction stories that explore the experience of living the Catholic Faith and inspire young people to live their faith themselves, even in difficult situations. Word counts may vary, up to 50,000 words. 

A note on artwork: We believe that beauty is essential to drawing children’s hearts toward all that is true and good. We do not require (or prefer) that children’s authors provide an illustrator, unless the book is by one author/illustrator. If your work is accepted, we will select and contract with an illustrator as we deem appropriate. 

Why should I publish with OSV?

OSV is dedicated to publishing books that accompany Catholics on their walk with God, wherever they are in their faith journey. We are always interested in partnering with authors who can join us in our mission to champion the Catholic Church by serving her individual members who want to know, live, and love their Faith more fully. We take our mission seriously, and we hope you will consider joining us in our efforts to draw souls closer to Jesus Christ.