Commission-based Publishing

Please note, we would need to read your manuscript first before accepting you as a customer for this service.

This is a traditional contract where no upfront costs are incurred by the author and the full cost of production, publishing and marketing the book is covered by us. The author will receive a percentage of royalties, depending on the option they select below. Royalties are paid on net receipts.*

Option 1: We deduct 50% commission

We deduct 50% commission, subject to terms**

This option includes:

  • Cover artwork & design
  • Editing
  • Typesetting
  • Proofreading
  • ISBN
  • Global distribution via several wholesalers – in paperback, hardback & eBook
  • Marketing on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram
  • Free manuscript corrections
  • Royalties paid annually
    *Royalties are paid after discount to seller and printing costs are deducted from the published retail price
    **We would sell a number of books specified in the agreement before beginning to pay any royalties. 
Option 2: Earn royalties straightaway

Earn royalties straightaway
We deduct 70% commission

This option includes:

  • Cover artwork & design
  • Editing
  • Typesetting
  • Proofreading
  • ISBN
  • Global distribution via several wholesalers – in paperback, hardback & eBook
  • Marketing on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn & Instagram
  • Free manuscript corrections
  • Royalties paid annually
    *Royalties are paid after discount to seller and printing costs are deducted from the published retail price
    **We would sell a number of books specified in the agreement before beginning to pay any royalties. 

Advocacy-based Publishing

This is a corporate social responsibility service that we provide in order to support various equality and wellness causes.
Advocacy-based publishing is by invitation only. If you would like to be considered for live or future projects, please contact us by email at info@carnelianheartpublishing.co.uk with a brief note on your writing experience and why you would like to participate. We will announce on our social media handles when seeking authors and publishing professionals to participate in our projects. You may also subscribe to our mailing list below for the latest updates on our projects. 

Previous Advocacy Projects

Carnelian Heart Short Story Competition

The winners of our 2024 inaugural short story competition are:

Tanaka Chidora (Zimbabwe)
Victor Ajwang (Kenya)
Fatima Okhuosami (Nigeria)

Congratulations to the finalists whose short stories will be published in an anthology later
this year:

1. God Created A Thing – Fatima Okhuosami (Nigeria)
2. Walking, Falling – S. M. Radebe (South Africa)
3. The Silence – Chiedza Nyanyiwa (Zimbabwe)
4. Coloured Like Water – Beverley Abrahams Zimbabwe)
5. The Politics of Murder – Tafadzwa Madzika (Zimbabwe)
6. Dolls – Elias Muonde (Zimbabwe)
7. Nana and the New Neighbour – Salma Amanda Latifa (Egypt)
8. In the Fold – Elton Ndudzo (Zimbabwe)
9. Where the heart is – Augustine Tashinga Mudzudza (Zimbabwe)
10. The Cafeteria – Tanaka Chidora (Zimbabwe)
11. All is Fair – Victor Ajwang (Kenya)
12. The Beautiful Sound of Water – Chioniso Tsikisayi (Zimbabwe)
13. Lafa Elihle Kakhulu – Sibongumusa Ncube (Zimbabwe)
14. Things You Cannot Say With Your Mouth – Joseph Jegede (Nigeria)
15. A death in the Morning – Gift Mukunga (Zimbabwe)
16. God’s Country – Takomborerwa Shenje (Zimbabwe)
17. Duiffies United VS Di Kwena Mabe – Otsile Sebele Seakeco (South Africa)
18. Gethsemane – Flora Chinhaire (Zimbabwe)
19. The UY Club – Kudzai Parutu (Zimbabwe)

Submission Window: TBC

Welcome to our short story competition. The best stories will be included in an
anthology of winning works, in addition to the following:

– 1st prize – £150 + publishing contract for full-length work + 2 copies of the anthology
– 2nd prize – £100 + publishing contract for full-length work + 2 copies of the anthology
– 3rd prize – £50 + publishing contract for full-length work + 2 copies of the anthology
– Runner-ups – 2 copies of the anthology
– Results announced: TBC
– Anthology published: TBC

We are looking for works of fiction from African authors, including the African diaspora.
There is no theme, so that you can tell the story you want, exactly how you want. We will,
however, not accept work that we deem to be prejudiced in any way on the basis of sex,
sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or religion. We want works that are sharp and exciting,
works that will make us laugh or cry, works that will linger in our minds and haunt our hearts
long after we’ve read them.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

1. Please send a maximum of one story for your submission. Works submitted should not
have been published elsewhere. We recommend stories within the 1500 – 4000 word range
but we are willing to be flexible if we feel your story is a gem.

2. Please send your submissions to CarnelianHeartSubmissions@outlook.com. The
subject should be ‘SUBMISSION’ and you should add a short bio of no more than 100
words, which includes your social media handles, in the body of the email.

3. Stories should be attached as Microsoft Word documents. We prefer you use a Times
New Roman font size 12 with double spacing.

4. We do not accept simultaneous submissions.

5. You retain the copyright to your work. However, we do require that you credit Carnelian Heart as the original publisher of the work.

6. Be advised that we might edit your work and/or change the title, and if we consider
doing so, we will inform you.

7. We might turn down your submission because of the following reasons: poor grammar,
poor punctuation, poor use of tenses, plagiarism and failure to follow these guidelines.

8. The submission deadline is 31 January 2024.

9. The winning works and up to 20 runner ups will be included in the anthology and the
writers will receive two copies of the anthology.

10. Once we receive 200 stories, we will automatically close our submission window.