Betty Books

Betty is an imprint of WTAW Press dedicated to publishing books by women for everyone.

Historically, women authors and their stories have been underrepresented in publishing. Betty seeks to bridge this gap. We prioritize books by authors who identify as women. Our goal is to amplify the voices of writers from diverse cultures, ethnicities, races, ages, sexual orientations, socio-economic statuses, and identities. Betty is committed to fostering diversity, representation, and inclusivity in the literary world.

Betty is a traditional independent press imprint with an innovative cohort structure. Authors are brought in via a traditional acquisitions and editorial process and enter into partnership with the publisher—and each other. This offers a rigorous apprenticeship in the operation of an independent press and membership of a group of writers. While preparing to send their own books into the world, Betty authors support the publication of the imprint’s other titles and take an active role in shaping Betty’s catalog. Betty offers authors more control over their publishing journey while benefiting from the collective wisdom and resources of the cohort.

Betty authors enjoy the benefits of WTAW’s traditional publishing program, wherein WTAW bears all the costs, including editing, design, marketing, distribution, and payment of author royalties. Authors profit from the hallmarks that have made WTAW a successful and respected publisher: the high quality of editorial care, attention to book design, dedicated marketing and publicity efforts. In this way, Betty’s innovative publishing program takes the key advantages of a collective—the shared workload and support system among authors—and unites it with WTAW’s track record of publishing and championing books of urgency, emotional resonance, and enduring significance.

Learn more about Betty authors here.

Announcing the results of the Betty December 2023 open reading period

We received many fine manuscripts and are thankful to all who sent theirs. After much deliberation, we identified eight finalists.

Gessy Alvarez, LOVE THE ABYSS

Virginia Bell, LET THE HOUNDS GIVE TONGUE

Erin Osborne, STUCK

Renee Thompson, INTO THE AFTER

* Magda Bartkowska, THIS PLACE WHERE YOU ARE

* Leah De Forest, ANY KIND OF KNOWN TOMORROW

* Ilze Duarte, THE HEART BEATS FASTER

* Kathleen Wheaton, BOB'S BEAUTIFUL HOUSE MUSEUM

Of the eight finalists, we've selected four for publication, each identified with an asterisk.

Congratulations to all!

To learn more about the new authors and their manuscripts, please see the Betty authors page.

For more information, contact us.

We haven't set a date for the next open reading period at this time. You can find guidelines and information on the selection process for the past submission period below. To stay current, we suggest signing up for our newsletter and following Betty on social media, @thebettybooks.

Submissions to Betty

At Betty, our mission is to publish books of prose by women for everyone. We aim to showcase the diversity of women’s voices. With an innovative publishing program, Betty seeks manuscripts from authors who are willing and able to commit to a three-year term of doing the shared work of running a small press under the guidance of our founding director.

Betty strives to be a supportive and inclusive editorial community. We value excellent writing and seek collaborators with a diverse range of backgrounds and lived experiences. By submitting a manuscript, an author is expressing their interest in serving a three-year term participating directly in the publication and promotion of books.

Betty considers full-length prose manuscripts (novels, memoirs, narrative nonfiction, collections of stories or essays) for publication during our open reading periods. Entries are accepted only via Submittable. Our goal is to publish 2–3 books a year.

In seeking to elevate and publish traditionally underrepresented authors, we eagerly welcome all self-identified women including trans women, nonbinary and intersex authors, and authors whose gender is fluid or nonconforming.

Selection process

In the interest of transparency, we’d like to share our selection process. Our criterion in reviewing manuscripts is the quality of the work. In the first round, all manuscripts are evaluated anonymously by no less than two readers. If a reader recognizes the anonymous manuscript, that reader recuses themselves from the review of that manuscript. Every reader chooses two manuscripts to advance to the second round. All readers review the manuscripts advanced to the second round, and from these, each reviewer chooses their top two selections. Identities of the finalists are revealed to the readers, and from that roster of finalists, we will make our selections.

If we are interested in publishing your manuscript, you'll be invited to a meeting to discuss how Betty authors work together. The meeting is a chance for both you and the press to decide if our cohort approach is right for you at this point in your writing life.

Betty responds to every submission it receives through the submission manager at the email address furnished with the submission. We are committed to responding as soon as possible.