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Orison Books

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About

Today, a significant gap exists between literary publishers and strictly religious publishers. Literary publishers occasionally publish books of spiritual depth, but few, if any, set out to do so as a mission and raison d’être. Religious publishers, on the other hand, tend to publish work that offers little appeal to readers outside a particular ideological group. Orison Books is a non-profit literary press that aims to address this gap through its focus on the life of the spirit from a non-ideological standpoint.

Orison [“or-ĭ-sən”/“or-ĭ-zən”] is an archaic word that means “prayer.” We at Orison Books believe that the best spiritual art and literature call us to meditate and contemplate, rather than asking us to adopt any ideology or set of propositions. This type of art evokes the human experience of transcendence and explores the mysteries of being, and in so doing opens our minds and hearts to the divine and the possibility of becoming the fullest humans we can be. In our view, spiritual writing has little to do with subject matter. Rather, the kind of work we seek to publish has a transcendent aesthetic effect on the reader, and reading it can itself be a spiritual experience. Such work is not merely about spiritual contemplation, but itself leads the reader into profound contemplation. It is not merely about the sublime, but itself has a sublime effect on the reader. It is not merely about the mystery of being, but itself heightens the reader’s sense of the mystery underlying the fabric of our daily lives.

Orison Books seeks to be broad, inclusive, and open to perspectives spanning the spectrum of spiritual and religious thought, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

Orison Books will serve as a home for writers and readers of all backgrounds, religious or non-religious.

Voluntary Fees: This project accepts voluntary fees for "tip jar" submissions.
Want more insight into the editors' preferences? Read our interview with the editor(s).

Country of Publication

United States

Publication Media

Electronic Publication Electronic Publication
Print Publication Print Publication

AI Policy

Human-created work only; no AI use allowed

Statistics Synopsis

Faster
Orison Books's overall average response time is faster than most publishers.
More Challenging
Orison Books's overall acceptance rate is lower than most publishers.
More Responsive
Orison Books's overall rate of non-response is lower than most publishers.

Collapse section Fiction Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 October 2026 12:00 AM EDT (in 22 days) through 31 October 2026.

2

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: All ethnic groups/populations, All genders, All religions, All sexual identities.

Genres:

General Open to all/most Subgenres

Lengths:

Novella: 30,000 - 40,000 words.
Fiction Collection: More than 30,000 words.
Novel: No specific word count limits known (our definition: more than 40000 words).

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Religion/Spirituality: Spirituality.

Payment:

Unknown advance + Unknown royalties Unknown advance. Unknown royalties.

Submissions:

Method: Duosuma submission manager.
Reprints: Unknown.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Collapse section Nonfiction Temp Closed

Dates:

Will be open to submissions from 01 October 2026 12:00 AM EDT (in 22 days) through 31 October 2026.

Audience:

Open to a broad Audience, including: All ethnic groups/populations, All genders, All religions, All sexual identities.

Lengths:

Nonfiction Collection: More than 30,000 words.
Book: More than 30,000 words.

Styles:

Open to all/most Styles, including: Literary.

Topics:

Religion/Spirituality: Spirituality.

Payment:

Unknown advance + Unknown royalties Unknown advance. Unknown royalties.

Submissions:

Method: Duosuma submission manager.
Reprints: Unknown.
Simultaneous submissions: Unknown.
Media: Text.

Always check guidelines for details and restrictions. If you aren't familiar with these terms, see our glossary.

Orison Books Submission Statistics

The statistics in this section are compiled from submission reports sent to us through our submission tracker. They are not provided by the publication's editors/staff or by Duotrope's admins. Information in this section is updated a few times per day. Learn more about the statistics.

This project ranks among the 25 Most Challenging Nonfiction Publishers in our database.
Filter:
Accuracy
We have received 102 reports from 101 different members within the past 12 months. The more responses reported, the more accurate the information.
Days Reported
39 min | 67.4 mean avg | 68.5 median | 229 max days (25.4 std dev)
Responses
97.06 %
Acceptances:
1.96 % of submissions accepted (173.5 avg. days per acceptance) | 1.98 % of submitters accepted Rejections are often underreported, which skews the statistics in favor of acceptances. Most publishers have a lower acceptance rate than indicated here.
Rejections:
95.10 % (67.3 avg. days per rejection) | 3.1 % personal, 96.9 % form, 0.0 % unspecified
Non-Responses
0.00 %
Lost/Returned:
-
Never Responded:
-
Withdrawals
2.94 % (50.0 avg. days per withdrawal)

Other Information

The most common submission tip paid: USD $3.00. (50.0 % reported giving a tip.)
Most submissions are acknowledged on the same day.
Most recent response reported was received on 18 May 2026.
Responses have been received for submissions sent as recently as 31 Oct 2025.
Date compiled: 08 Sep 2026 20:46 UTC (6 hours, 21 minutes ago).

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Your Submissions

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Best Spiritual Literature DNQ  Charges fees for all submissions
The Orison Chapbook Prize  Charges fees for all submissions
The Orison Prizes in Poetry & Fiction  Charges fees for all submissions

Before Submitting

We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is correct. It is not unusual for publications to evolve or close without notice. We do our best to keep up, but it isn't always possible. Duotrope listings do not imply endorsement or recommendation of the project being listed. Before submitting, you should use your own judgment to determine whether the project meets your standards.

  • Always read the full guidelines provided by the publisher.
  • Try to read at least one previous publication to get a better idea of what the editor would like to see.
  • Unless the publisher's guidelines state otherwise, always use industry standard manuscript formatting.
  • For book publishers, it is standard to submit a cover letter, synopsis, and sample instead of the full manuscript. Do this unless otherwise instructed.
  • Be professional, patient, and persistent.

Dates

Last Updated: 31 Aug 2026

We check their guidelines for changes every four weeks, and we audit the listing twice a year.

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