If we get together, if we roll up our sleeves and take action… then there is hope for the future of the planet.
— Dr. Jane Goodall
(Dr. Jane Goodall passed away on Wednesday, at age 91. This quote is a portion of her closing words from an interview with ABC News last year.)
Shiraki Press news
September was a quiet month for us in terms of public-facing news, as we’ve had our heads down in editing, marketing plans, and book production.
Brianne has been hard at work on developmental edits and marketing plans, as well as securing copyediting contracts for all three of our current acquisitions. We have outside freelancers do the copyedit because they’re fresh eyes who aren’t too close to the book, which really helps catch all the little details we might unconsciously gloss over after we’ve already been marinating in the text for weeks or months.
Josh has been working on book design, print galleys (the files that specify for the printer what every page of the final print book actually looks like), ebook formatting, and securing cover art contracts for our first two titles.
Our submissions are still open, and we’re looking for three more hopeful novellas for the back half of 2026!
What we’re reading
(Books linked here are sold through Bookshop.org and may support a local bookseller of your choice. Shiraki Press makes a small commission from these sales.)
Josh’s favorite reads this month:
- The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas
Brianne’s favorite reads this month:
- Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Nayler
- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
- The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
Community spotlight
Otherside is a new magazine of queer science fiction and fantasy devoted to speculative fiction, poetry, and art by 2SLGBTQIA+ authors and artists. Their Kickstarter funded on day one, but they’re still open for stretch goals through October 29!
Support Shiraki Press
Would you like to support our mission to bring more hopeful adult fiction into the world?
If so, the best ways you can help today are:
- Share our call for submissions anywhere you think it might resonate with readers or authors
- Follow and boost us on Instagram and BlueSky
- Buy one of these hopepunk books we admire from Bookshop.org. (Shiraki Press makes a small commission on these sales.)