Applications are currently being accepted for the She Writes Press Toward Equality in Publishing (STEP) Program 2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.
About STEP Program
She Writes Press Toward Equality in Publishing (STEP) program. Each year, we run our STEP contest to offer two authors publishing packages (plus a 500-book print run), one author per season, to publish on She Writes Press. The purpose of this contest is to support inclusivity across our publishing program, and to fortify our own mission to give voice to women writers.
Benefits of STEP Program
Both packages include the full services of the She Writes Press Publishing Package (each valued at $12,000 + a 500-copy print run):
- Custom interior design for up to 100,000 words
- Custom cover design
- E-book file conversion and upload to 130+ distribution partners
- Traditional distribution to the trade via Simon & Schuster
- Proofreading of the final manuscript
- Copyright filing and obtaining your Library of Congress control number
- Warehousing of short-run printed books
- Preordering and fulfillment of all orders
- Support of the book through the production schedule and post-publication by an assigned editorial manager
- Complimentary Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs)
- Initial print run of 500 copies to the Simon & Schuster warehouse
STEP Program Requirements
One entry per person. Open to the all countries and regions. Entries for the STEP program are accepted from June 29, 2026 through September 10, 2026. Entrants must satisfy all the following requirements:
- Anyone over the age of eighteen
- Women only (a writer identifying as female/woman, trans, non-binary, or genderqueer)
- Women of color (by which we mean people whose heritage is African; Indigenous to the Americas and Australia; Latinx; Asian/Pacific Islander; Arab; or people of mixed racial heritage with one or two parents who fit into the above groups).
- Agented or unagented work qualifies
Application Date and Process
Submit via Word or PDF attachment both a chapter-by-chapter summary and either:
- the first 50 pages of your manuscript
- a full nonfiction book proposal (that includes sample chapters)
Application Deadline
11 September, 2026
Opportunity Application
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STEP Program
Apply for STEP Program
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