Fiction and essays for readers who underline.
Aorael Books is a brand-new press acquiring its first list — voice-driven novels, essay collections, and literature in translation, edited to be reread.
"We publish for the reader who underlines — books built to hold up on the second pass."
Aorael launched in 2026 out of a shared complaint: most manuscripts get edited for speed, and the ones we love most need time instead. We're a new press — no backlist yet, just three editors and a clear idea of the kind of books we want to spend the next decade publishing.
Right now we're acquiring our first list: literary fiction, essay collections, and fiction in translation. Every manuscript we take on gets two structural passes and a full line edit, done in the room with its author, long before it goes near a printer.
Nothing in print yet — but the first spine is chosen.
Aorael launched in 2026. We're still reading and acquiring the rest of our first list, taking the time most manuscripts don't get — but here's the cover we've already signed.
How to Foresee the Future
Our first acquisition is a futures-studies primer: a clear-headed guide to reading the trends already shaping tomorrow — climate, public health, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, resources and energy, education, work, gender, and the long tail of the pandemic. Written by Hwangbo Wonju, adjunct professor of convergence content at Ewha Womans University, it's less a set of predictions than a toolkit — the habits of analysis that let a reader see what's coming instead of just reacting to it. English edition in progress.
See what we're looking for nextFrom inbox to first run
Reading
We read every agented submission and roughly a third of what arrives during our open call. Most manuscripts get a decision within twelve weeks.
Edit
Two structural passes and a full line edit, worked through directly with the author — not tracked changes disappearing into a shared drive.
Design & Print
Covers are designed in-house. First runs are offset-printed in small batches; reprints follow demand rather than a fixed schedule.
Open call runs every September.
Agented fiction and essay collections are read year-round; unagented submissions are read during our open month.
What we're looking for
- Literary fiction and linked story collections
- Essay collections with a clear spine
- Fiction in translation, with a sample translated chapter
- Poetry manuscripts, occasionally