FAQ
ABOUT ELEPHANT PAGE
Q: What does it mean to be a student-led publishing house?
A: The staff at Elephant Page Publishing (EPP) are students at Curtin University who are studying degrees in creative or professional writing, marketing, design and media. This means that the staff at EPP changes each semester, and currently remains unstaffed during the university break.
Q: When is Elephant Page Publishing (EPP) staffed?
A: For 2025, EPP will be staffed from February 27 to May 23, and from September 1 to November 30th.
For 2026, EPP will be staffed from February 16 to May 22.
Further dates TBD.
Q: Since the staff are students, will I be getting good quality work on my manuscript?
A: Staff are required to take units in editing and publishing before joining the publishing studio. If our team is missing any skills, such as an illustrator, we have connections with other groups at Curtin who can fill in the gaps.
All work is overseen by Per Henningsgaard, our head Publisher, who has experience running two previous student-led publishing houses, Ooligan Press and Cornerstone Press.
Q: What genres are you looking for?
A: We are very flexible! We aim to be a general trade publisher, producing books for the general public – basically anything you might find in a regular bookshop.
However, this semester we have a special interest in fantasy, romance, historical fiction and mystery.
If you’re tossing up whether or not to send us your manuscript, just do it!
Q: What is your stance on using AI?
A: At Elephant Page Publishing we do not use AI for any part of the publishing process. We believe in nurturing the talent of our staff and clients.
AUTHORS
Q: I’ve written the first few chapters of a book. Can I send this to you now, before I’ve written the rest?
A: Unfortunately, we only accept complete, book-length submissions.
Q: If I am submitting a picture book, does it need to be fully illustrated?
A: While having the picture book already illustrated is a big help, we accept unillustrated manuscripts for picture books.
Q: Do I have to be a previously published author to submit a manuscript?
A: Absolutely not! At Elephant Page, we want to uplift new voices. Whether it’s your first time writing a book, or you’ve done it many times before, our main focus is going to be on your work.
Q: What sort of royalties could I expect to receive if I was published by Elephant Page?
A: Elephant Page follows a traditional publishing model that assesses each manuscript and carefully calculates the associated profit and loss. Author royalties are dependent on the book, but we offer a royalty rate that is competitive with the Australian publishing industry standard.
Q: Will you help me with the promotion of my book if I get published by you?
A: Of course! Elephant Page actively supports our authors with the promotion of their books in every possible way!
Q: What happens after I submit a manuscript? How long will it take for a response?
A: We are working very hard to review submissions in a timely manner, but please bear in mind that we are a small team. You will likely need to wait a few weeks or even months before hearing back regarding your submission. However, if you have any special enquiries, feel free to reach out to us at elephantpagesubmissions@gmail.com.
Q: My manuscript was not accepted, now what?
A: We take care in tailoring each rejection letter to the submission we received. In the letter, we will highlight areas that worked well and provide feedback on areas of improvement. We recommend authors take the time to rework their manuscript and resubmit at a later date.
Please keep in mind that we receive hundreds of submissions but are currently only able to accept one manuscript per semester (two per year).
Q: I need help editing my manuscript, can you help me?
A: If your manuscript is accepted, we will go through the full editing process with you.
If your manuscript was not accepted, or you are looking for editing services before submission, check out our resources page for different organisations that help writer’s with their work!
Got a different question? Head to our Contact page to drop us a line.
