Submission Guidelines

Delve is looking for books that provide insightful and accessible analysis of influential legal cases, legislation, and policies related to diversity, equity, and systemic prejudice in Canada. We are seeking titles related to race, Indigeneity, gender, sexuality, disability, and other under-discussed social issues. Our aim is to produce books that illuminate the histories and realities of prejudice in Canada, as well as books that celebrate and promote the people who take steps to challenge the status quo. 

We have an Open Submissions Policy, so you are welcome to submit a manuscript or query directly to our editorial team at any time.  

What we want: accessible trade books exploring important social issues in Canada through the lens of law, policy, or government. Some ideas of topics that interest us include:  

  • Police brutality 
  • Sex worker rights 
  • Indigenous rights, discrimination, and land claims 
    • Pipelines 
    • Access to clean water 
    • Murdered and missing Indigenous girls and women 
    • Residential Schools cases 
    • Fishery protests  
    • The Sixties Scoop and continuing issues related to Indigenous communities and the foster system 
  • Laws governing unhoused populations 
  • The rise of White nationalism in Canada 
  • History of Black rights in Canada 
  • History of Chinese rights in Canada 
  • History of antisemitisim and Jewish rights in Canada 
  • LGBTQ2S+ laws in Canada 
    • Gay marriage 
    • The “bathroom bill” 
    • Right to gender-confirming surgery 
  • Disability rights 
  • Human rights in Canadian prisons 
  • Biographies to highlight trailblazers in Canadian law (including judges, lawyers, and complainants) 

What we do NOT want: fiction or poetry 

Guidelines:  

  • All submissions should be made via email to lsteeve@irwinlaw.com 
  • Please include in your submission:  
    • A cover letter listing the manuscript’s working title, its unique attributes, why you think it fits our list, and why we would be a suitable publisher. It would be helpful if you could describe your intended audience. Please note the current state of the manuscript, when you expect it to be completed, and its approximate length  
    • A brief synopsis and outline of the work, including a table of contents 
    • Three sample chapters OR the full manuscript, if complete 
    • A brief author biography  
  • All materials should be saved as Word documents and attached to the email  
  • Please use the industry standard manuscript format  
  • Your email subject line should be as follows: “Submission – LastName – ManuscriptTitle”