Severn River Publishing Submission Terms
Last Updated: September 15, 2026
These Manuscript Submission Terms (“Terms”) apply to materials you submit to Severn River Publishing, LLC (“Severn River Publishing,” “we,” or “us”). By submitting any materials (a “Submission”), you agree to these Terms.
1) No Implied Confidentiality; Unsolicited Materials
We cannot accept fiduciary, agency, or confidentiality obligations for unsolicited submissions. Do not submit confidential information. We will treat Submissions with professional discretion, but no special confidentiality duty arises from your Submission.
2) Ownership; Evaluation License
You retain all rights in your Submission. You grant us a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, and display the Submission solely to evaluate it for potential acquisition/publication. This includes access by our authorized personnel—employees, contractors, advisors, readers, and service providers (e.g., secure storage, workflow tools). No transfer of IP occurs under these Terms.
3) Evaluation Process
We may use employees, contractors, readers, service providers, and software-assisted tools to receive, organize, process, and evaluate Submissions. Any such use is limited to considering the Submission for potential acquisition or publication and related recordkeeping. We do not use Submissions to train artificial intelligence models.
4) Security; Retention; Deletion
We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate for submission review. If we decline your Submission, we will ordinarily delete working copies from active systems within 180 days of our decision. Reasonable archival/back-up copies may persist for a limited period. You can request deletion sooner at submissions@severnriverpublishing.com (or contact@severnriverbooks.com), and we will make reasonable efforts to comply, subject to legal holds or our need to maintain records of the submission decision.
5) Representations; Indemnity
You represent and warrant that: (a) you own or control the rights in the Submission and have authority to grant the evaluation license; (b) the Submission does not infringe third-party rights; and (c) your Submission complies with these Terms and applicable law. You agree to indemnify us against third-party claims arising from breach of the foregoing.
6) No Obligation; No Compensation
We are not obligated to review, return, or respond to a Submission; we owe no compensation unless we later enter into a signed publishing agreement. We may have independently developed or may later develop materials similar to your Submission; no similarity creates any obligation to you.
7) Simultaneous Submissions; Withdrawals
You may submit elsewhere. Please notify us promptly if your Submission is accepted by another party or you wish to withdraw it from consideration.
8) Communications
We may contact you about your Submission and, if you opt in, about opportunities with Severn River Publishing. You can opt out at any time.
9) Governing Law & Venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to conflicts of law. You consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state or federal courts located in Loudoun County, Virginia.
10) Changes; Entire Agreement; Severability
We may update these Terms from time to time; the Last Updated date reflects the effective date. These Terms constitute the entire agreement regarding Submissions and supersede prior understandings. If any provision is unenforceable, the remainder remains in effect.