New & Upcoming Releases

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Surf Your Style

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News

• 6-17-25: Pucks & Pages featured Olivia North’s SHARP EDGES on BookTok, and gave it some glowing words right from the first page! Go give it a heart, bookmark, repost, and view!
• 6-16-25: Pucks & Pages featured Olivia North’s SHARP EDGES on BookTok! Go give it a heart, bookmark, repost, and view!

Recent 2025 News

• 2-28-25: Olivia North’s Chatelaine Book Award for Romantic Fiction-shortlisted hockey romance debut SHARP EDGES is set for release on March 4, 2025, so sign up on our mailing list to stay informed, or on our publicity list to catch an ARC!
• 1-31-25: We’re thrilled to announce the acquisition of Olivia North’s Chatelaine Book Award for Romantic Fiction-shortlisted hockey romance series, Fresh Ice, beginning with her debut SHARP EDGES! Pro hockey player Blake faces a chronic illness that he hides from his Boston teammates but can’t hide from sassy equipment manager Kerry, who melts at his charming Minnesota manner. Coming in 2025, so sign up on our mailing list to stay informed, or on our publicity list to catch an ARC!
• 1-25-25: Happy Launch Day to us! Our website is live, and we’re open for submissions. We’re new, so please forgive any initial road bumps.

2024 News

• 12-3-24: SHARP EDGES, book 1 in the Fresh Ice series by Olivia North has been shortlisted for the Chatelaine Book Awards for Romantic Fiction.
• 11-19-24: We have a new website. Welcome.
• 10-2-24: SHARP EDGES, book 1 in the Fresh Ice series by Olivia North, has been longlisted for the Chatelaine Book Awards for Romantic Fiction.

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Submissions

Bench Press accepts submissions year-round of sports romance novels only, although that topic can be broad. We do not publish anything else except sports romance. Submit via Submittable. We will do our best to respond within a few weeks, but please don’t follow up excessively; reading submissions takes a lot of time. Submit novels here and Shorties stories here. Authors: don’t submit via email; our inbox is for correspondence only. Agents: you may send pitches via email.

Code of Conduct: Bench Press expects its authors and staff to be kind literary citizens within the industry and to conduct themselves with decency in the public sphere, which includes social-media profiles. We reserve the right to sever ties and contracts with authors or staff who target or harass others; use racist, homophobic, xenophobic, ableist, or otherwise derogatory remarks toward others in public media; publish external material that is harmful to others; or otherwise conduct themselves in a way that would reflect poorly on our press. Literary citizenship is important to us, and the literary community is small and tight-knit. We all need one another, and we rise by lifting others.

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Distribution, Sales, & ARCs

Our books can be ordered and shelved globally in paperback, ebook, and audiobook (if applicable) anywhere books are borrowed or sold. They are available via all major online retailers, including Amazon, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, eBooks.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Waterstones, and Blackwell’s; from your favorite bookstore, library, or university via Ingram, OverDrive, Hoopla, Baker & Taylor, and Bookshop; to the industry via Edelweiss+ (requires free login to access), and in-person at bookfairs and author events around the United States.

Booksellers: please order through Ingram at 55% discount with returns accepted and sign up on our bookstore list if you want tips for shelving, displaying, and promoting our books and authors around certain holidays, sporting events, or local interests. Industry buyers and rights acquirers: please email us for any information you need. ARCs and review materials are available to anyone interested in reviewing or promoting one of our titles; please email for review copies and sign up on our publicity list to be notified when new ARCs are available to promoters.

Branding: Our colors are hex #D86ECC (fuchsia), #156082 (blue), #E8928C (salmon), #FFC000 (orange), #BFBFBF (gray), #2A2926 (charcoal). Our high-res logo can be downloaded here, and our icon logo can be downloaded here.

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Our Books Win Awards!

Click an award below to see a list of our award-winning recipients.

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Author & Press Events

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