About

Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is the founder, CEO, and publisher of Paper Stars Press LLC

About Patricia Leavy

Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is a bestselling author. She has published over fifty books, earning commercial and critical success in both nonfiction and fiction, and her work has been translated into numerous languages. She has received over one hundred book awards. Recently,her novel Shooting Stars Above was Featured on People “10 Romance Books to Read After Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry” and was the 2025 Firebird Book Award First Place Winner in Contemporary Novel, Romance, and Summer Beach Read. Her nonfiction book, The Artist Academic, published by Paper Stars Press, debuted on Amazon as the #1 Bestseller in College & University Education and the #1 New Release in Biographies/Memoirs of Authors. It won the 2025 American Writing Award for Academic/Education and was honored as a finalist in Autobiography/Memoir and Narrative Non-Fiction.

In addition to being a prolific author, Patricia has extensive experience in the publishing industry. Over the course of her career, she has served as series creator and editor for ten book series with Oxford University Press, Sense Publishers, Brill, and Guilford Press (including the groundbreaking Social Fictions series she edited for a decade). She also cofounded Art/Research International: A Transdisciplinary Journal. Patricia has received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2016, Mogul, a global women’s empowerment network, named her an “Influencer.” In 2018, the National Women’s Hall of Fame honored her, and SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” In 2024 The London Arts-Based Research Centre established “The Patricia Leavy Award for Arts-Based Research.” She delivers keynote addresses, presentations, and workshops at conferences and universities around the world. She also teaches webinars about writing and publishing in partnership with the London Arts-Based Research Centre. Patricia’s website is www.patricialeavy.com.

Patricia plans to continue publishing her own books with her longtime nonfiction and fiction publishers, and to publish some of her crossover books through Paper Stars Press. She encourages authors to find the right publishing option for each book.

For inquiries about Patricia’s books or to schedule a virtual book club visit or other event, please contact her assistant, Shalen Lowell, at shalenlowell@gmail.com.

About Paper Stars Press

Patricia believes in ethical publishing and has spent her entire career advocating for her rights and those of other authors. She began Paper Stars Press to offer authors a creative way to publish. Under our co-publishing model authors retain creative control and copyright of their work, while gaining support and guidance. It’s ideal for authors who aren’t going the route of traditional publishing but don’t want to be on their own with self-publishing, or pay the high fees associated with hybrid publishing, but are willing to make a modest financial investment. We think of our publishing model as DIY with an experienced helping hand. Our books are exclusively published on Amazon (as paperbacks and e-books).

Paper Stars Press publishes both fiction and nonfiction. Our primary interest is in crossover work—books that either merge fiction and nonfiction or authors with footholds in both the academy and literary world (or who may aspire to such). We are especially interested in signing books to our Literary Scholar series (although we will also publish stand-alone titles).

Literary Scholar Series

Literary Scholar is a humanities series that merges literary and academic or social concerns. This series has three arms: literary works, memoirs, and textbooks. Regarding the first arm, we seek literary works such as novels, plays, short story collections and poetry collections written by scholars or with crossover appeal in the academy. In 2010 Patricia Leavy coined the term “social fiction” to denote literary works written by scholars or those that address scholarly concerns. The fiction arm of this series picks up where Leavy’s acclaimed “Social Fictions” series left off (for which she served as editor for a decade). The series also publishes nonfiction books or books that merge a literary form with nonfiction. We are especially interested in memoirs related to the idea of “literary scholar” and interdisciplinary textbooks focused on literary ways of knowing.

About Our Model

At Paper Stars Press, every author is treated equally whether they are well-known or publishing their debut. Everyone goes through the same process and gets the same deal. There is a vetted submission process (this is a competitive process, and a small number of books are signed based on their fit with our line). Our contract includes the following:

• Authors agree to have their book professionally copy edited at their own expense (authors may choose their own copy editor and we are happy to make suggestions as requested– we have a relationship with an affordable freelance service).
• Authors pay our freelancers directly for typesetting, cover design, and e-book conversion. We take no fees whatsoever, but authors are responsible for paying these costs directly to our freelancers (the cost varies based on word count, trim size, cover selection, etc. but most authors can expect to spend $500-$1,000). Authors have creative control and choose their own typesetting design and layout, and cover (following our guidelines, although trim size is selected by the publisher in consultation with the author).
• Paper Stars Press will purchase a unique ISBN for every book and upload the book to Amazon under our imprint’s name.
• Paper Stars Press will provide authors an editorial read of their manuscript (with an eye to identifying potential sensitivity or permissions issues).
• Paper Stars Press will provide editorial feedback on the book’s back cover synopsis and any advance praise secured by the author.
• Paper Stars Press will provide authors with a propriety book promotional kit filled with suggestions for how to market and publicize their books (our kit is loaded with insider tips for best practices).
• Paper Stars Press will assist in promoting books to both general and academic audiences, as appropriate (through the publisher’s social media and mailing list).
• Authors retain copyright for their work and the rights to sequels (no burdensome non-compete clauses).
• Paper Stars Press will negotiate translation deals and other licensing opportunities that may arise.
• Authors receive 50% royalties on profits.
• Authors receive five complimentary copies of their book and are able to buy additional copies at a substantially reduced price (authors are free to place bulk orders and resell their books without restrictions).

Submission Guidelines

Before you submit to Paper Stars Press, please make sure you understand our business model. Literary works, such as novels, should be fully drafted before submission (although it is fine if they are not yet copy edited). Memoirs and other nonfiction books may be in-progress, but please have at least a few sample chapters with a realistic timetable for completion. For textbooks, a detailed proposal will suffice if you have a publishing track record.

TBA in early 2026

Please do not contact Patricia or her assistant Shalen through social media or their personal emails to pitch or in any way assess a submission. Please respect our process and follow our submission guidelines. Thank you!