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DIRECTORY

Best Book Publishing Companies

Showing 532 publishers that match your search.

Seven Stories Press

Genres: Literary Fiction, Politics, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Fiction, and Poetry

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.sevenstories.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Pandemic Pivot

John Feffer

The Involuntary Sojourner

S. P. Tenhoff

The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America

Robin Marty

Catapult

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Literature, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Short Story

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://books.catapult.co/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
All You Can Ever Know

Nicole Chung

The Manningtree Witches

A.K. Blakemore

Lean Fall Stand

Jon McGregor

Artisan Books

Genres: Cookbook, DIY, Sports & Outdoors, Health & Wellbeing, and Nonfiction

Part of: Workman Publishing > Artisan Books

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.artisanbooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Life in the Studio

Frances Palmer

In the Company of Women

Grace Bonney

The Kinfolk Home

Nathan Williams

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Quirk Books

Genres: DIY, Cookbook, History, Horror, Humor, Mystery & Crime, Politics, Sports & Outdoors, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, True Crime, Comics & Graphic Novels, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Fiction, Children's, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Novella

Location: Philadelphia, US

Website: https://www.quirkbooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Queries & manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Seth Grahame-Smith

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Ransom Riggs

Geekerella

Ashley Poston

Talos Press

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Comics & Graphic Novels, and Fiction

Part of: Skyhorse Publishing > Talos Press

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/talos-press/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Godblind

Anna Stephens

The Caledonian Gambit

Dan Moren

Herokiller

Paul Tassi

Uproar Books

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Fiction

Location: Nashville, US

Website: http://uproarbooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Asperfell

Jamie Thomas

Always Greener

J. R. H. Lawless

Foretold

Violet Lumani

Chicago Review Press

Genres: Middle Grade, Young Adult, African-American, Biographies & Memoirs, DIY, History, Politics, Sports & Outdoors, True Crime, Feminism, Education & Reference, Self-Help, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Children's, and Nonfiction

Location: Chicago, US

Website: https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Abe & Fido

Matthew Algeo

Absinthe & Flamethrowers

William Gurstelle

The Admiral and the Ambassador

Scott Martelle

Penguin Random House

Genres: Literary Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Biographies & Memoirs, Politics, Cookbook, Romance, Picture Book, Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Novella, and Children's

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes

Largest

💥 Hit titles
The Testaments

Margaret Atwood

Where the Crawdads Sing

Delia Owens

The Guardians

John Grisham

BOA Editions

Genres: Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Diverse Literature, Poetry, Short Story, Nonfiction, and Fiction

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.boaeditions.org/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Contests - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Joytime Killbox

Brian Wood

The Year of the Dog

Deborah Paredez

The OK End of Funny Town

Mark Polanzak

Mighty Media

Genres: Picture Book, Middle Grade, and Children's

Location: Minneapolis, US

Website: https://mightymediapress.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Monster Needs to Go to School

Paul Czajak

Stingray City

Ellen J. Prager

The Ugly Dumpling

Stephanie Campisi

What do book publishers do?

Sure, a book publisher prints and sells your book. But what they do behind the scenes encompasses much more than that. Publishers handle the entire publishing process for books, including: 

  • Editing the book, i.e. developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading; 
  • Designing the book, i.e. book cover design and any necessary interior book design;
  • Promotion and marketing, i.e. writing the book’s blurb, email marketing, setting up media interviews, etc.; and
  • Production and distribution, i.e. formatting and distributing hardback, paperback, and ebook versions of the book to stores, both online and brick-and-mortar. 

Note that the structure of publishing companies may differ, depending on their size. Bigger book publishers may be made up of publishing houses which may, in turn, be made up of imprints — each of which will have its own brand identity in terms of the type of books it publishes. 

However, regardless of a publisher’s size, the scope of their work shouldn’t change. Once you sign with a publisher, they will do everything that it takes to bring your book to market. 

What are the most prominent book publishing companies?

If we define success by sheer sales volume, then we might point towards the "Big 5" presses and educational publishers (who rake in a LOT of money). Over the past few decades, these giant publishing companies have merged with and acquired most of the mid-sized publishers in the industry. However, a few still remain. Here are today's biggest book publishing companies:

  • Penguin Random House (Big 5)
  • Hachette Book Group (Big 5)
  • HarperCollins (Big 5)
  • Macmillan Publishers (Big 5)
  • Simon & Schuster (Big 5)
  • Scholastic Corporation
  • Pearson Education
  • McGraw-Hill Education
  • Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • Cengage Learning

Together, these largest publishers dominate the publishing landscape. Countless beloved books come from their imprints, many of which you’ll find in our directory. 

The rest of the publishing landscape is largely made up of small publishers, or independent publishers. Most big publishers don’t directly accept unsolicited submissions without a literary agent — but smaller publishers do, making them a realistic and worthwhile route to publication. 

I have a long list of publishers. What next?

Congratulations! Now take a moment to thoroughly vet every publisher on your longlist. Scams are a dime a dozen in the publishing industry, and you want to make 100% sure that you’re dealing with a legitimate publishing company. Again, we strongly recommend reading this post and Writer Beware to know what red flags to watch out for.

When you’re confident in all of the publishers on your longlist, it’s time for the most nerve-wracking step: submitting your manuscript to them. 

Check out our free resources if you’re feeling daunted by what comes next. Whether you’re learning how to research publishers or how to personalize a submission, we've got you covered.

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