Best Nonfiction Independent Publishers in 2025

Publisher of: Nonfiction

Quirk Books is best known for publishing Seth Grahame-Smith’s brilliant decision to mash up Regency romance and B-movie horror, a title that ultimately became an NYT bestseller — not to mention a Lily James-led film. True to its name, this Philly-based indie press injects a whole lot of whimsy into the literary world. Quirk’s publishing program is unabashedly reader-centric, aiming to produce “objects of delight and desire”. Its titles — from humorous essays on celebrity to LGBT-affirming picture books — are clever, irreverent, and eminently giftable.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

This micro-press releases no more than four books a year. But their tightly curated list has earned them a reputation for producing fiction and nonfiction that’s as accessible as it is groundbreaking. Future Tense Books’ catalogue might be boundary-pushing, but this publisher’s aesthetic is more DIY than avant-garde. They're equally at home with wry short story collections and raw, unprententious memoirs that delve into darkness head-on.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

The publishing wing of San Francisco’s legendary City Lights Bookstore, this small press started off with a bang — or rather, an obscenity trial. Their decision to publish Allen Ginsberg’s (in)famous Beat Generation classsic mired them in legal turmoil back in 1957. These days, City Lights is still publishing groundbreaking poetry, alongside other titles in fiction and nonfiction. While the staff is no longer getting arrested, they’ve maintained their commitment to politically challenging, artistically incisive work.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

Married couple George and Marsha Braziller started publishing high quality, visually arresting art books in 1955 — an outgrowth of their passion for modern painting and the book clubs they hosted throughout the ‘40s. George, who won the trust of Nobel Prize Laureates like Claude Simone and Orhan Pamuk, passed away in 2017, aged 101. But the legendary press that bears his name remains in the hands of his two sons. These days, George Braziller has branched out beyond its art historical roots to publish widely in fiction and poetry.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

LA-based Rare Bird Books has a strong affinity for edgy, whip-smart titles on sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll: think candid sex worker memoirs and deep dives into the London music scene of the ‘70s. Besides nonfiction, Rare Bird widely publishes a number of genres over its various imprints. California Coldblood, for instance, presides over the press’s speculative fiction titles, while Barnacle Books takes care of crime fiction. As a whole, their titles are both progressive and compulsively readable, no matter if it’s PG-friendly or NSFW.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

Forest Avenue Press focuses on literary fiction, occasionally dipping their toes into memoir as well. Regardless of genre, they aim to publish work animated by joy: not necessarily stories with happy endings, but work that shows off the author’s capacity for humor and freewheeling imagination. As a result, their catalogue abounds with oddball books, each with a broad palette of literary influences. An author-focused press with a relatively small stable of talent, Forest Avenue lavishes more time and money on marketing each title than your typical indie publisher.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

This New York-based press kicked off with a series of Dive Bar guides that showed much-traveled tourist hubs, from San Francisco to Chicago, in an offbeat new light. These days, their list tilts much more towards literary fiction as well as political nonfiction: since the Bush years, Ig authors have been tackling issues from workers’ rights to PTSD care for veterans.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

This indie publisher got its start because Ezra Pound didn’t believe in a certain Harvard undergrad’s future in poetry. James Laughlin, then a college sophomore, went to the legendary modernist for advice. And Pound, who had been critiquing his work all semester, urged him to give up writing and “do something useful” instead. Thus New Directions Publishing was born. Laughlin retained a love for verse, so the budding press’s first books were poetry anthologies and collections by the greats — including Pound. These days, New Directions boasts a rich collection of fiction and criticism as well, especially works in translation.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

Two New York-based creatives — sculptor Valerie Merians and writer Dennis Loy Johnson — founded Melville House in the aftermath of 9/11. Their inaugural title was a poetry anthology collection thoughtful, devastating responses to the attacks from the likes of Pulitzer winners and New York State poets. These days, Melville House continues to engage with both politics and high art. Their nonfiction titles tackle tough issues like CIA torture and presidential malfeasance, while their fiction program elevates emerging talents and underrated international writers — voices overlooked by corporate publishing.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

The playful, punk-adjacent Microcosm Publishing considers itself the “most colorful, authentic, and empowering publishing house” in Portland's vibrant indie publishing scene. It’s a bold claim, but one borne out by the press’s DIY mindset, its centering of marginalized creators, and its exclusive use of recycled printing paper. Microcosm emerged as a zine distributor run out of founder Joe Biel’s bedroom, and it’s hung onto that sense of grit even after decades of expansion. Their strongest titles tend to be no-nonsense handbooks full of actionable instructions.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

Brooklyn-based Akashic Books was founded by the post-hardcore bassist Johnny Temple in 1997. It still operates out of the borough’s trendy Old American Can Factory, putting out galleys in the same industrial complex where electronica acts jam and indie painters hang their canvases. But in the last decade, they’ve started selling books all over the country. Dedicated to “reverse-gentrification of the literary world,” they highlight marginalized and anti-establishment authors, giving them an outlet for work considered too niche (or too incendiary) for corporate publishing.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

McSweeney’s is better known for their humor website, which features snort-inducing titles like “I Regret to Inform You That My Wedding to Captain Von Trapp Has Been Canceled” and “Signs You May Be a Female Character in a Work of Historical Fiction.” But this San Francisco-based indie publisher also runs a small — yet vibrant — books division. Their titles range from brainy, irreverent humor in the vein of their Internet Tendency to more serious fare: politically incisive nonfiction with a progressive bent.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

Independent presses tend to focus on fiction and poetry, but Feral House breaks the mold. Look through their list of publishing topics, and you’ll see post-apocalyptic survival guides under Self-Reliance and gutsy exposés of government corruption under Realpolitik. Needless to say, this isn’t the kind of small press that publishes highbrow short story collections or thoughtful, MFA-inflected novels. Their countercultural sensibility lends itself instead to bold nonfiction (or, occasionally, historical fiction) by unabashed firebrands.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

Founded in 2014, this LA-based publisher is relatively young. But it’s already assembled a formidable stable of talent: rising star Esmé Weijun Wang shares shelf space with Booker, Pulitzer, and Philip K Dick Prize winners. Many of their titles are multicultural family dramas, full of complex relationships and pitch-perfect characterization. However, their catalogue ranges beyond literary fiction to embrace highbrow speculative fiction, collections of journalism, and even self-help books.

Publisher of: Nonfiction

This storied Canadian publisher has been running out of Toronto since 1967. In that time, it’s grown from a one-man operation to a North American indie powerhouse, publishing prominent authors like Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje. As it makes headway into its sixth decade of operation, House of Anansi remains as committed as ever to promoting Canadian literature, including French-Canadian books in translation, and work by First Nations authors.