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Find the perfect editor for your next book
1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.
DIRECTORY
Showing 37 indie publishers that match your search.
Publisher of: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Short Fiction
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.
🔥 Hit title: Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsburg
⭐️ Best known for: Essay Collections, Poetry Collections, Memoir
💌 Accepts unagented submissions? Yes, in the form of Book Proposals. View guidelines →
Publisher of: Fiction and Nonfiction
One of the top indie publishers when it comes to literary accolades, Bellevue Literary Press has a Pulitzer under its belt, not to mention an International Latino Book Award and finalist nods from the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize. Though it began as a project of the NYU School of Medicine, Bellevue Literary Press is now a fully indie nonprofit. Still, its med school roots remain clear in its mission: publishing thoughtful books that sit at the intersection of the arts and the sciences.
🔥 Hit title: Tinkers by Paul Harding
⭐️ Best known for: Biographies, Literary Fiction
💌 Accepts unagented submissions? Yes, in the form of Full Manuscripts. View guidelines →
Publisher of: Nonfiction
This edgy, Manchester-based press has furnished a voice for the counterculture since 1991. Originally founded to sell VHS copies of a controversial cult director’s latest release, Headpress hasn’t strayed far from its roots in pulp, grindhouse, and all things indie film. Beyond its sharp criticism of movie genres that don't get a lot mainstream attention, Headpress publishes widely across the spectrum of quirky nonfiction. Look through its list of titles, and you'll see everything from deep cuts on underground music to trippy meditations on European folklore.
🔥 Hit title: Bleeding Skull by Joseph A. Ziemba and Dan Budnik
⭐️ Best known for: Biography, Film, Journalism
💌 Accepts unagented submissions? Yes, in the form of Queries. View guidelines →
Publisher of: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry
This Minneapolis-based press takes inspiration from its botanical namesake. Just as milkweed feeds the transformation of caterpillars into monarch butterflies, Milkweed Editions supports emerging and experimental writers, giving them a home for their work to flourish. Its catalogue is an exercise in artistic risk-taking: full of intricately textured novels, cerebral and raw memoirs, and some of the finest verse by young poets.
🔥 Hit title: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
⭐️ Best known for: Poetry Collections
💌 Accepts unagented submissions? Yes, in the form of Contest Entries . View guidelines →
Publisher of: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Short Fiction
Tin House’s legendary literary magazine may have shuttered its doors 2019, but their book publishing program is still going strong. Originally launched as an Bloomsbury imprint, Tin House Books spun off into an indie publisher in 2005. They release around 12 books a year often from first-time authors. Tin House Books publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and they have a penchant for lush, character-driven contemporary novels, playful essay collections, and memoirs that delve into complex relationships with uncompromising insight.
🔥 Hit title: Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl by Jeannie Vanasco
⭐️ Best known for: Essay Collections, Literary Fiction, Memoirs
💌 Accepts unagented submissions? No
Publisher of: Fiction and Nonfiction
This Portland-based indie press is highly literary without being pretentious. Their wheelhouse is fairly broad, focusing on fiction and narrative nonfiction that puts vivid storytelling on display. In practice, that often means character-driven contemporary novels and emotionally rich memoirs that pull you into all the complexities of real-life relationships. You don’t have to write within spitting distance of Forest Park to be published by Hawthorne: they work with authors from all over the country. But, true to their geographic roots, Hawthorne Books has quite a few Oregon-centered titles on their list.
🔥 Hit title: California Calling by Natalie Singer
⭐️ Best known for: How-To Guides
💌 Accepts unagented submissions? No
Publisher of: Fiction
Europa Editions' parent company, Edizione E/O, grew out of a failed venture by Italian couple Sandro Ferri and Sandra Ozzala : a bookstore where thinkers with opposing views could meet for peaceful dialogue. When the political discord proved too daunting for polite reading-room tête-à-têtes, the Ferris, now married, pivoted to publishing. Their American publishing house, Europa Editions, is one of the US’s top publishers of fiction in translation, and they’ve produced more than a few NYT bestsellers, including Elena Ferrante's celebrated Neapolitan Novels. (And yes, they've met the mysterious, pseudonymous author face to face.)
🔥 Hit title: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
⭐️ Best known for: Literary Fiction
💌 Accepts unagented submissions? No
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