Best Short Fiction Independent Publishers in 2025

Publisher of: 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.

Publisher of: 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.

Publisher of: Short Fiction

Catapult Books may have been founded in 2015, but they’ve made a huge impact on the literary scene in just a few years. In fact, they’ve made such a big splash that they managed to acquire an older indie publisher, Counterpoint Press, back in 2016. Post-merger, Catapult’s small, impeccably curated catalog — mostly memoir and literary fiction — continues to exemplify quality over quantity.

Publisher of: Short Fiction

This San Francisco-based small press has been publishing thoughtful speculative fiction since 1995, sweeping up a full slate of high-profile nominations on the way, from the Hugo to the Nebula and beyond. Their sustained excellence has earned them legendary status in the eyes of hardcore sci-fi fans, although they occasionally dip into other, less speculative genres like memoir and mystery. Tachyon Publications’ bread and butter are its famous science fiction short story collections, which routinely earn glowing reviews from the likes of Booklist and Library Journal.