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DIRECTORY

Best Book Publishing Companies

Showing 551 publishers that match your search.

Dzanc Books

Genres: Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Narrative Nonfiction, Horror, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Diverse Literature, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Short Story

Location: Raleigh, US

Website: https://www.dzancbooks.org/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Contests - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
We Five

Mark Dunn

Gun Needle Spoon

Patrick O'Neil

In the Event of Contact

Ethel Rohan

CSIRO Publishing

Genres: Math & Science, Medical, Psychology, and Nonfiction

Part of: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation > CSIRO Publishing

Location: Melbourne, AU

Website: https://www.publish.csiro.au/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Queries - View guidelines β†’

Mid size

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Way of the Weedy Seadragon

Anne Morgan

Plantastic!

Catherine Clowers

The Allure of Fungi

Alison Pouliot

TouchWood Editions

Genres: Art, Photography, Biographies & Memoirs, Cookbook, History, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Travel, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Nonfiction, Short Story, and Fiction

Part of: Heritage Group > TouchWood Editions

Location: Vancouver, CA

Website: https://www.touchwoodeditions.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Distilleries of Vancouver Island

Marianne Scott

Show Me the Honey

Dave Doroghy

The Little Prairie Book of Berries

Sheryl Normandeau

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Puffin Books

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

Part of: Penguin Random House > Penguin Young Readers > Puffin Books

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.penguin.com/publishers/puffin/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Mid size

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Roald Dahl

Double Fudge

Judy Blume

The Outsiders

S. E. Hinton

Pratham Books

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

Location: Bangalore, IN

Website: https://prathambooks.org/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Ammachi's Incredible Investigation

Vinayak Varma

Your Body is Yours

Yamini Vijayan

Tine and the Faraway Mountain

Shikha Tripathi

Ventura Press

Genres: Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Health & Wellbeing, Diverse Literature, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Location: Sydney, AU

Website: https://www.venturapress.com.au/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Night Letters

Denise Leith

The Cubs Roar

Blanche d'Alpuget

The Women's Circle

Karyn Sepulveda

Sourcebooks Fire

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Children's, and Fiction

Part of: Sourcebooks > Sourcebooks Fire

Location: Chicago, US

Website: https://www.sourcebooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Mid size

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Bone Witch

Rin Chupeco

The Dark Tide

Alicia Jasinska

It Came From the Sky

Chelsea Sedoti

Turner Publishing

Genres: Self-Help, Business, Young Adult, History, Romance, Mystery & Crime, Cookbook, Health & Wellbeing, Art, Nonfiction, and Fiction

Location: Nashville, US

Website: https://www.turnerpublishing.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Emperor's Sword

Andrew Klavan

One Stupid Thing

Stewart Lewis

My Mistress' Eyes Are Raven Black

Terry Roberts

Tor/Forge

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Historical Fiction, Westerns, and Fiction

Part of: Macmillan > Tor/Forge

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.torforgeblog.com

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes

Mid size

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Mistborn

Brandon Sanderson

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Susanna Clarke

Wheel of Time

Robert Jordan

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

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Pandemic Pivot

John Feffer

The Involuntary Sojourner

S. P. Tenhoff

The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America

Robin Marty

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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