Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor, designer and marketer on Reedsy.

Find the perfect editor for your next book

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

DIRECTORY

Best Book Publishing Companies

Showing 538 publishers that match your search.

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

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 →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Distilleries of Vancouver Island

Marianne Scott

Show Me the Honey

Dave Doroghy

The Little Prairie Book of Berries

Sheryl Normandeau

Berkley

Genres: Women's Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, and Fiction

Part of: Penguin Random House > Penguin Publishing Group > Berkley

Location: New York City, US

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

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
The Kiss Quotient

Helen Hoang

Beach Read

Emily Henry

Dial A for Aunties

Jesse Q. Sutanto

Looking for an editor to polish your query letter?

The best professionals are already on Reedsy, come meet them. Create your free account to request free quotes today.

Learn more about the Reedsy Marketplace.

Yale University Press

Genres: Academic, Photography, Art, Math & Science, Education & Reference, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Economics, History, Law, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, African-American, Law, and Nonfiction

Location: Hartford, GB

Website: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries & book proposals - View guidelines →

University press

💥 Hit titles
Atlas of AI

Kate Crawford

Reimagining Time

Tanya Bub & Jeffrey Bub

Radical Vision

Soyica Diggs Colbert

Atria Publishing Group

Genres: Urban Fiction, Women's Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Self-Help, Narrative Nonfiction, Cookbook, Health & Wellbeing, African-American, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Part of: Simon and Schuster > Atria Publishing Group

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.atriabooks.biz/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
My Sister's Keeper

Jodi Picoult

The Japanese Lover

Isabel Allende

Lethal Agent

Vince Flynn

Candlewick Press

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

Part of: Walker Books > Candlewick Press

Location: Boston, US

Website: https://www.candlewick.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Where's Waldo?

Martin Handford

The Tale of Despereaux

Kate DiCamillo

Judy Moody and Stink

Megan McDonald

Harper Voyager

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Fiction

Part of: HarperCollins > William Morrow > Harper Voyager

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.harpervoyagerbooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
The Poppy War

R. F. Kuang

Queen of Storms

Raymond E. Feist

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Becky Chambers

Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Genres: Literary Fiction, History, Politics, Math & Science, Narrative Nonfiction, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry

Part of: Macmillan > Farrar, Straus, & Giroux

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://us.macmillan.com/fsg/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Sharks in the Time of Saviors

Kawai Strong Washburn

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Joan Didion

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O'Connor

Akashic Books

Genres: Politics, Urban Fiction, Literary Fiction, African-American, LGBTQ+, True Crime, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Location: New York City, US

Website: http://www.akashicbooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Bivouac

Kwame Dawes

A Student of History

Nina Revoyr

Addis Ababa Noir

Maaza Mengiste

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 →

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
The Way of the Weedy Seadragon

Anne Morgan

Plantastic!

Catherine Clowers

The Allure of Fungi

Alison Pouliot

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.

Free online materials

Get a professional opinion on your query letter

Reedsy editors have worked at major publishers. Ask for a "query letter review."