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Best Book Publishing Companies

A comprehensive directory of the best publishers in 2023, vetted by the team at Reedsy. Showing 505 publishers.

Enchanted Lion Books

Picture Book, Middle Grade, Diverse Literature, Children's

Location - New York City, US

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Diversity - Diverse Literature

Website - https://enchantedlion.com/

☑️ Indie publisher

💥 Hit titles

Cry, Heart, But Never Break

Glenn Ringtved

Ballad

Blexbolex

Bertolt

Jacques Goldstyn

Jo Fletcher Books

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, Fiction

Part of - Quercus Books > Jo Fletcher Books

Location - London, GB

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries - Submit here

Website - https://www.jofletcherbooks.com/

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Highfire

Eoin Colfer

The Beautiful Ones

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Radio Life

Derek B. Miller

Drawn and Quarterly

Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction

Location - Toronto, CA

Size - Mid size

Formats - , Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries -

Website - https://drawnandquarterly.com/

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

King-Cat

John Porcellino

Map of My Heart

John Porcellino

The League of Super Feminists

Mirion Malle

Hachette Livre

Literary Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Biographies & Memoirs, Politics, Cookbook, Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Novella, Children's

Location - New York City, US

Size - Largest

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks, Audiobooks

Website - https://www.hachette.com/

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Talking to Strangers

Macolm Gladwell

The Goldfinch

Donna Tartt

I Am Malala

Malala Yousafzai

Dzanc Books

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

Location - Raleigh, US

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Diversity - Diverse Literature

Submission format - Contests - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

We Five

Mark Dunn

Gun Needle Spoon

Patrick O'Neil

In the Event of Contact

Ethel Rohan

Two Dollar Radio

Biographies & Memoirs, Cookbook, Narrative Nonfiction, Literary Fiction, History, Horror, Humor, Mystery & Crime, Politics, Science Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Westerns, Fiction, Nonfiction

Location - Columbus, US

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries - Submit here

Website - https://twodollarradio.com/

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

A History of My Brief Body

Billy-Ray Belcourt

Whiteout Conditions

Tariq Shah

Found Audio

N.J. Campbell

Text Publishing

Biographies & Memoirs, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Romance, Fantasy, Health & Wellbeing, Historical Fiction, History, Humor, Self-Help, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, Environmental, Math & Science, Sports & Outdoors, Fiction, Nonfiction, Short Story

Location - Melbourne, AU

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries - Submit here

Website - https://www.textpublishing.com.au/

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Loner

Georgina Young

Soldiers

Tom Remiger

A Constant Hum

Alice Bishop

Soho Teen

Young Adult, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Children's, Fiction

Part of - Soho Press > Soho Teen

Location - New York City, US

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks, Audiobooks

Website - https://sohopress.com/soho-teen/

☑️ Indie publisher

💥 Hit titles

Mercury Boys

Chandra Prasad

Orpheus Girls

Brynne Rebele-Henry

Hope is Our Only Wing

Rutendo Tavengerwei

Grupo Santillana

Education & Reference, Nonfiction

Location - Madrid, ES

Size - Largest

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks, Audiobooks

Website - https://santillana.com/en/

💥 Hit titles

Español Santillana

Santillana

That Is To Say!

Helene Auge et al

Skyrocket

Sarah Fash

Knopf Doubleday

Cookbook, Architecture, Art, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Historical Fiction, History, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Environmental, Politics, Math & Science, Religion & Spirituality, Sports & Outdoors, Travel, Self-Help, Comics & Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Fiction

Part of - Penguin Random House > Knopf Doubleday

Location - New York City, US

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks, Audiobooks

Website - http://knopfdoubleday.com/

💥 Hit titles

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Secret History

Donna Tartt

Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami

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, 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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