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Best Book Publishing Companies

A comprehensive directory of the best publishers in 2023, vetted by the team at Reedsy. Showing 503 publishers.

Taylor & Francis Publishing

Medical, Psychology, Math & Science, Law, Sports & Outdoors, Politics, Environmental, Business, Art, Nonfiction

Location - London, GB

Size - Largest

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks, Audiobooks

Website - https://taylorandfrancis.com/

💥 Hit titles

How Learning Happens

Carl Hendrick & Paul Arthur Kirschner

Closing the Reading Gap

Alex Quigley

Motivational Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Paul Earnshaw & Cathy Atkinson

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

Candlewick Press

Picture Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Children's

Part of - Walker Books > Candlewick Press

Location - Boston, US

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

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

☑️ Indie publisher

💥 Hit titles

Where's Waldo?

Martin Handford

The Tale of Despereaux

Kate DiCamillo

Judy Moody and Stink

Megan McDonald

Severn House

Horror, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Romance, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Horror, Fiction

Part of - Canongate Books > Severn House

Location - London, GB

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Website - http://severnhouse.com/

☑️ Indie publisher

💥 Hit titles

Murder Ink

Betty Hechtman

Best Laid Plans

Gwen Florio

A Choir of Crows

Candace M. Robb

Fair Winds Press

Cookbook, Health & Wellbeing, Self-Help, Sports & Outdoors, Nonfiction

Part of - Quarto Group > Fair Winds Press

Location - Boston, US

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books

Submission format - Book proposals - Submit here

Website - https://www.quartoknows.com/Fair-Winds-Press

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

The Great Cholesterol Myth

Jonny Bowden et al

The Path of the Witch

Lidia Pradas

Press Here! Ayurvedic Head Massage for Beginners

Hillary Arrieta

New Directions

Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Short Story

Location - New York City, US

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

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

☑️ Indie publisher

💥 Hit titles

The Emissary

Yoko Tawada

A Shock

Keith Ridgway

The Caretaker

Doon Arbus

Harlequin

Romance, Women's Fiction, Fiction

Part of - HarperCollins > Harlequin

Location - London, GB

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries - Submit here

Website - https://www.harlequin.com/shop/index.html

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Tough To Tame

Diana Palmer

The Flipside of Perfect

Liz Reinhardt

Meant To Be

Jude Deveraux

Allen and Unwin

Picture Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Sports & Outdoors, True Crime, Health & Wellbeing, Self-Help, Humor, History, Environmental, Politics, Business, Biographies & Memoirs, Mystery & Crime, Romance, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Medical, Fiction, Nonfiction, Children's

Location - Sydney, AU

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries & contests - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Lord of the Rings

J. R. R. Tolkien

Love Objects

Emily Maguire

Crazy Rich Asians

Kevin Kwan

Flying Eye Books

Picture Book, Children's

Part of - Nobrow Press > Flying Eye Books

Location - London, GB

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books

Submission format - Queries & manuscript entries - Submit here

Website - https://flyingeyebooks.com/

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space

Dominic Walliman & Ben Newman

Bandoola: The Great Elephant Rescue

William Grill

Shackleton's Journey

William Grill

And Other Stories

Literary Fiction, Fiction

Location - London, GB

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

The Divorce

César Aira

What You Could Have Won

Rachel Genn

Barn 8

Deb Olin Unferth

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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