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DIRECTORY

Best Book Publishing Companies

Showing 532 publishers that match your search.

Future Tense Books

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Humor, Nonfiction, Fiction, Short Story, Novella, and Poetry

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://futuretensebooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Excavation

Wendy C. Ortiz

Liar

Rob Roberge

User Not Found

Felicity Fenton

Europa Editions

Genres: Literary Fiction, Diverse Literature, and Fiction

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.europaeditions.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
My Brilliant Friend

Elena Ferrante

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Muriel Barbery

The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine

Alina Bronsky

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 →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
We Five

Mark Dunn

Gun Needle Spoon

Patrick O'Neil

In the Event of Contact

Ethel Rohan

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Ensorcellia Publishing

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Novella, Short Story, and Poetry

Part of: Odyssey Books > Ensorcellia

Location: Wellington, NZ

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

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Queries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
When No One Is Watching

Linathi Makanda

How to Wake a Butterfly

Loic Ekinga

The Universe Made the Stars And Then Made You

Kylie Gifis

Two Dollar Radio

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

Location: Columbus, US

Website: https://twodollarradio.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
A History of My Brief Body

Billy-Ray Belcourt

Whiteout Conditions

Tariq Shah

Found Audio

N.J. Campbell

Galley Beggar Press

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.galleybeggar.co.uk/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing

Eimear McBride

Ducks, Newburyport

Lucy Ellmann

Mordew

Alex Pheby

Crown Publishing

Genres: Cookbook, Art, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, DIY, Health & Wellbeing, Sports & Outdoors, History, Humor, Politics, Self-Help, Religion & Spirituality, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Nonfiction, and Fiction

Part of: Penguin Random House > Random House > Crown Publishing

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://crownpublishing.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Becoming

Michelle Obama

A Promised Land

Barack Obama

Devil in the White CIty

Erik Larson

DAW Books

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and Fiction

Part of: Penguin Random House > Penguin Publishing Group > DAW Books

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://astrapublishinghouse.com/imprints/daw-books/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries -

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
The Wise Man's Fear

Patrick Rothfuss

Shadowrise

Tad Williams

The Unkindest Tide

Seanan McGuire

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

Jo Fletcher Books

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror, and Fiction

Part of: Quercus Books > Jo Fletcher Books

Location: London, GB

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

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Highfire

Eoin Colfer

The Beautiful Ones

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Radio Life

Derek B. Miller

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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