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DIRECTORY

Best Book Publishing Companies

Showing 319 publishers that match your search.

💡 Publisher sizes are estimated. Our directory defines size as:

  • Small press: A publisher with annual sales below $25 million
  • Mid-size: A publisher with annual sales between $25-150 million
  • Largest: A publisher with annual sales over $150 million

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

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

💥 Hit titles
The Night Letters

Denise Leith

The Cubs Roar

Blanche d'Alpuget

The Women's Circle

Karyn Sepulveda

Graywolf Press

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

Location: Minneapolis, US

Website: https://www.graywolfpress.org/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries & contests - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Wild Fox of Yemen

Threa Almontaser

Her Body and Other Parties

Carmen Maria Machado

The Twilight Zone

Nona Fernández

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Blind Eye Books

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Crime, Romance, LGBTQ+, Diverse Literature, and Fiction

Location: Seattle, US

Website: https://www.blindeyebooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Bellingham Mysteries

Nicole Kimberling

Swift and the Black Dog

Ginn Hale

Nothing But Good

Kess McKinley

Counterpoint Press

Genres: Politics, History, Biographies & Memoirs, Religion & Spirituality, Narrative Nonfiction, Literary Fiction, Comics & Graphic Novels, Diverse Literature, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry

Location: San Francisco, US

Website: https://www.counterpointpress.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
A Kind of Freedom

Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

None But The Righteous

Chantal James

Colorful

Eto Mori

Chronicle Books

Genres: Picture Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Cookbook, Photography, Art, DIY, Architecture, Self-Help, Health & Wellbeing, Travel, Humor, Diverse Literature, Children's, and Nonfiction

Location: San Francisco, US

Website: https://www.chroniclebooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries & book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
From Crook to Cook

Snoop Dogg

Dolly Parton, Songteller

Dolly Parton & Robert K. Oermann

Men to Avoid in Art and Life

Nicole Tersigni

Tramp Press

Genres: Literary Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Fiction, and Short Story

Location: Dublin, IE

Website: https://tramppress.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Line

Niall Bourke

Solar Bones

Mike McCormack

Orange Horses

Maeve Kelly

Text Publishing

Genres: 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, and Short Story

Location: Melbourne, AU

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

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Loner

Georgina Young

Soldiers

Tom Remiger

A Constant Hum

Alice Bishop

Zed Books

Genres: History, Law, LGBTQ+, Feminism, Politics, Travel, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Architecture, Diverse Literature, and Nonfiction

Part of: Bloomsbury > Zed Books

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.zedbooks.net/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The War on Disabled People

Ellen Clifford

United Queerdom

Dan Glass

Pablo Trapero and the Politics of Violence

Douglas Mulliken

Copper Canyon Press

Genres: Literary Fiction and Poetry

Location: Seattle, US

Website: https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Book of Questions

Pablo Neruda

Crushing It

Jennifer L. Knox

Water I Won't Touch

Kayleb Rae Candrilli

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

💡 Shortlist publishers to save them.