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DIRECTORY

Best Book Publishing Companies

Showing 316 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

Dover Publications

Genres: Education & Reference, Math & Science, Picture Book, DIY, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Art, Nonfiction, Children's, and Fiction

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://store.doverpublications.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries & book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Abraham Lincoln's Humor: Yarns, Stories, and Anecdotes by and about Our 16th President

John Grafton

Bless This House: Creating Sacred Space Where You Live, Work & Travel

Donna Henes

The Book of Wild Flowers

The National Geographic Society

Melville House

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Politics, History, Art, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.mhpbooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Cat Out of Hell

Lynne Truss

Debt: the First 5,000 Years

David Graeber

Fiasco

Imre Kertész

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

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Tin House Books

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://tinhouse.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was A Girl

Jeannie Vanasco

How to Order the Universe

María José Ferrada

More Miracle Than Bird

Alice Miller

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

Coffee House Press

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Diverse Literature, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Location: Minneapolis, US

Website: https://coffeehousepress.org/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
I Hotel

Karen Tei Yamashita

Indecency

Justin Phillip Reed

Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife

Sam Savage

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

Comma Press

Genres: Literary Fiction, Diverse Literature, Fiction, and Short Story

Location: Manchester, GB

Website: https://commapress.co.uk/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
You Should Come With Me Now

M. John Harrison & Lara Pawson

Thirteen Months of Sunrise

Rania Mamoun

The Well of Trapped Words

Sema Kaygusuz

Quirk Books

Genres: DIY, Cookbook, History, Horror, Humor, Mystery & Crime, Politics, Sports & Outdoors, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, True Crime, Comics & Graphic Novels, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Fiction, Children's, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Novella

Location: Philadelphia, US

Website: https://www.quirkbooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Queries & manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Seth Grahame-Smith

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Ransom Riggs

Geekerella

Ashley Poston

New Directions

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

Location: New York City, US

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

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Emissary

Yoko Tawada

A Shock

Keith Ridgway

The Caretaker

Doon Arbus

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

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