Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor on Reedsy.

Find the perfect editor for your next book

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy, come meet them.

Reedsy Professionals

Best Book Publishing Companies in Australia

A comprehensive directory of the best publishers in 2023, vetted by the team at Reedsy. Showing 20 publishers.

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

CSIRO Publishing

Math & Science, Medical, Psychology, Nonfiction

Part of - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation > CSIRO Publishing

Location - Melbourne, AU

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Queries - Submit here

Website - https://www.publish.csiro.au/

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

The Way of the Weedy Seadragon

Anne Morgan

Plantastic!

Catherine Clowers

The Allure of Fungi

Alison Pouliot

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

Ventura Press

Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Health & Wellbeing, Diverse Literature, Fiction, Nonfiction

Location - Sydney, AU

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Diversity - Diverse Literature

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

☑️ Indie publisher

💥 Hit titles

The Night Letters

Denise Leith

The Cubs Roar

Blanche d'Alpuget

The Women's Circle

Karyn Sepulveda

Murdoch Books

Cookbook, Health & Wellbeing, Self-Help, Nonfiction

Part of - Allen & Unwin > Murdoch Books

Location - Sydney, AU

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Contests - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Zero Waste Gardening

Ben Raskin

Single Pringle

Stacey June

Festivals

Oliver Keens

University of Queensland Press

Children's, Literary Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Short Story, Young Adult

Location - Sydney, AU

Size - Small press

Formats - , Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entry - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

💥 Hit titles

Too Much Lip

Melissa Lucashenko

The Elephant

Peter Carnavas

Dropbear

Evelyn Araluen

Pan Macmillan Australia

Literary Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Education & Reference, Biographies & Memoirs, Horror, Action & Adventure, Self-Help, Historical Fiction, Sports & Outdoors, Mystery & Crime, History, Business, Travel, Women's Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Architecture, Art, Cookbook, Humor, Fiction, Nonfiction, Children's, Poetry, Short Story

Location - Sydney, AU

Size - Largest

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks, Audiobooks

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

💥 Hit titles

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Mark Manson

Circus of Wonders

Elizabeth Macneal

The Evening and the Morning

Ken Follett

Hachette Australia

Literary Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Education & Reference, Biographies & Memoirs, Horror, Action & Adventure, Self-Help, Historical Fiction, Sports & Outdoors, Mystery & Crime, History, Business, Travel, Women's Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Architecture, Art, Cookbook, Humor, Fiction, Nonfiction, Children's, Poetry, Short Story

Location - Sydney, AU

Size - Largest

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks, Audiobooks

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

💥 Hit titles

Sooley

John Grisham

The Night Train

Clyde Edgerton

The Warsaw Orphan

Kelly Rimmer

Pantera Press

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery & Crime, Horror, Women's Fiction, Romance, Action & Adventure, Humor, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Fiction, Nonfiction

Location - Sydney, AU

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Lead the Way

Jean Hinchliffe

Collisions: Fictions of the Future

Leah Jing McIntosh

Darkness Is Golden

Mary Hoang

Big Sky Publishing

History, True Crime, Self-Help, Health & Wellbeing, Business, Biographies & Memoirs, Humor, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Sports & Outdoors, Nonfiction, Fiction

Location - Sydney, AU

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries & book proposals - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Between Five Eyes

Anthony R. Wells

The Art of Sacrifice

George Petrou

Murder At The Fort

Bob Marmion

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.

Free online materials

Save publishers to shortlist them