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Best Book Publishing Companies in Canada

A comprehensive directory of the best publishers in 2023, vetted by the team at Reedsy. Showing 23 publishers.

Drawn and Quarterly

Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction

Location - Toronto, CA

Size - Mid size

Formats - , Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries -

Website - https://drawnandquarterly.com/

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

King-Cat

John Porcellino

Map of My Heart

John Porcellino

The League of Super Feminists

Mirion Malle

TouchWood Editions

Art, Photography, Biographies & Memoirs, Cookbook, History, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Travel, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Nonfiction, Short Story, Fiction

Part of - Heritage Group > TouchWood Editions

Location - Vancouver, CA

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Diversity - Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ

Submission format - Book proposals - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

The Distilleries of Vancouver Island

Marianne Scott

Show Me the Honey

Dave Doroghy

The Little Prairie Book of Berries

Sheryl Normandeau

Dundurn Press

Art, Architecture, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Health & Wellbeing, History, Humor, Middle Grade, Mystery & Crime, Politics, Sports & Outdoors, Travel, True Crime, Young Adult, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Children's

Location - Toronto, CA

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Submission format - Book proposals - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

Persephone's Children

Rowan McCandless

Lost Shadow

Claire Gilchrist

Nothing Will Be Different

Tara McGowan-Ross

Inkyard Press

BIPOC, Diverse Literature, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Young Adult

Part of - HarperCollins > Harlequin > Inkyard Press

Location - Toronto, CA

Size - Small press

Formats - , Physical Books, Audiobooks, Ebooks

Submission format - Manuscript entries - Submit here

Website - https://www.harlequintradepublishing.com/shop/brand/inkyard-press.html

💥 Hit titles

Counting Down with You

Tashie Bhuiyan

The Keeper of Night

Kylie Lee Baker

Shadow of the Fox

Julie Kagawa

Carina Press

Romance, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Diverse Literature, Fiction, Novella

Part of - HarperCollins > Harlequin > Carina Press

Location - Toronto, CA

Size - Mid size

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Diversity - Diverse Literature

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

💥 Hit titles

Hot Copy

Ruby Barrett

Knit, Purl, a Baby and a Girl

Hettie Bell

Learned Reactions

Jayce Ellis

Fitzhenry and Whiteside

History, Biographies & Memoirs, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Sports & Outdoors, Education & Reference, Photography, Cookbook, Travel, Health & Wellbeing, Medical, Nonfiction, Children's, Poetry

Location - Toronto, CA

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Website - https://www.fitzhenry.ca/

☑️ Indie publisher

💥 Hit titles

Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates

Richard Pound

Fitzhenry & Whiteside Canadian Thesaurus

Richard Dionne

In Deep with the Octopus

Norma Dixon

Dancing Cat Books

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

Part of - Cormorant Books > Dancing Cat Books

Location - Toronto, CA

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Diversity - Diverse Literature

Submission format - Manuscript entries - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

The Band of Merry Kids

David Skuy

Enid Strange

Meghan Rose Allen

The Marrow Thieves

Cherie Dimaline

Second Story Press

Picture Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, History, Politics, Biographies & Memoirs, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Feminism, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Jewish Literature, Health & Wellbeing, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Children's, Fiction, Nonfiction

Location - Toronto, CA

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Diversity - Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Submission format - Manuscript entries - Submit here

Website - https://secondstorypress.ca/

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

The Birds That Stay

Ann Lambert

The Butterfly Effect

Eve Zaremba

The Abortion Caravan

Karin Wells

Pacific Educational Press

Education & Reference, Academic, Nonfiction

Part of - University of British Columbia Press > Pacific Educational Press

Location - Vancouver, CA

Size - University press

Formats - Physical Books

Website - http://pacificedpress.ca/

☑️ Indie publisher

💥 Hit titles

The World of Fashion

Jay Diamond & Ellen Diamond

Engaging Imagination in Ecological Education

Gillian Judson

Understanding Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities

Linda Siegel

Red Deer Press

Picture Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, History, Humor, Science Fiction, Math & Science, Environmental, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, Children's, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry

Part of - Fitzhenry & Whiteside > Red Deer Press

Location - Toronto, CA

Size - Small press

Formats - Physical Books, Ebooks

Diversity - Diverse Literature, BIPOC

Submission format - Queries & manuscript entries - Submit here

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

☑️ Indie publisher

☑️ Accepts submissions

💥 Hit titles

The Boy Asked the Wind

Barbara Nickel

The Pact

Amanda West Lewis

Rainbow Crow

David Bouchard & David Jean

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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