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DIRECTORY

Best Book Publishing Companies in Canada

Showing 23 publishers that match your search.

Drawn and Quarterly

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels and Fiction

Location: Toronto, CA

Website: https://drawnandquarterly.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries -

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
King-Cat

John Porcellino

Map of My Heart

John Porcellino

The League of Super Feminists

Mirion Malle

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

Dundurn Press

Genres: 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, and Children's

Location: Toronto, CA

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

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Persephone's Children

Rowan McCandless

Lost Shadow

Claire Gilchrist

Nothing Will Be Different

Tara McGowan-Ross

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Inkyard Press

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

Part of: HarperCollins > Harlequin > Inkyard Press

Location: Toronto, CA

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

Accepts unagented submissions

No Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Counting Down with You

Tashie Bhuiyan

The Keeper of Night

Kylie Lee Baker

Shadow of the Fox

Julie Kagawa

HQN

Genres: Romance and Fiction

Part of: HarperCollins > Harlequin > HQN

Location: Toronto, CA

Website: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/brand/hqn.html

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Careless Whispers

Synithia Williams

Family for Beginners

Sarah Morgan

How to Keep a Secret

Sarah Morgan

Dancing Cat Books

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

Part of: Cormorant Books > Dancing Cat Books

Location: Toronto, CA

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

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Band of Merry Kids

David Skuy

Enid Strange

Meghan Rose Allen

The Marrow Thieves

Cherie Dimaline

Arsenal Pulp Press

Genres: Cookbook, LGBTQ+, Young Adult, Cookbook, African-American, Middle Grade, Picture Book, Biographies & Memoirs, History, Humor, Politics, Comics & Graphic Novels, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, Fiction, Children's, Poetry, and Nonfiction

Location: Vancouver, CA

Website: https://arsenalpulp.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Butter Honey Pig Bread

Francesca Ekwuyasi

The Girl Who Was Convinced Beyond All Reason That She Could Fly

Sybil Lamb

Iron Goddess of Mercy

Larissa Lai

Quattro Books

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Art, Photography, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Novella

Location: Toronto, CA

Website: http://quattrobooks.ca/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Homeless

Jane Bow

Between Rothko and 3 Windows

Corrado Paina

The Escape Artist

Anita Kushwaha

Annick Press

Genres: Picture Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Education & Reference, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and Children's

Location: Toronto, CA

Website: https://www.annickpress.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Yara's Spring

Jamal Saeed & Sharon E. McKay

Salma the Syrian Chef

Danny Ramadan

The Ghost Collector

Allison Mills

New Jewish Press

Genres: Jewish Literature, Academic, History, Religion & Spirituality, and Nonfiction

Part of: University of Toronto Press > New Jewish Press

Location: Toronto, CA

Website: https://utorontopress.com/us/new-jewish-press

Accepts unagented submissions

No

University press

💥 Hit titles
Connected Capitalism

David Weitzner

Revolutionary Visions

Stephanie M. Pridgeon

The A–Z of Intermarriage

Denise Handlarski

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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