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DIRECTORY

Best Education & Reference Book Publishing Companies

Showing 69 publishers that match your search.

MIT Press

Genres: Art, Architecture, Math & Science, Academic, Business, Education & Reference, Environmental, Health & Wellbeing, Law, and Nonfiction

Location: Cambridge, US

Website: https://mitpress.mit.edu/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
The Alchemy of Us

Ainissa Ramirez

Right/Wrong

Juan Enríquez

Critical Thinking

Jonathan Haber

Yale University Press

Genres: Academic, Photography, Art, Math & Science, Education & Reference, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Economics, History, Law, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, African-American, Law, and Nonfiction

Location: Hartford, GB

Website: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries & book proposals - View guidelines →

University press

💥 Hit titles
Atlas of AI

Kate Crawford

Reimagining Time

Tanya Bub & Jeffrey Bub

Radical Vision

Soyica Diggs Colbert

Springer Nature

Genres: Education & Reference, Academic, Math & Science, Business, Medical, and Nonfiction

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.springernature.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Largest

💥 Hit titles
The Circular Economy Handbook

Peter Lacy et al

Cracked it!

Bernard Garrette et al

The Practice of Surgical Pathology

Diana Molavi

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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

Grupo Santillana

Genres: Education & Reference and Nonfiction

Location: Madrid, ES

Website: https://santillana.com/en/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Largest

💥 Hit titles
Español Santillana

Santillana

That Is To Say!

Helene Auge et al

Skyrocket

Sarah Fash

Tilbury House

Genres: Picture Book, Education & Reference, DIY, Health & Wellbeing, Environmental, Diverse Literature, Children's, and Nonfiction

Location: Thomaston, US

Website: https://www.tilburyhouse.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter?

Shani King

Calvin Gets the Last Word

Margo Sorenson

Waiting For a Warbler

Sneed B. Collard III

Chicago Review Press

Genres: Middle Grade, Young Adult, African-American, Biographies & Memoirs, DIY, History, Politics, Sports & Outdoors, True Crime, Feminism, Education & Reference, Self-Help, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Children's, and Nonfiction

Location: Chicago, US

Website: https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Abe & Fido

Matthew Algeo

Absinthe & Flamethrowers

William Gurstelle

The Admiral and the Ambassador

Scott Martelle

Library Tales Publishing

Genres: Academic, Action & Adventure, African-American, Architecture, Art, Biographies & Memoirs, BIPOC, Business, Catholic, Children's, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cookbook, Diverse Literature, DIY, Economics, Education & Reference, Fantasy, Feminism, Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Historical Fiction, History, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ+, Literary Fiction, Middle Grade, Nonfiction, Novella, Picture Book, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, True Crime, Urban Fiction, Women's Fiction, and Young Adult

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.librarytalespublishing.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
How to Draw Cool Stuff

Catherine V. Holmes

The Thought Exchange

David Friedman

The Vanishing

David Michael Slater

Shepheard-Walwyn

Genres: Academic, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Children's, Christian, Economics, Education & Reference, Environmental, Historical Fiction, History, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Religion & Spirituality

Location: London, GB

Website: https://shepheardwalwyn.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposal or manuscript submission - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Secret Life of Real Estate and Banking

Phillip J. Anderson

Taken For a Ride: 2nd Edition

Don Riley with Fred Harrison

The Corruption of Economics: 2nd Edition

Mason Gaffney and Fred Harrison

ORO Editions

Genres: Academic, Architecture, Biographies & Memoirs, Children's, Comics & Graphic Novels, Education & Reference, Environmental, Historical Fiction, History, Math & Science, Nonfiction, Photography, Picture Book, Poetry, Politics, Psychology, Religion & Spirituality, Sports & Outdoors, Technology, and Travel

Location: San Francisco, US

Website: https://oroeditions.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Timeless

Patrick Ahearn

Manual of Biogenic House Sections

Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, and David J. Lewis

Emergent Tokyo

Jorge Almazán

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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