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DIRECTORY

Best Fiction Book Publishing Companies

Showing 304 publishers that match your search.

McSweeney's Books

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Humor, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry

Location: San Francisco, US

Website: https://store.mcsweeneys.net/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Indelible in the Hippocampus

Shelly Oria

Of Color

Jaswinder Bolina

The Fire In His Wake

Spencer Wolff

Allen and Unwin

Genres: 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, and Children's

Location: Sydney, AU

Website: https://www.allenandunwin.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries & contests - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Mid size

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Lord of the Rings

J. R. R. Tolkien

Love Objects

Emily Maguire

Crazy Rich Asians

Kevin Kwan

Soho Teen

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Children's, and Fiction

Part of: Soho Press > Soho Teen

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://sohopress.com/soho-teen/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Mid size

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Mercury Boys

Chandra Prasad

Orpheus Girls

Brynne Rebele-Henry

Hope is Our Only Wing

Rutendo Tavengerwei

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Stairway Press

Genres: Math & Science, Science Fiction, Politics, Thriller & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Self-Help, Environmental, Biographies & Memoirs, Fantasy, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Short Story

Location: Phoenix, US

Website: https://stairwaypress.com

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
In Global Warming We Trust: Too Big to Fail

Anthony Sadar

Failure To Fracture

Anthony Garone

Cyberwarfare

Larry Bell

Seven Stories Press

Genres: Literary Fiction, Politics, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Fiction, and Poetry

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.sevenstories.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Pandemic Pivot

John Feffer

The Involuntary Sojourner

S. P. Tenhoff

The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America

Robin Marty

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 β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ 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

Harvest House Publishers

Genres: Christian, Cookbook, Health & Wellbeing, Religion & Spirituality, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Children's

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://www.harvesthousepublishers.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Risen Motherhood: Gospen Hope for Everyday

Laura Wifler & Emily Jensen

Israel and the Church

Amir Tsarfati

Jesus Every Day

Mary E. DeMuth

And Other Stories

Genres: Literary Fiction and Fiction

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.andotherstories.org/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Divorce

CΓ©sar Aira

What You Could Have Won

Rachel Genn

Barn 8

Deb Olin Unferth

Galley Beggar Press

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.galleybeggar.co.uk/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing

Eimear McBride

Ducks, Newburyport

Lucy Ellmann

Mordew

Alex Pheby

Turner Publishing

Genres: Self-Help, Business, Young Adult, History, Romance, Mystery & Crime, Cookbook, Health & Wellbeing, Art, Nonfiction, and Fiction

Location: Nashville, US

Website: https://www.turnerpublishing.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Emperor's Sword

Andrew Klavan

One Stupid Thing

Stewart Lewis

My Mistress' Eyes Are Raven Black

Terry Roberts

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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