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DIRECTORY

Best Book Publishing Companies in UK

Showing 93 publishers that match your search.

Canelo

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Action & Adventure, Thriller & Suspense, LGBTQ+, Fantasy, Mystery & Crime, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, and Fiction

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.canelo.co/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Tracer

Jason Dean

The Lucky Eight

Sheila Bugler

One Good Lie

Jane Isaac

Hot Key Books

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Children's, and Fiction

Part of: Bonnier Publishing > Hot Key Books

Location: London, GB

Website: http://hotkeybooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Sabriel

Garth Nix

Clap When You Land

Elizabeth Acevedo

The Cruel Prince

Holly Black

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

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And Other Stories

Genres: Literary Fiction and Fiction

Location: London, GB

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

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Divorce

César Aira

What You Could Have Won

Rachel Genn

Barn 8

Deb Olin Unferth

Titan Books

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Biographies & Memoirs, Manga, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Short Story

Part of: Titan Publishing Group > Titan Books

Location: London, GB

Website: https://titanbooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Hall of Smoke

H. M. Long

The Archive of the Forgotten

A. J. Hackwith

Witherward

Hannah Mathewson

Puffin Books

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

Part of: Penguin Random House > Penguin Young Readers > Puffin Books

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.penguin.com/publishers/puffin/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Roald Dahl

Double Fudge

Judy Blume

The Outsiders

S. E. Hinton

Flying Eye Books

Genres: Picture Book and Children's

Part of: Nobrow Press > Flying Eye Books

Location: London, GB

Website: https://flyingeyebooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Queries & manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Professor Astro Cat's Frontiers of Space

Dominic Walliman & Ben Newman

Bandoola: The Great Elephant Rescue

William Grill

Shackleton's Journey

William Grill

Joffe Books

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Women's Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, True Crime, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and Fiction

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.joffebooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Lantern Boats

Tessa Morris-Suzuki

The Sister's Twin

Jane A. Adams

The Darkest Hours

Margaret Murphy

David Fickling Books

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

Location: Oxford, GB

Website: https://www.davidficklingbooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Mark Haddon

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

John Boyne

The Book of Dust

Philip Pullman

Aria Publishing

Genres: Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Romance, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Crime, and Fiction

Part of: Head of Zeus > Aria Publishing

Location: London, GB

Website: https://ariafiction.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club

Faith Hogan

One Last Greek Summer

Mandy Baggot

The Girl from Vichy

Andie Newton

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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Reedsy | Looking for a publisher? | 2024-09

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