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DIRECTORY

Best Nonfiction Book Publishing Companies

Showing 320 publishers that match your search.

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

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Circular Economy Handbook

Peter Lacy et al

Cracked it!

Bernard Garrette et al

The Practice of Surgical Pathology

Diana Molavi

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

Algonquin Books

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Literature, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Part of: Workman Publishing > Algonquin Books

Location: Raleigh, US

Website: https://www.algonquin.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen

An American Marriage

Tayari Jones

The Drunken Botanist

Amy Stewart

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Stone Pier Press

Genres: Cookbook, Environmental, DIY, Nonfiction, and Children's

Location: San Francisco, US

Website: https://stonepierpress.org/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Growing Good Food: A Citizen's Guide to Climate Victory Gardening

Acadia Tucker

Growing Perennial Foods

Acadia Tucker

Gwen the Rescue Hen

Leslie Crawford

Saraband

Genres: Environmental, Biographies & Memoirs, Narrative Nonfiction, Self-Help, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Location: Manchester, GB

Website: https://saraband.net/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Shocked Earth

Saskia Goldschmidt

Westering

Laurence Mitchell

Bleak

R.M. Murray

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 β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ 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

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 β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Distilleries of Vancouver Island

Marianne Scott

Show Me the Honey

Dave Doroghy

The Little Prairie Book of Berries

Sheryl Normandeau

Text Publishing

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Romance, Fantasy, Health & Wellbeing, Historical Fiction, History, Humor, Self-Help, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, Environmental, Math & Science, Sports & Outdoors, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Short Story

Location: Melbourne, AU

Website: https://www.textpublishing.com.au/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Loner

Georgina Young

Soldiers

Tom Remiger

A Constant Hum

Alice Bishop

Autumn House Press

Genres: Literary Fiction, History, Biographies & Memoirs, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry

Location: Philadelphia, US

Website: https://www.autumnhouse.org/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries & contests - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
No One Leaves the World Unhurt

John Foy

American Home

Sean Cho A.

speculation, n.

Shayla Lawz

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 β†’

Indie publisher

Mid size

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Hall of Smoke

H. M. Long

The Archive of the Forgotten

A. J. Hackwith

Witherward

Hannah Mathewson

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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