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DIRECTORY

Best Nonfiction Book Publishing Companies

Showing 314 publishers that match your search.

Zed Books

Genres: History, Law, LGBTQ+, Feminism, Politics, Travel, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Architecture, Diverse Literature, and Nonfiction

Part of: Bloomsbury > Zed Books

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.zedbooks.net/

Diversity: Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The War on Disabled People

Ellen Clifford

United Queerdom

Dan Glass

Pablo Trapero and the Politics of Violence

Douglas Mulliken

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 →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing

Eimear McBride

Ducks, Newburyport

Lucy Ellmann

Mordew

Alex Pheby

Penguin Random House

Genres: Literary Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Biographies & Memoirs, Politics, Cookbook, Romance, Picture Book, Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Novella, and Children's

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes

Largest

💥 Hit titles
The Testaments

Margaret Atwood

Where the Crawdads Sing

Delia Owens

The Guardians

John Grisham

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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

💥 Hit titles
The Emperor's Sword

Andrew Klavan

One Stupid Thing

Stewart Lewis

My Mistress' Eyes Are Raven Black

Terry Roberts

Fair Winds Press

Genres: Cookbook, Health & Wellbeing, Self-Help, Sports & Outdoors, and Nonfiction

Part of: Quarto Group > Fair Winds Press

Location: Boston, US

Website: https://www.quartoknows.com/Fair-Winds-Press

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
The Great Cholesterol Myth

Jonny Bowden et al

The Path of the Witch

Lidia Pradas

Press Here! Ayurvedic Head Massage for Beginners

Hillary Arrieta

Tin House Books

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://tinhouse.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC, LGBTQ

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was A Girl

Jeannie Vanasco

How to Order the Universe

María José Ferrada

More Miracle Than Bird

Alice Miller

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 →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Lord of the Rings

J. R. R. Tolkien

Love Objects

Emily Maguire

Crazy Rich Asians

Kevin Kwan

Hachette Livre

Genres: Literary Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Biographies & Memoirs, Politics, Cookbook, Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Novella, and Children's

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.hachette.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes

Largest

💥 Hit titles
Talking to Strangers

Macolm Gladwell

The Goldfinch

Donna Tartt

I Am Malala

Malala Yousafzai

Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Genres: Literary Fiction, History, Politics, Math & Science, Narrative Nonfiction, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry

Part of: Macmillan > Farrar, Straus, & Giroux

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://us.macmillan.com/fsg/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Sharks in the Time of Saviors

Kawai Strong Washburn

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Joan Didion

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O'Connor

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

💥 Hit titles
In Global Warming We Trust: Too Big to Fail

Anthony Sadar

Failure To Fracture

Anthony Garone

Cyberwarfare

Larry Bell

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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