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DIRECTORY

Best Book Publishing Companies in Portland

Showing 16 publishers that match your search.

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

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

💥 Hit titles
Risen Motherhood: Gospen Hope for Everyday

Laura Wifler & Emily Jensen

Israel and the Church

Amir Tsarfati

Jesus Every Day

Mary E. DeMuth

Future Tense Books

Genres: Literary Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Humor, Nonfiction, Fiction, Short Story, Novella, and Poetry

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://futuretensebooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Excavation

Wendy C. Ortiz

Liar

Rob Roberge

User Not Found

Felicity Fenton

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The Poetry Box

Genres: Poetry

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://thepoetrybox.com

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
When All Else Fails

Lana Hechtman Ayers

Tracking the Fox

Rosalie Sanara Petrouske

Contraband

Juan Pablo Mobili

Octopus Books

Genres: Literary Fiction and Poetry

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://www.octopusbooks.net/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Dear Jenny, We Are All Find

Jenny Zhang

My Dead

Amy Lawless

Noontimes Won

Tristan Tzara

Image

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels and Fiction

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://imagecomics.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Inkblot

Emma Kubert & Rusty Gladd

The Walking Dead

Robert Kirkman

Commanders in Crisis

Steve Orlando

Eraserhead Press

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, and Novella

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://eraserheadpress.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Unlanguage

Michael Cisco

Fortune Box

Madeleine Swann

Muscle Memory

Steve Lowe

Hawthorne Books

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

Part of: Dzanc Books > Hawthrone Books

Location: Portland, US

Website: http://hawthornebooks.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
California Calling

Natalie Singer

Whirlaway

Poe Ballantine

Narrow River, Wide Sky

Jenny Forrester

Dark Horse

Genres: Manga, Comics & Graphic Novels, and Fiction

Location: Portland, US

Website: https://www.darkhorse.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Aliens vs. Predator

Chris Warner

Buffy

Joss Whedon

Hellboy

Mike Mignola

Forest Avenue Press

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

Location: Portland, US

Website: http://www.forestavenuepress.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Queen of Spades

Alexander Pushkin

Parts Per Million

Julia Stoops

A Girl Called Rumi

Ari Honarvar

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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