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DIRECTORY

Best Romance Book Publishing Companies

Showing 89 publishers that match your search.

Bloomsbury

Genres: Academic, African-American, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cookbook, Diverse Literature, Historical Fiction, History, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Nonfiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller & Suspense, and True Crime

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Largest

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Outlawed

Anna North

Salvage the Bones

Jesmyn Ward

The Priory of the Orange Tree

Samantha Shannon

Simon & Schuster

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, History, Politics, Romance, Young Adult, Sports & Outdoors, Nonfiction, Short Story, and Novella

Location: New York City, US

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

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Largest

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
In the Blink of an Eye

Jo Callaghan

King of Kings

Scott Anderson

The Slip

Lucas Schaeffr

Penguin Random House

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

Location: New York City, US

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

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Largest

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
I'll Be Right Here

Amy Bloom

Villa Coco

Andrew Sean Greer

The Morningside

TΓ©a Obreht

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Macmillan Publishers

Genres: Literary Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Politics, Cookbook, Self-Help, Picture Book, Nonfiction, Short Story, and Novella

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://macmillan.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Largest

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Nightingale

Kristin Hannah

Intermezzo

Sally Rooney

What Stalks the Deep

T. Kingfisher

Harlequin

Genres: Romance, Women's Fiction, and Fiction

Part of: HarperCollins > Harlequin

Location: London, GB

Website: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/index.html

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines β†’

Mid size

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Tough To Tame

Diana Palmer

The Flipside of Perfect

Liz Reinhardt

Meant To Be

Jude Deveraux

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

Inimitable Books

Genres: Action & Adventure, BIPOC, Diverse Literature, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, LGBTQ+, Literary Fiction, Middle Grade, Mystery & Crime, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Women's Fiction, and Young Adult

Part of: Ulysses Press > Inimitable Books

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://inimitablebooksllc.com

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book queries - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Legionnaire

Samantha Traunfeld

Down the Well

Veronica King

The Storm Gathers

Maelan Holladay

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

No Manuscript entries - View guidelines β†’

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
The Lantern Boats

Tessa Morris-Suzuki

The Sister's Twin

Jane A. Adams

The Darkest Hours

Margaret Murphy

Severn House

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Romance, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Fiction, and Horror

Part of: Canongate Books > Severn House

Location: London, GB

Website: http://severnhouse.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes

Indie publisher

Small press

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Murder Ink

Betty Hechtman

Best Laid Plans

Gwen Florio

A Choir of Crows

Candace M. Robb

Bramble

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, and Science Fiction

Part of: Macmillan > Tor Books > Bramble

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://read.macmillan.com/torforge/bramble-for-consumers/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Mid size

πŸ’₯ Hit titles
Fall of Ruin and Wrath

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Calamity

Constance Fay

Ocean's Echo

Everina Maxwell

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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