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DIRECTORY

Best True Crime Book Publishing Companies

Showing 24 publishers that match your search.

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

Quirk Books

Genres: DIY, Cookbook, History, Horror, Humor, Mystery & Crime, Politics, Sports & Outdoors, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, True Crime, Comics & Graphic Novels, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Fiction, Children's, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Novella

Location: Philadelphia, US

Website: https://www.quirkbooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Queries & manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Seth Grahame-Smith

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Ransom Riggs

Geekerella

Ashley Poston

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

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Akashic Books

Genres: Politics, Urban Fiction, Literary Fiction, African-American, LGBTQ+, True Crime, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Location: New York City, US

Website: http://www.akashicbooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Bivouac

Kwame Dawes

A Student of History

Nina Revoyr

Addis Ababa Noir

Maaza Mengiste

Grove Atlantic

Genres: Horror, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, History, Humor, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Religion & Spirituality, Math & Science, Sports & Outdoors, Travel, True Crime, Politics, Westerns, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Short Story

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://groveatlantic.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Shuggie Bain

Douglas Stuart

Cold Mountain

Charles Frazier

The Sympathizer

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Mysterious Press

Genres: True Crime, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, and Fiction

Part of: Grove Atlantic > Mysterious Press

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://groveatlantic.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Coronation

Boris Akunin

She Lover of Death

Boris Akunin

Girl Running

Lawrence Lariar

Dundurn Press

Genres: Art, Architecture, Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Health & Wellbeing, History, Humor, Middle Grade, Mystery & Crime, Politics, Sports & Outdoors, Travel, True Crime, Young Adult, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Children's

Location: Toronto, CA

Website: https://www.dundurn.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Persephone's Children

Rowan McCandless

Lost Shadow

Claire Gilchrist

Nothing Will Be Different

Tara McGowan-Ross

Chicago Review Press

Genres: Middle Grade, Young Adult, African-American, Biographies & Memoirs, DIY, History, Politics, Sports & Outdoors, True Crime, Feminism, Education & Reference, Self-Help, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Children's, and Nonfiction

Location: Chicago, US

Website: https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Book proposals - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Abe & Fido

Matthew Algeo

Absinthe & Flamethrowers

William Gurstelle

The Admiral and the Ambassador

Scott Martelle

Library Tales Publishing

Genres: Academic, Action & Adventure, African-American, Architecture, Art, Biographies & Memoirs, BIPOC, Business, Catholic, Children's, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cookbook, Diverse Literature, DIY, Economics, Education & Reference, Fantasy, Feminism, Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Historical Fiction, History, Horror, Humor, LGBTQ+, Literary Fiction, Middle Grade, Nonfiction, Novella, Picture Book, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, True Crime, Urban Fiction, Women's Fiction, and Young Adult

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.librarytalespublishing.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
How to Draw Cool Stuff

Catherine V. Holmes

The Thought Exchange

David Friedman

The Vanishing

David Michael Slater

Bloomsbury

Genres: Academic, African-American, Comics & Graphic Novels, Cookbook, Diverse Literature, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, History, Horror, 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

💥 Hit titles
Outlawed

Anna North

Salvage the Bones

Jesmyn Ward

The Priory of the Orange Tree

Samantha Shannon

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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