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DIRECTORY

Best Urban Fiction Book Publishing Companies

Showing 20 publishers that match your search.

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

Atria Publishing Group

Genres: Urban Fiction, Women's Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Self-Help, Narrative Nonfiction, Cookbook, Health & Wellbeing, African-American, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Part of: Simon and Schuster > Atria Publishing Group

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.atriabooks.biz/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
My Sister's Keeper

Jodi Picoult

The Japanese Lover

Isabel Allende

Lethal Agent

Vince Flynn

Wildling Press

Genres: Action & Adventure, African-American, Biographies & Memoirs, BIPOC, Children's, Diverse Literature, Fantasy, Feminism, Historical Fiction, Horror, LGBTQ+, Middle Grade, Narrative Nonfiction, Novella, Picture Book, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Thriller & Suspense, Urban Fiction, Women's Fiction, and Young Adult

Location: Richmond, US

Website: https://www.wildlingpress.com/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
The Blameless

E.S. Christison

Cursed Coven

Kara Badalamenti

Lavender Speculation

Jamie Zaccaria

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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

Northodox Press

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, LGBTQ+, Literary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Urban Fiction, Women's Fiction, and Young Adult

Location: Manchester, GB

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

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Partial manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Clockwork Magpies

Emma Whitehall

Out of Human Sight

Sophie Parkes

Airedale

Dylan Byford

Kensington Publishing

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Education & Reference, African-American, History, Religion & Spirituality, Self-Help, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Historical Fiction, Romance, Urban Fiction, Westerns, True Crime, Diverse Literature, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, Fiction, and Nonfiction

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, LGBTQ, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Queries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Mid size

💥 Hit titles
Crimson Phoenix

John Gilstrap

After Francesco

Brian Malloy

Plain Jane

Fern Michaels

Royalty Publishing House

Genres: Urban Fiction, Romance, African-American, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, and Fiction

Location: Atlanta, US

Website: https://www.royaltypublishinghouse.com/submissions/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Tazz & Kira: An Undeniable Love

Lacresha Golden

I Gave My Heart To The Plug

Candy Moore

Saving My Heart For A Thug's Love 2

Mo Howard

Augustus Publishing

Genres: Urban Fiction, BIPOC, Diverse Literature, and Fiction

Location: New York City, US

Website: http://www.augustuspublishing.com/

Diversity: BIPOC, Diverse Literature

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
A Good Day To Die

James Hendricks

Thin Line

Anthony Whyte

Street Chic

Anthony Whyte

Melodrama Publishing

Genres: Urban Fiction, Romance, African-American, Diverse Literature, BIPOC, and Fiction

Location: New York City, US

Website: https://melodramabooks.com/

Diversity: Diverse Literature, BIPOC

Accepts unagented submissions

No

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Baddest Apple

Nisa Santiago

Mafioso

Nisa Santiago

Brooklyn Bombshells

Erica Hilton

Odyssey Books

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Horror, Biographies & Memoirs, Mystery & Crime, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Urban Fiction, Narrative Nonfiction, Christian, Cookbook, Young Adult, Fiction, Nonfiction, and Children's

Location: Paraparaumu, NZ

Website: http://www.odysseybooks.com.au/

Accepts unagented submissions

Yes Manuscript entries - View guidelines →

Indie publisher

Small press

💥 Hit titles
Court of the Grandchildren

Greg Finlayson & Michael Muntisov

Esme's Gift

Elizabeth Foster

Bernice Takes a Plunge

Ann Harth

Urban Fiction Publishers in Other Countries 🌎

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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