If you’re an author in Australia and need a publishing house for your new book, below we’ve featured 13 top book publishers in NSW.
1. NewSouth Publishing
Based in Sydney, Australia, NewSouth Publishing is UNSW Press’s publishing arm. With a preference for general, illustrated, and literary non-fiction, as well as for scholarly works, the publisher also released all titles produced since 2010 in digital format.
Once you access their Shop section, you will discover some of their most recent releases – for instance, Slam Your Poetry: Write a Revolution, by Miles Merrill and Narcisa Nozica was published this month. Other titles from February 2020 worth checking out are Napoleon’s Beekeeper, by José Luis de Juan, and Spinoza’s Overcoat: Poets, by Subhash Jaireth.
Luckily, NewSouth Publishing is open for submissions. However, they don’t accept children’s literature, self-help, poetry, cookbooks, fiction, and a few other genres mentioned in their guidelines. If your non-fiction project fits their rules, you can send them a short synopsis, two chapters of your work, the word count, a detailed chapter breakdown, and an assessment of the intended audience, among other details.
2. HarperCollinsPublishers Australia
The story of the business begins in 1888, once David Angus and Scotsman Robertson published A Crown of Wattle, by H. Peden Steele. Their publishing house expanded greatly, thus turning authors such as Henry Lawson, May Gibbs, and Miles Franklin into renowned writers. Globally, HarperCollins is the result of combining Harper & Row, William Collins, and Angus & Robertson.
The interest of the Sydney-based publisher lies in numerous book categories, such as literature & literary studies, humanities, health & personal development, medicine, fiction, and law. If you want to become familiar with their already published works, you should check out The Shape Of Family, by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, The Art Of Keeping Secrets, by Rachael Johns, and We Can’t Say We Didn’t Know, by Sophie McNeill.
Their submissions status has not been updated yet, which means that they are probably still not interested in unsolicited manuscripts for now. However, you can refresh their FAQ page from time to time – this way you’ll know when they start looking for new talents again.
3. Hachette Australia
A division of the global publisher Hachette Livre, Hachette Australia consists of a team of specialists based in Sydney, New South Wales. With way over 50 imprints active, the company is able to publish writings which fit the standards of a broad range of genres – Hachette Australia Children’s Books, Date a Book (their young adult hub), Books with Heart, and The Realm (their SFF community) are just a few divisions you can find both on their website and on social media.
When it comes to fiction, the company publishes crime & fantasy, graphic novels, romance, religious & spiritual fiction, thriller/suspense, and many other genres, while non-fiction publications involve arts, cooking, medicine, health & personal development, society, law, and economics, just to name a few. The Perfect Wife, by JP Delaney, In the Clearing, by J.P. Pomare, and The Outsider, by Stephen King are three of the titles on their list.
Submission guidelines differ from one genre to another. In order to find out about what they’re interested in and how to submit your work, access this page.
4. Ventura Press
A leading independent publisher founded in 2002, Ventura Press is currently located in Sydney, Australia. Their main goal is that of bringing new Australian talents to the audience, which has helped them build a long list of titles written by internationally acclaimed authors.
On their website you will find five main categories in terms of genres, respectively fiction, memoir & true stories, parenting, children’s, health & wellbeing, and business & management. No Small Shame, by Christine Bell, Barossa Nanna and the Lonely Chook, by Heather Gordon, and The Art of Tidying Up, by Kim Carruthers are just three of the titles worth looking up in order to become accustomed to Ventura Press’s already published works.
If you want to submit your manuscript, keep in mind that only authors from Australia or New Zealand will be taken into consideration. You will have to send an author biography, your platform, a synopsis of 350 words at most, competitor analysis, a sample chapter or the full manuscript, and the word count. You can find the submission guidelines here.
5. Pantera Press
Located in Sydney, Australia, Pantera Press was founded in 2008 and its main priorities are investing in the future generation of Australian writers, publishing relevant books, and funding organizations that are working to close the literacy gap. Their most recent prize is the ABIA Small Publisher Children’s Book of the Year Award, earned in 2019.
With a list of works that fit the standards of politics, romance, literary fiction, LGBT, history, crime, and of a few other genres as well, they have some recently published titles that might be of interest – En Pointe, by Chloe Bayliss, You Can Change the World, by Lucy Bell, and Mind Blown, by Dan Marshall.
Pantera Press encourages writers to send unsolicited manuscripts of both fiction and non-fiction. However, self-help books, illustrated books, cookbooks, health & wellbeing, poetry, and a few other genres are not going to be considered. They don’t have an average response time, but you will certainly receive a confirmation email in one day at most. To find out more, check out their submission guidelines.
6. Allen & Unwin
Established in the UK in 1914, Allen & Unwin was set up in Australia as well by Patrick Gallagher in 1976. It has been voted “Publisher of the Year” 13 times so far, and its list grows every year with approximately 250 new titles.
Since they have over 5 imprints active, they are interested in a broad range of genres. Among them we can name current affairs, environment, lifestyle, sport, true crime, military history, Australiana, biography, and cooking. Even more, they also have an academic and professional publishing program with separate submission guidelines. To become familiar with their published titles, you should look up The Book of Two Ways, by Jodi Picoult, The Little Book of the Rolling Stones, by Malcolm Croft, and Six Bad Poets, by Christopher Reid.
If you’re interested in submitting your work, remember that they only accept electronic submissions. Because guidelines vary from one genre to another, make sure to pick the right category before reading the requirements.
7. The Federation Press
Founded in 1987 by Kathryn Fitzhenry, Diane Young and Christopher Holt, The Federation Press is a small publisher based in Alexandria, Australia. They have already published 400 titles, and their list includes 40-50 new ones yearly. The press currently has three imprints, respectively Hawkins Press (criminology), Desert Pea Press (non-law subject areas), and Themis Press (research).
A tertiary academic publisher, The Federation Press publishes works that tackle the subject areas of equity & trusts, intellectual property, criminal law & procedure, legal history, family studies, health, history, self-help, and countless others. If you want to get an idea of what they’re interested in, you can check out Achieving Social Justice – Indigenous rights and Australia’s future, by Larissa Behrendt or Administrative Justice and Its Availability, by Debra Mortimer.
Fortunately, they are open for submissions. Therefore, if you want to send a proposal, all you have to do is include the rationale of your manuscript (around 100 words), the word count and current status, a draft chapter outline along with 50-word abstracts on each chapter, a summary of your background, and a few other details. To see the full submission guidelines, click here.
8. Redback Publishing
Redback Publishing is a company located in Sydney, Australia, and its main purpose is that of producing high-quality books for Australian children. Because of this, their non-fiction titles are complementary to the Australian Curriculum topics that are taught from primary school to the lower years of high-school.
If you want to see what they’ve published so far, you can check out Exploring the World of Computers: The Internet, by Frances Payne, Australia’s Neighbours: Antarctica, by Jane Hinchey, and Tooth Fairy, The, by Marisa Alo.
Although they accept works from both aspiring and established authors, it’s true that the latter category has an advantage. However, this is because they only publish 50 titles a year, so they have to pick the best ones. They are interested in non-fiction books for both children and young adults, in picture books (of 600 words at most), in children’s fiction, and in novels for young adults. To find out more about their submission guidelines, you can access this page.
9. Hunter Press
An independent publisher, Hunter Press is mostly interested in writings related to their location, respectively Newcastle and the Hunter region of Australia. Since they are a small publisher, they are unable to release a high number of titles every year. However, they do sometimes take into consideration proposals, so if you feel like they are a good fit for your work, it’s worth contacting them.
In order to become familiar with their publications, you should check out Smoky City: A history of air pollution in Newcastle, NSW, by Howard Bridgman and Nancy Cushing, Rock This City: Live music in Newcastle, 1970s–1980s, Gaye Sheather, and Five Boxes, Mark MacLean. A few e-books are also available here.
10. Bloomsbury Publishing
Founded in 1986, Bloomsbury Publishing currently has an office in Sydney, Australia, as well as in three other countries. As an independent publisher, it has so far worked with Nobel, Pulitzer prize, and Booker Prizes winners, and it is also the originating publisher of the Harry Potter series.
Their interest lies in numerous genres, among which we can name fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, and academic books. On their website, each of these genres is divided into several other categories – for instance, in the academic section you will find architecture, philosophy, economics, geography, photography, history, and countless other subsections. A few of their titles are The Inflatable Woman, by Rachael Ball, The Owl and the Pussycat and Other Nonsense Poetry, by Edward Lear, and Pulse, by Michael Harvey – if you want to learn more about the company’s preferences, you should look them up.
Unfortunately, Bloomsbury Sydney is closed to unsolicited manuscripts or proposals at the moment. However, Bloomsbury Spark, their first YA imprint, and Bloomsbury Academic & Specialist are accepting submissions, and here is where you can find their guidelines.
11. Walker Books Australia
On the market for over 20 years now, Walker Books Australia is a publisher of children’s books. It is currently based in Newtown, Australia, and it is a part of the Walker Books Group, which has headquarters in other countries as well.
Some of the genres they’re interested in are fiction – illustrated, picture books, poetry anthology, languages, novelty, and graphic novels. You can easily become familiar with their preferences by searching titles like A Tyranny of Petticoats, by Jessica Spotswood, and A Book of Feelings, by Amanda McCardie, and A Bag of Marbles, by Joseph Joffo.
Even though they are currently not accepting submissions from un-agented writers, you can still ask for more information here.
12. Little Pink Dog Books
Based in Armidale, Australia, Little Pink Dog Books is an independent publisher of picture story books for children, and it normally produces 1-6 books every year.
If you want to see what they’re looking for, you can check out their 2020 list – there, you will find titles such as The Big Old Rambutan Tree, by Kathy Creamer, Monkey Mind, by Rebecca J Palmer, and Yes! No., written by Kellie Byrnes and illustrated by Gabriella Petruso.
Although they already posted their 2021 and 2022 book lists as well, they will be open for submissions on one day this year, respectively on the 14th of February. Authors can send two manuscripts at most, and this can be done only electronically, at submissions@LittlePinkDogBooks.com. To find out more, read their submission guidelines.
13. Murdoch Books
Established in the early 1990s by the Murdoch Magazine, Murdoch Books was acquired by previously mentioned Allen & Unwin in 2012. Currently located in Sydney, Australia, they pride themselves with sharing the Australian spirit globally.
According to their description, Murdoch Books have four main subject areas of interest – healthy body & mind, at the table, conversation starters, and new ways of living. However, their catalogue covers many more genres, which vary from true crime to children’s books. To see what they truly want, you can check out their bestsellers; some good options would be Bake Australia Great, by Katherine Sabbath, and The Waterwise Australian Native Garden, by Angus Stewart and AB Bishop.
Luckily, they are currently open for submissions – to learn more, access their submission guidelines page.
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