Have you written a story set in the American Old West?
Are you now looking for a publisher for you book?
Continue reading to learn about 19 top book publishers of Western novels.
1. Barking Rain Press
Barking Rain Press is an imprint of BRP Publishing Group based out of the state of Washington. They publish a wide range of books with varying genres like speculative fiction, mystery and crime, romance, young adult fiction, and western fiction titles. Some of their better-known western books include “Bounty Hunter’s Moon” by Lee Pierce, and “Winner Take None” by Greg Comer.
They are currently not accepting unsolicited manuscripts, but encourage you to check back at a later date. Submissions sent via regular mail will be returned to the sender. You do not need literary representation in order to submit your project to Barking Rain Press for consideration. However, it’s highly recommended that you review the company’s manuscript submission guidelines before proceeding. Please note that due to a high volume of submissions, the editorial team at Barking Rain Press requests that you allow for up to four weeks to hear back with a response.
2. Mocha Memoirs Press
Mocha Memoirs Press was founded by Nicole Givens Kurtz. This independent publishing company is based out of North Carolina and specializes in publishing books within the speculative genre realm, but is also open to publishing western fiction novels. They especially interested in “weird westerns,” which takes the traditional western genre and adds elements of science fiction and fantasy for a contemporary sub-genre that’s refreshing and new.
They are actively seeking unsolicited manuscripts and hope to work with authors from different types of backgrounds and perspectives. They’re also extremely interested in protagonists that stand out as unique and diverse. Submissions can be sent via email, but the editorial team at Mocha Memoirs Press strongly encourages you to review their submission guidelines before proceeding.
3. Outlaws Publishing
Outlaws Publishing specializes in publishing western fiction. They are a full-service independent publishing company that helps their authors through the entire publishing journey. Some of their most recent titles include westerns like “Bonita and Clive – Outlaws: A Western Adventure” by R.G. Eagleton, “The Claim Robbers: The Story of Jim Cassidy” by Harvey Wood, and “High Country Justice” by Robert Kammen and Suzanne M. Roll.
They currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts for western fiction projects, but strongly encourage you to review their submission requirements before proceeding. There are specific words and subject matter that they will not publish, such as pornography or obscenity. Submissions can be sent via email.
4. Pocol Press
Founded in 1999, Pocol Press is a small independent publishing company that loves to work with first-time and unrepresented authors. Genres that they specialize in include general trade fiction, baseball nonfiction and fiction titles, war stories, westerns, spiritual subject matter, and memoirs. They do not publish children’s books, romance, or graphic novels. Some of their more notable western novels include “Beside the Broken Trail” by Thomas F. Sheehan, “The Last Sheepeater” by Rolf Goerke, and “The Diem Novel Man” By Kent Kamron.
They are currently accepting unsolicited book proposals. Book proposals can be sent via regular mail. They ask that you include a self-addressed stamped envelope in order to have manuscripts returned to you after consideration. You shouldn’t send your entire manuscript unsolicited. If they are interested in your project, they will contact you for a complete copy. For more information, you can refer to their submission guidelines here.
5. Shalako Press
Shalako Press is an independent publishing company that publishes books for children, young adults, and books about the nonfiction and fiction books about the American west. Some of the western titles that they’ve been responsible for producing include “Showdown at Sutter Creek” by Gary Crawford and “Mokelumne Gold” by Major Mitchell. Shalako Press is able to publish books in both print and ebook form, which helps their authors expand and reach a much wider audience around the world.
They are currently accepting submissions, and are always eager to work with first-time authors. They are willing to consider projects within the genres of westerns, religion, romance, thriller, mysteries, biographies, and children’s stories, but note that they do no publish works with excessive profanity or violence. You can refer to their submission guidelines for more information. Submissions can be sent via email.
6. Speaking Volumes
Speaking Volumes is an independent publishing company that has published award-winning books by best-selling authors like Mach Maloney, author of the Wingman series. They publish fiction books from a wide range of genres, including westerns. Some of their western titles include books like “Avenging Angels: The Lawman” by Lyle Brandt and “Brand 99” by Wayne D. Overholser.
If you believe that your manuscript would be a good fit with Speaking Volumes, you can send a query letter to their editorial team located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Be sure to provide a synopsis of your project, an author resume, and your contact information. If they’re interested in your work, a member of their team will contact you about sending the full manuscript for consideration. For more information about their submission guidelines, click here.
7. Black Horse Westerns
Black Horse Westerns is an imprint of Robert Hale Ltd., which first began publishing western titles in 1936. Black Horse Westerns specializes in publishing high-engaging and authentic western novels, publishing roughly eighty new books every year in both print and ebook formats. Some of their titles include “Tracking Apache Joe” by George Arthur and “The Battle for the Bar-Q” by Will Black.
They are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts from western authors. They hope to find works that fall between 35k to 45k words. All submissions can be sent via email, along with a cover letter that provides a synopsis of your work and your contact information. Be sure to check out their submission guidelines to get a better idea of what they’re expecting to receive. If they’re interested in your project, a member of their editorial team will reach out to you promptly.
8. Condor Publishing
Condor Publishing is a small independent publishing company that produces children’s books and traditional western fiction based out of Colorado. They have a wide range of western titles like “Applejack & Bat Masterson: Trinidad’s Law” by Charlie Steel and “Ride for Redemption: A Texas Ranger Cody Havlicek Story” by James J. Griffin.
If you’re interested in working with Condor Publishing and believe that your work would be a good fit amongst their catalogue, you can send a query letter via email to their editorial team. If you’re an author with literary representation, you can have your agent contact them on your behalf with a book proposal. If they’re interested in your project, you can expect to hear back promptly with regards to the next steps you’ll take in your publishing journey.
9. Mills & Boon
Mills & Boon is a division of HarperCollins that’s based out of the UK. They are known for their works of romance fiction, and have a very notable subgenre of western romance. Some of their better-known western romance titles include “Falling for the Rebel Cowboy” by Allison B. Collins, “Lone Star Father” by Marin Thomas, and “Rodeo Family” by Mary Sullivan.
They are actively seeking new literary talent and love to work with first-time authors who have a passion for writing romance novels. If you’re an author who has a western romance manuscript ready for submission, you can send a query letter via their website’s online submission form. For more information about their submission requirements, click here.
10. White Bird Publications
White Bird Publications is an independent publishing company that’s based out of Austin Texan. They’re an official member of the Association of American Publishers who produce books for children, young adults, and adult trade fiction. They publish in both print and ebook formats to assist their authors in reaching a much wider audience.
They are currently accepting submissions via email. They ask that you send the first three chapters of your manuscript, a short synopsis of your story, and a cover page that provides your contact information and the manuscript’s approximate word count. Be sure to review their submission guidelines before proceeding, as they have specific formatting requirements.
11. Prairie Rose Publications
Prairie Rose Publications is an independent publishing company with several imprints under its name such as Sundown Press and Tornado Alley Publications. The company as a whole specializes in western and western-themed titles, specifically western romances. Some of their titles include “Innocent Bystander” by C.A. Asbrey, “The Tempestuous Debutante” by Becky Lower, and “I Dream of You” by Sarah J. McNeal.
They are actively seeking new submissions from both represented and unrepresented authors. Several of their imprints (namely Sundown Press and Painted Pony Books) are actively seeking western fiction projects. Be sure to review their submission guidelines before submitting a query letter, as they have specific formatting requirements and expectations. They do not accept books that have previously been published. All submission can be sent via email.
12. Trailblazer Western Fiction
Trailblazer Western Fiction is an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. As part of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, the team at Trailblazer strives to find and promote works by original and talented authors to produce traditional western titles. They publish books in print, ebook, and even audiobook format, which significantly helps their authors reach a global audience. They prefer works of 90k or less, seek protagonists who are strong, brave, and have a very clear narrative voice, and prefer works with little to no profanity or graphic sexual content.
They are currently open for submissions, but ask that you carefully review their submission guidelines. Book proposals and queries can be sent via email. Be sure to include a cover letter that provides a brief summary of your project, a two to three-page synopsis, three sample chapters, a marketing plan (if any), and a brief author bio that includes any previous publishing experience that you may have.
13. Wolfpack Publishing
Established in 2013, Wolfpack Publishing is a newly founded independent publishing company that is rapidly becoming known as a western fiction publishing specialist in the literary industry. They publish books in both print and ebook format, relying on platforms like Amazon to help distribute the work of their talented authors. Some of their best-selling western titles include “No Good Like It is” by McKendree Long and “Legend of a Gunfighter” by Robert Vaughan.
They are actively seeking unsolicited manuscripts and strongly encourage you to send in your work. You can utilize their website’s online submission form to get started. Their team is excited to work with talented new authors, whether they’ve been previously published or are publishing a book for the first time.
14. High Plains Press
High Plains Press has been in the publishing industry for nearly twenty-five years, producing high-quality and impressively entertaining books. They have a large selection of western fiction and nonfiction titles, including the award-winning “Soap Suds Row” by Jennifer J. Lawrence and “Staking Her Claim: Women Homesteading the West” by Marcia Meredith Hensley.
While they are not currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts, the editorial team at High Plains Press strongly encourages writers to send in book proposals or query letters via mail. For more information about the types of works they’re interested, you can review their writer guidelines here.
15. Melange Books
Melange Books is a publishing company that produces a wide range of literary fiction, including contemporary fiction, mystery novels, science fiction, women’s fiction, and western fiction. They publish in both print and ebook formats to help their authors reach a global audience regardless of location. Some of their western titles include books like “Comanche Gold” by Richard Dawes, “Detour Trail” by Joy V. Smith, and “The Inn at Little Bend” by Bobbi Groover.
They are unfortunately closed to submissions at this time, but they strongly encourage you to check back soon to see when they’ll reopen. They note that they are a fiction publisher only and do not accept nonfiction manuscripts.
16. Grey Wolfe Publishing
Grey Wolfe Publishing company that is actively seeking western books. They are a full-service publishing company that will help you with editing, formatting, cover design, marketing, and distribution. They even publish ebooks and audiobooks to help authors expand their readership across the world. If you’re interested in working with Grey Wolfe Publishing, you’re strongly encouraged to review their submission guidelines. When you’re ready to submit, you can use their online submission form.
17. Sapphire Books
Sapphire Books offers a unique collection of titles that combine traditional western themes with LGBTQ+ subject matter. Founded in 2010 by Christine Svendsen, Sapphire Books publishes fiction, nonfiction, and biographical lesbian titles. They aspire to give LGBTQ+ writers a voice in a seemingly taunting and confusing literary market. Some of their western titles include books like “Future Promises” by Sandy Duggar and “Prairie Fire” by Kayt C. Peck.
They are unfortunately closed to submissions at this time, but strongly encourage you to check back at a later date.
18. Piccadilly Publishing
Founded in 2012, Piccadilly Publishing is a small independent publishing house that publishes western and action-adventure ebooks. With partnerships with Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and WH Smith, Piccadilly Publishing distributes their authors’ books worldwide. Some of their most recent western ebook titles include “Winter of the Wolf” by Steven M. Krauzer, “Buchanan’s War” by Jonas Ward, and “Chance: Delta Raiders” by Clay Tanner.
They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, but encourage represented authors to have their literary agents reach out on their behalf. They’re happy to receive query letters through agents about your project. If they are interested in your manuscript, a member of their editorial team will reach out to you promptly.
19. Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House is definitely one of the big publishing houses in the industry. Instantly recognizable, Penguin Random House’s books reach millions of readers worldwide. They have an impressive selection of western titles like “Buckskin” by Robert Knott, “Depth of Winter” by Craig Johnson, and “Whiskey When We’re Dry” by John Larison.
Due to the high volume of submissions that they receive, Penguin Random House unfortunately does not accept unsolicited manuscripts and prefer to work with represented authors. If you’re an author with literary representation, you can have your agent leach out to the editorial group at Penguin with a book proposal or query letter. If they are interested in your work, a member of their editorial team will reach out to discuss the next steps of your publishing journey.
Are there any other publishers of Western novels that need to be on this list? Please tell us about them in the comments box!
K. Z. Kwan is a freelance writer based out of Halifax, Canada.