If you’ve written a creative nonfiction book and are looking for literary agents who represent authors of this genre, ensure you read this article.
If you need a list of creative nonfiction book publishers, continue reading to learn about 17 of them.
1. Main Street Rag
Established in 1996, Main Street Rag is an independent publishing company that publishes fiction, poetry anthologies, and nonfiction titles, the latter of which includes the genre of creative nonfiction. Some of their creative nonfiction books include “Bush Pilot in Diamond Country” by Donald Haack, “It’s About Time” edited by Kathie Giorgio, and “Voices from Baseball” by Frank Mofford and Tim Peeler.
They are currently accepting unsolicited submissions of creative nonfiction manuscripts through their imprint, Mint Hill Books. You’re strongly encouraged to review their submission guidelines before proceeding. Since they’re a small publishing company, they unfortunately are unable to respond to all submissions and will only contact writers whose projects have interested them. Submissions can be sent through their website’s online submission form.
2. Tupelo Press
Founded in 2001, Tupelo Press is an independent publishing company that publishes works of literary fiction, poetry anthologies, and creative nonfiction. Some of their most recent releases include “Hum of Our Blood” by Madelyn Garner, “Kill Class” by Nomi Stone, and “Almost Human” by Thomas Centolella.
They are currently accepting unsolicited submissions for creative nonfiction manuscripts. Be sure to review their submission guidelines before sending in your manuscript for consideration. They ask that you submit only the first 100 pages of your book, along with a concise summary of your project. Submissions can be fulfilled either by regular mail (be sure to include an SASE), or through their website’s online submission form.
3. Anvil Press
Founded in 1990, Anvil Press is a Canadian independent publishing company based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. They publish a wide range of genres, including creative nonfiction. Some of their recent creative nonfiction titles include “Afflictions & Departures” by Madeline Sonik, “At Home with History” by Eve Lazarus, and “Burqa of Skin” by Nelly Arcan. They are unfortunately closed to submissions at this time due to an overwhelming volume of submissions they’ve received. You’re strongly encouraged to check back at a later date to see when they reopen.
4. Arte Público Press
Established in 1979, Arte Público Press is an independent publishing company that grew out of the Hispanic Civil Rights Movement with the express intent of supporting and promoting Hispanic authors and their viewpoints of the world. They publish a wide variety of genres, including creative nonfiction titles. Some of their books include “Adrift: The Cuban Raft People” by Alfredo Fernández, “8 Ways to Say ‘I Love My Life!’” by Sylvia Medoza, and “Buffalo Nickel” by Floyd Salas.
They are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts for creative nonfiction projects, and are especially interested in projects that reflect on Hispanic culture issues and themes. Due to the high volume of submissions that they receive, they note that it can take anywhere between two to four months to respond to query letters and anywhere between three to six months to review and consider manuscripts sent to them. Be sure to review their submission guidelines for more details. Submissions can be sent through their website’s online submission form.
5. Brickhouse Books
Established in 1970, BrickHouse Books is an independent publishing company based out of Maryland that produces works of poetry, fiction, drama, and creative nonfiction. Some of their titles include “In Gray” by Aaron Axhoj Bond, “The Night Ballerina” by Warren Meredith Harris, and “Needs” by Clarence Brown.
They are currently accepting unsolicited submissions for creative nonfiction projects, but strongly encourage you to review their submission guidelines before proceeding. They will only accept submissions via their website’s online submission form. They note that due to the high volume of submissions that they regularly receive, it can take up to six months hear back from them.
6. Etruscan Press
Etruscan Press works in association with both Wilkes University and Youngstown University, with many of its editorial team members working remotely across the entirety of the United States. Etruscan Press publishes works of fiction, poetry collections, and nonfiction, which includes the subgenre of creative nonfiction. Some of their titles include “Aard-vark to Axolotl: Pictures From my Grandfather’s Dictionary” by Karen Donovan, “All The Difference” by Patricia Horvath, and “Areas of Fog” by Will Dowd.
They are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts for creative nonfiction projects. Be sure to review their submission guidelines before sending anything in. They do not accept manuscripts via regular mail. Submissions can be made through their online submission form. Due to the high volume of submissions they receive, they unfortunately will only contact authors whose projects have interested them.
7. Future Tense Books
Founded in 1990, Future Tense Books is a small independent publishing company based in Portland, Oregon. They publish their books in print and ebook formats to help their authors reach a wider audience around the world. Some of their titles include “Being” by Zach Ellis, “Altitude Sickness” by Litsa Dremousis, and “User Not Found” by Felicity Fenton.
Unfortunately, due to the high number of submissions that they’ve received, in addition to the fact that this small press only publishes between three to four books every year, they are currently closed to submissions at this time. You’re still strongly encouraged to check back at a later date. You’re still very welcome to send an email introducing yourself so that you can potentially be contacted in the future when submissions reopen.
8. Gival Press
Gival Press is a small independent publishing company founded in 1998 that only publishes a handful of books every year. Based in Arlington, Virginia, they publish works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry collections. They publish works of creative nonfiction like “Dream of Another America’ by Tyler McMahon, “Guess and Check” by Thaddeus Rutkowski, and “Sex Liberal! Of Me I Sing” by Stephanie Miller.
They are unfortunately not accepting unsolicited manuscripts for publication at this time. However, the team at Gival Press strongly encourages you to look through the handful of writing contests that they host in the meantime.
9. Hawthorne Books
Based out of Portland, Oregon, Hawthorne Books is an independent publishing company that publishes works of literary fiction and nonfiction. Some of their titles include “California Calling” by Natalie Singer, “The Inventors” by Peter Selgin, and “Narrow River, Wide Sky” by Jenny Forrester. They are unfortunately closed to submissions at this time, but hope to reopen come spring of 2019. If you’re an author with literary representation, you can still have your agent submit a query letter on your behalf.
10. Heyday Books
Based in Berkeley, California, Heyday Books is an independent non-profit publishing company that strives to produce books about Californian culture, environment, and innovative ideas. Some of their titles include “Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir” by Deborah A. Miranda, “The Morning the Sun Went Down” by Darryl Babe Wilson, and “All the Saints of the City of the Angels” by J. Michael Walker.
They are currently accepting unsolicited submissions for creative nonfiction projects. You’re strongly encouraged to review their submission guidelines before sending anything in. It’s also advised that you browse through Heyday Books’ existing catalogue to see if your project would be a good fit with them. Submissions can be sent either via regular mail (include an SASE) or via email.
11. Ig Publishing
Based out of New York, Ig Publishing is an award-winning independent publishing company that specializes in literary fiction and progressive political nonfiction. Some of their titles include “Womanish: A Grown Black Woman Speaks on Love and Life” by Kim Mclarin, “A Guest in the House of Hip-Hop” by Mickey Hess, and “The Terror Factory” by Trevor Aaronson.
They do not accept unsolicited submissions, but do consider query letters sent to their editor-in-chief either through regular mail or via email. If you’re an author with literary representation, you can also have your literary agent submit a book proposal or query letter on your behalf.
12. Lost Horse Press
Lost Horse Press is an independent nonprofit publishing house based in Sandpoint, Idaho founded by Christine Holbert. While they primarily publish collections of poetry, they do accept manuscripts for creative nonfiction projects. Some of their titles include “Like Me, Made Various” by Paul Bowers, and “Sunday with the Sound Turned Off” by Andrea Werblin.
Lost Horse Press unfortunately no longer accepts unsolicited submissions. It’s highly advisable that you send a query letter first with information about your project. If you’re an author with literary representation, it’s highly recommended that you have your agent submit a book proposal or query letter on your behalf.
13. McPherson & Company
Founded in 1974 and based out of Providence, Rhode Island, McPherson & Company is an independent publishing company that publishes both fiction and nonfiction, the latter of which includes a wide assortment of different topics and subgenres, including creative nonfiction. Some of their nonfiction titles include “Dersu the Trapper” by V.K. Arseniev, “Walking to Extremes” by Howard McCord, and “A Full Moon of Women” by Ursule Molinaro.
They are unfortunately closed to submissions at this time due to the high volume of submissions sitting in their backlog. They strongly encourage you to check back at a later date to see when they reopen. For general inquiries or more information, you can contact the team at McPherson & Company their website’s online contact form.
14. New Rivers Press
New Rivers Press is an independent publishing company based out of Moorhead, Minnesota that works closely with the Minnesota State University. They publish books of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction titles. Some of their creative nonfiction titles include “Body Memory” by Joel Peckham, “Man of the House” by Mark Vinz, and “Great River Road’ by Madelon Spregnether.
They are currently hosting several writing contests, but are also open to general submissions for novels, memoirs, and creative nonfiction. Be sure to review their submission guidelines before proceeding. If you’re interested in working with New Rivers Press, you can submit your manuscript via their website’s online submission form.
15. Noemi Press
Established in 2002, Noemi Press is a publishing organization based out of Blacksburg, Virginia that works closely with Virginia Tech University. They like to work with emerging and previously published authors, producing works of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and chapbooks. Some of their titles include “Beasts You’ll Never See” by Nate Liederbach, “Dream of Trenches” by Kate Colby, and “The Lucky Ones Get to Be People” by Rachel Haley Himmelheber.
Noemi Press is now open to submissions and is hosting the Noemi Press Book Awards to discover exciting and engaging new authors and their work. You can submit your manuscript through their website’s online submission form.
16. Paul Dry Books
Paul Dry Books is a publishing company based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that publishes works of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Some of their nonfiction titles include “A Dinner of Herbs’ by John Verney, “Boston Boy” by Nat Hentoff, and “The Flight of Ikaros” by Kevin Andrews. While they are not actively seeking submissions at this time, you can still submit a query letter or book proposal through your literary agent. If you’re an unagented author, you can still submit a query via email, but note that competition is very fierce and you may not hear back right away.
17. Persea Books
Established in 1975, Persea Books is an independent publishing company that specializes in producing works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Some of their recently released nonfiction titles include “Travels in Vermeer” by Michael White, “The Effects of Knut Hamson on a Fresno Boy” by Gary Soto, and “Beirut Fragments’ Jean Said Makdisi.
They are currently accepting submissions for creative nonfiction titles. It’s highly recommended that interested authors review Persea Books’ submission guidelines before proceeding. Submissions can be sent either via email or regular mail. The team at Persea notes that they will only respond to queries and submissions if interested in the project.
18. Rose Metal Press
Rose Metal Press is an independent nonprofit publishing organization that produces works of flash fiction and nonfiction, poetry, novellas, and more. Some of their most recent titles include “Ghostographs” by Maria Romasco Moore, “A Bright and Pleading Dagger” by Nicole Rivas, and “Monster Portraits” by Del Samatar and Sofia Samatar. They are unfortunately not accepting manuscripts or query letters at this time. Be sure to check back at a later date to see when they reopen. For general inquiries or more information, you can contact the team at Rose Metal Press via their website’s online contact form.
19. University of Iowa Press
The University of Iowa Press is a publisher of nonfiction that touches on topics like anthropology, film, memoirs, true crime, and more. They are open to accepting works of creative nonfiction provided that it’s well written and fits amongst their catalogue of preexisting titles. Some of their books include “Down From the Mountain Top: From Belief to Belonging” by Joshua Dolezal, “Full Moon at Noontide” by Ann Putnam, and Great Expectation: A Father’s Diary” by Dan Roche.
They are currently accepting manuscript submissions for literary and general nonfiction. Be sure to review their submission guidelines, as there are specific individuals that you should contact with regards to your project. The team at the University of Iowa Press also strongly encourage you to browse through their catalogue to determine if your project is a good fit before submitting. Submissions and book proposals can be sent via email.
Are you aware of any other creative nonfiction book publishers? Tell us about their activities in the comments box below!
K. Z. Kwan is a freelance writer based out of Halifax, Canada.