Are you an American, Canadian or British writer looking for book publishers seeking submissions for fiction, or nonfiction books?
This post is especially for you.
Below we’ve featured 19 top publishers seeking submissions. Continue reading to learn about who they are, the genres they publish and to get an idea of how you can make submissions to them.
1. 8th House Publishing
8th House Publishing operates out of both Montreal, Canada, and New York, USA. They love working with authors who have created truly exemplary works of fiction and philosophy. Having published books like “Empire Burlesque” by Charles Talkoff and “Unwanted Hopeless Romantic Morons” by Geoffrey Alexander Parsons, 8th House Publishing is no stranger to the literary world of fiction. They even accept non-fiction and poetry collection titles.
They are currently accepting submissions and encourage authors to submit via email, as they wish to remain an eco-friendly publishing house. They ask that you send a sample of your work (typically two to three chapters of your manuscript and a full table of contents if you’ve written a non-fiction piece) along with a query letter to introduce yourself.
2. Bellevue Literary Press
Founded in 2007, Bellevue Literary Press has published several prize-winning books like “Tinkers” by Paul Harding (winner of the Pulitzer Prize). They love working with fiction and non-fiction authors whose work hone in on “big questions” like those of the human condition. Other books that they’ve published include “In the Shadow of King Saul” by Jerome Charyn and “The Wreckage of Eden” by Norman Lock.
They are currently accepting submissions for literary fiction and narrative nonfiction geared towards general audiences. They do not accept poetry, stand-alone short stories, screenplays, memoirs, or self-help books. You can send a submission via email, and the body of the email should include a cover letter that goes into detail about your work and give a brief author bio. For both fiction and nonfiction submissions, they ask that you attach the full manuscript for review.
3. Black & White Publishing
Founded and operating since 1999, Black & White Publishing has worked with some of the world’s bestselling authors like Daniela Sacerdoti, James Robertson, Alex Norton, and Sally Magnusson. They publish books from a wide variety of genres including non-fiction, biographies, sports, humor, young adult and children’s fiction. With their main office located in Edinburgh, UK, Black & White Publishing has reaches and connections all over the globe.
They are more than happy to accept unsolicited material, but they do ask that you review their submission guidelines carefully before sending your manuscript off. They do not accept poetry, short story collections, stage plays, or content written in anything other than English. They only accept submissions online, as they are unable to store your hardcopy manuscript. Simply check out their submissions page to find the online form. Be sure that your manuscript is in either Word or PDF format for upload.
4. Chronicle Books
Chronicle Books is an independent publishing company that operates out of San Francisco. They work with several other publishing partners to help distribute and create some of the best books there are on the market, including companies like Moleskine, Laurence King Publishing, the Creative Company and even Hardie Grant Books. One of their most notable and recent publications includes “A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo” by Jill Twiss (as see on the hit show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver).
They are currently accepting unsolicited submissions for both children’s picture books and adult trade. For children’s books, they ask that you submit a hardcopy via mail. Due to the high volume of submissions that they receive, you can expect to hear back within six months upon receipt of your manuscript. For adult trade submissions, they can accept your manuscript either by mail or via email. They are interested in cookbooks, books about fine art, design, photography, relationships, and much more.
5. Joffe Books
Joffe Books is a UK-based independent publishing company that produces works of crime fiction, thrillers and mysteries. They’ve worked with bestselling authors like Helen H. Durrant, Faith Martin, Joy Ellis, and even Taylor Adams. As a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Joffe Books is the publisher to choose if you’re an author with a captivating mystery story to tell.
They are currently accepting submissions from both new and published authors. They also encourage authors who have been previously published or self-published, and are always eager to work with new and promising writers. They ask that you submit your manuscript via email in either PDF or Word format. You should include a synopsis and be sure to mention what genre your book is. Be sure to include a brief author bio and mention where you heard about Joffe Books.
6. Kensington Publishing Corp.
Located in New York City, Kensington Publishing Corp. was founded in 1974. Having worked with numerous New York Times bestselling authors like Fern Michaels, Lisa Jackson, and William W. Johnstone, they publish a wide variety of genres like romance, women’s fiction, young adult, and nonfiction content.
They are currently accepting submissions via email. They ask that you send a query letter first so that they may determine if your book will be a good fit. If they’re interested, they will ask you to send your manuscript. They do not accept children’s books, middle grade fiction, young adult fiction, or poetry collections.
7. Ghostwoods Books
Ghostwoods Books is a small, independent, fair-trade publishing company with over thirty years of experience in the literary field. They love to work with independent and unrepresented authors with great stories to tell. They publish books from a wide variety of genres, including chick lit, LGBT fiction, urban fantasy, and futuristic fantasy (to name a few).
They are currently accepting unsolicited submissions via their online form. They require a complete manuscript that should ideally be no shorter than 60k words. They accept all types of genres except for poetry. They ask that your manuscript include a title page, your name, contact information, and the story on its own (no table of contents, no synopsis, etc).
8. Skyhorse Publishing
Founded in 2006, Skyhorse Publishing is an American publishing company that was started by Tony Lyons, the former president and publisher of Lyons Press. They love to work with authors who have stories about fighting against injustice, conspiracies, or abuses of power. With nearly eighteen imprints, Skyhorse is capable of marketing and reaching a very broad and wide-reaching audience all over the globe.
They are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts and are eager for content about sports, health and fitness, history, humor, true crime, books about current events, and more. Be sure to check out their submission guidelines for a better idea of the type of work they’re looking for. They ask that you send a brief query letter, a one or two paged synopsis, a chapter outline, some information on the type of audience you hope to reach, a few sample chapters and a brief author bio.
9. Cedar Fort
Founded in 1986 by Lyle Mortimer and Lee Nelson, Cedar Fort is a publishing company that specializes in publishing young adult fiction. Publishing over 150 titles a year, Cedar Fort has worked with authors like “Rapunzel Untangled” by Cindy C. Bennet. With over thirty years of experience, Cedar Fort works with several imprints to better serve its authors and reach a larger readership.
They are currently accepting submissions through their online form, found here. They are currently not accepting memoirs, poetry, short story collections, and horror. There are specific formatting requirements that they require, which can be found on their submissions page.
10. Hot Key Books
Hot Key Books is another publishing company that specializes in young adult fiction. Based out of the UK, Hot Key Books works in partnership with Bonnier Books, which is one of the top fifteen publishing houses in the world. Hot Key Books has published works by Sara Shepard, author of “Last Seen: The Amateurs,” and Christ Ryan, author of “Special Forces Cadets: Siege.”
They are currently accepting submissions, but require that you send a full synopsis along with your complete manuscript. Your submission should be sent via email, and your work should be formatted in either Word or PDF form. For more information, you can send inquiries for more information.
11. Polis Books
Polis Books is a relatively new publishing company, founded in 2013 with the primary focus of helping to produce innovative and professional publishing for trade fiction. They have published books like “Black Diamond Fall” by Joseph Olshan and “Finding Katarina M.” and Elisabeth Elo.
They are currently accepting mystery, commercial literary fiction, thriller novels, science fiction, supernatural, romance and young adult fiction. They also accept nonfiction manuscripts that touch on subjects such as memoirs, sports, and pop culture. They require a query letter, three sample chapters of your manuscript and a brief author bio. Submissions should be sent via email only.
12. Felony & Mayhem
Felony & Mayhem specializes in mystery and crime fiction. Based out of New York, this publishing house has produced books like “A Good Death” by Elizabeth Ironside and “A Many Lay Dead” by Ngaio Marsh. If you have a mystery fiction that’s a minimum of 80k words long, Felony & Murder may the publishing house that could best represent your work!
They are currently accepting submissions via email only. They require a brief synopsis as well as one sample chapter (or a representative ten pages of your manuscript). For more information on their submission requirements, feel free to check out their page here.
13. Barricade Books
Barricade Books has been in the publishing business since 1992. They specialize in producing and marketing nonfiction, especially those that touch upon controversial or “hot button” topics. They published works like “Anti-Semitism: A Disease of the Mind” by Theodore Rubin and “A Cop’s Tale: NYPD The Violent Years” by Jim O’Neil and Mel Fazzino. They very rarely publish fiction, and they do not publish poetry or children’s books.
They are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts for nonfiction works. They ask that you include the first two chapters of your manuscript, an outline, a SASE and a list of titles that you would consider comparable to your work. Your submission should be sent to their editor via mail. Submissions sent without an SASE will not receive a response.
14. Baen Books
Founded by Jim Baen, Baen Books is a publishing company that specializes in science fiction and fantasy. They have made significant steps towards producing ebooks to keep up with the demand for digital copies in an ever-growing market. They’ve worked with authors like Susan R. Matthews, author of “Crimes Against Humanity,” and Martin L. Shoemaker, author of “Today I am Carey.”
They are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts for science fiction and fantasy novels. They prefer works to be between 100k to 130k words. In order to submit your manuscript for consideration, they ask that you submit your manuscript by using their online submission form. A query letter is not necessary, but they do recommend that you include a succinct synopsis.
15. Persea Books
Persea Books has published books from a wide range of genres and styles, including poetry, fiction, essays, memoirs and biographies. Founded in 1975 by Michael Braziller and Karen Braziller, the publishing company has worked with authors like Anzia Yezierska, author of “Bread Givers.”
They are currently accepting fiction, nonfiction, and poetry submissions via email or regular mail. They do not publish romance, fantasy, science fiction, thriller novels, self-help, textbooks or books for children, however. They ask that you include ac over letter, a brief author biography, a publication history (should you be a previously published author), a synopsis of your work and a sample chapter. If you would like your manuscript returned to you after it has been reviewed, they ask that you enclose an SASE.
16. Boroughs Publishing Group
Boroughs Publishing House loves love. They specialize in fantasy romance, romantic suspense, historical romances, contemporary romance, paranormal and young adult romance fiction. Some of their most recent releases include “Amethyst” by Emily Wright Mims and “On Fire” by Savannah Cross.
They are currently accepting submissions and love to see romance fiction in sub-genres like dystopian, LGBTQ, paranormal, and even erotica. They ask that you include the first three chapters of your completed work, and note that they do accept all “heat” levels. Submissions can be made via email or through their online submission form. They do not accept submissions via regular mail.
17. Entangled Publishing
Entangled Publishing was founded in 2011 and has published more than 1,200 works, including the bestseller “The Marriage Bargain” by Jennifer Probst and young adult romance fiction “Obsidian” by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Entangled is another publishing company that specializes in romance fiction, inclusive of many romance sub-genres.
They are partnered with several other imprints to better market and distribute their authors’ books. They are currently accepting submissions and ask that you check out their website first to get a better understanding of which imprint to send your manuscript to.
18. Regal Crest
Regal Crest is a publishing company that is currently looking for LGBT novels with plots full of action, adventure, drama, fantasy, mystery, thriller, romance and science fiction. They produce books in both print and ebook formats (they prefer ebooks to be between 15k to 60k words in length).
They ask that submissions be emailed, and you should receive a response within five business days concerning your work. They don’t require a query letter, but ask that your entire manuscript be formatted in .doc form. For more information about their submission guidelines, check out their page here.
19. Holiday House
Holiday House is a publishing company that specializes in children’s picture books and children’s fiction. Established in 1935, Holiday house as produced several award-winning and bestselling children’s books like “Before She Was Harriet” by Lesa Cline-Ransome and “Dreamers” by Yuyi Morales.
They are always seeking submissions from new authors. They ask that you send the entire manuscript, whether it’s a picture book or novel, via regular mail. They also accept submissions via email if regular mail is not a possibility for you. Due to the high volume of submissions they receive, they will only respond to authors that they are interested in within a four-month period.
Do you know of any other publishers accepting submissions? Please tell us about them in the comments box underneath.
K. Z. Kwan is a freelance writer based out of Halifax, Canada.