Are you author based in America, Canada, Australia or the UK?
Have you written a book and are looking for suitable book publishers who might be interested in your work?
Below we’ve featured 21 top book publishing companies, ranging from small independent presses, to large publishing houses. We’ve also highlighted those that are currently open to submissions and those that are not at this time.
1. Quirk Books
This Philadelphia-based press publishes only 25 strikingly unconventional books each year. It is headquartered in the charming cobblestone street, right in the historic Old City district of Philadelphia.
It was founded in 2002 by David Borgenicht, who co-authored the 1999 hugely successful Worst Case Scenario series that went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide, prompting a series of related books, games, calendars, and even two TV series.
Quirk Books have an excellent distribution and they have published a range of bestsellers over the years. Some of their top selling titles include Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, The Last Policeman, and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. You probably own or have heard of a few other books they’ve published.
They have a well-organized website with clear submission guidelines and also quite clear on which of the editors you should pitch to depending on the type of manuscript you have.
Check out their submission guidelines here.
2. Holiday House
Holiday House is a reputable and pretty well-established publisher of children’s books. It has been around for more than 75 years. They specialize in children’s picture books, including books aimed at children in grades 1-3, grades 4-6, and grades 7 and higher.
Holiday House is a member of the Children’s Book Council and publishes around 120 titles every year. Notable authors include Polly Haorvath, Yuyi Morales, David A. Adler, Gail Gibbons and Kenneth Grahame, author of the famous story, The Reluctant Dragon.
They are based in New York City and have detailed guidelines for submission of manuscripts on their website and will respond within four months if they come across anything they are interested in.
See their submission guidelines here.
3. Charlesbridge Publishing
In 2010, Charlesbridge officially acquired Imagine Publishing and has since expanded to offer, including extensive audio offerings. They publish high quality books for both young adults and children, which include non-fiction, puzzle books and cook books.
Charlesbridge are just beginning to publish young adult fiction but they are well-known for children’s books and have published a number of well-reviewed books. They are based in Watertown, in the Middlesex County of Massachusetts.
According to their website, they are “always seeking new voices, new visions, and new directions in children’s literature and they are “looking forward to seeing your work.”
Check out their website here for further directions.
4. Chicago Review Press
This is the parent company of Independent Publishers Group. It was founded in 1973 and now publishes around 60 new books every year. Curt Mathews and his wife Linda Mathews founded the company in their basement and now publish a number of titles under several imprints including, Lawrence Hill Books, Zephyr Press and Parenting Press among others.
Their website is easy to navigate and their submission guidelines are detailed but quite helpful. They also publish both print and electronic versions of their books which they describe as “a little quirky, a little edgy, and smart.” They first published the Walter Roth’s Accidental Anarchist, which was a huge success.
They are currently only accepting submissions of non-fiction manuscripts. See their submission guidelines here.
5. DAW
This is an imprint of Penguin, based in New York City. It accepts manuscripts from authors without an agent which is quite unusual and such a great opportunity. DAW is a highly respected publisher of science fiction and fantasy titles and has great distribution due to its connection with Penguin.
The experienced Donald A. Wollheim founded the publishing firm in 1971 following his departure from Ace Books. DAW has since published award-winning authors including Fritz Leiber, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Roger Zelazny, and C.J. Cheryh whose 1982 book Downbelow Station became the first DAW novel to win the Hugo Award for best novel.
DAW is not accepting short stories, short story collections, novellas, poetry, or novels in other genres at the moment as they are only interested in science fiction and fantasy novels.
Your manuscript has to be at least 80,000 words. Have a look at more of their submission guidelines here.
6. Catapult
Formed in 2015, Catapult is a New York based independent publisher of high quality fiction and non-fiction. However, it is much more than just a book publisher. It offers writing classes run by award-winning authors, operates an online magazine that publishes fiction and narrative nonfiction, and enables authors to showcase their writing and develop themselves as writers through its digital platform called Community.
Books and authors Catapult has published have won numerous prestigious awards such as the Maine Literary Award, the American Academy of Arts and the Costa Novel Award, among others. Other books have gone onto be finalists in the most famous of literary competitions, including the Man Booker Prize.
Catapult currently doesn’t have any open calls for book submissions, however, it will open narrative nonfiction and fiction calls for its online magazine later on this year. Take a look at this page for more details.
7. Coach House Books
Based in Toronto, Canada, this independent Canadian publisher has an incredible history and is now one of Canada’s biggest publishing firms. It was founded in 1965 by a young typesetter, Stan Bevington.
It accepts submissions of poetry, drama, literary fiction and select non-fiction. The publishing firm is constantly on the lookout for “writing that pushes at the boundary of convention.” It is also famous for publishing Eunoia, by Christian Bök.
Coach House Books primarily accepts Canadian authors, since like other Canadian publications, it receives government grants and funding.
They have detailed submission guidelines which can be seen from their website here.
8. Coteau Books
This small non-profit literary press based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada was founded in 1975 by Bob Currie, Gary Hyland, Barbara Sapergia, and Geoffrey Ursel. They set up the publishing firm when they realized that there were hardly any opportunities in Canada for Saskatchewan authors to get published, particularly first time authors.
Coteau Books has grown exponentially since then and now publishes more than 16 books each year from authors across Canada. They have published notable award winning authors such as the late Gloria Sawai and her 2001 award-winning short story collection A Song for Nettie Johnson.
Note that they only accept submissions from citizens of Canada or those who are permanent residents. They also do not accept unsolicited submissions and only receive query letters with brief samples attached (no more than 20 pages).
See more submission guidelines here.
9. Cormorant Books
Jan and Garry Geddes decided to name this publishing house after the Cormorant bird back in 1986 when they started it on their farm in Eastern Ontario. Today the firm is headquartered in Toronto and has specialized in fiction by both new and emerging Canadian writers as well as reissues of out-of-print classics in Canadian literature.
Cormorant has published notable writers, including Margaret Atwood (author of The Handmaid’s Tale) and her book The illustrated Journals of Susan Moodie which she co-wrote with Charles Pachter.
It is currently accepting literary non-fiction and fiction submissions from Canadian authors only. Drop them a query with a brief description of your manuscript and a sample of no more than three chapters or 50 pages, whichever comes first.
Check out all their submission guidelines here.
10. Caitlin Press
Originally established as a feminist literary press in 1977, this publishing outfit has expanded to become a British Columbia literary press. Caroline Zonailo established the press with a mission to support a variety of women’s literature.
Subsequent owners have stayed true to Zonailo’s original mission and have published a culturally significant non-fiction, fiction, and poetry books. Their website contains detailed information about their values and the kind of content they publish.
Caitlin Press publishes about 12-14 new books each year which include regional non-fiction and a few select literary fiction, poetry or prose. One of their notable bestsellers has been Lou Allison’s Dancing in Gumboots: Adventure, Love, and Resilience–Women of the Comox Valley.
Visit their submissions page here to learn more.
11. BookLand Press
This is one of the few independent publishers in Canada that publishes a number of books in English as well several other indigenous languages. Founded in 2006 in Ontario, it’s mission has been to ensure that culturally significant Canadian titles are available to all the readers across the country, and in both the official two languages.
They have published reputable authors such as Raymond MacGregor (The Secret of the Azure Stone) and Suzanne Craig Whytock (The Dome).
BookLand Press publishes poetry, non-fiction, fiction and indigenous Canadian literature. They are particularly interested in manuscripts from diverse Canadian authors, indigenous authors, people with disabilities, and even minority language authors.
Their submission guidelines are pretty straight forward. You can see more here.
12. House of Anansi Press
House of Anansi began as a small press back in 1967 in Toronto, Canada. Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey founded the press, which has since grown and even gained attention for publishing prominent authors such as Margaret Atwood (The Circle Game, Up in the Tree, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth).
Anansi Press has great distribution which is handled by the University of Toronto Press in Canada and The Publishers Group West in the US. The firm publishes about 50 books a year comprising literary fiction, non-fiction, poetry, graphic novels, and crime fiction.
They accept submissions from Canadian authors and will not accept unsolicited submissions from other parts of the world.
Check out their submission guidelines here.
13. Brio Books
Established in 2006 as an imprint, this publisher officially changed its name from Xoum Publishing to Brio Books. It is now a fully fledged Australian independent publishing company based in Sydney.
Brio Books specializes in crime fiction, literary fiction, romance and speculative fiction and non-fiction with a broad appeal (true crime, mind-body-spirit, health and wellbeing, memoirs, etc). The publisher has great distribution handled by Hardie Grant in Australia and New Zealand and Ingram globally. Among the notable authors they have published include Garvin Souter (Sydney Observed), Julie Proudfoot (The Neighbour) and Jane Jervis (Midnight Blue and Endlessly Tall).
At that moment, you have to live in Australia or New Zealand to make a submission.
See more of their guidelines here.
14. Penguin Random House Australia
This, of course, is an imprint of the Penguin Random House, the largest book publisher in the world. That means that all its published books enjoy great distribution all over the world. The Australian imprint of Penguin Random House, one of the big five publishers, is currently accepting submissions from authors across Australia.
Based in Melbourne, Australia, it accepts email submissions in the first week of every month. The publisher does not accept play, scripts, individual short stories, science fiction, fantasy, poetry or educational textbooks. It has separate guidelines for Adult literature and Children literature submissions.
You can review their guidelines here.
15. Pan Macmillan Australia
Pan MacMillan is an imprint of Macmillan, which is one of the big five publishers. It is open to submissions and has excellent distribution in Australia. This is currently the only way to submit your manuscript directly to Macmillan.
It is based in Sydney, Australia, and now publish a wide range genres including commercial fiction, romance, paranormal, fantasy, humour as well as literary fiction and non-fiction. Some of its published bestselling titles include novels such as The Three Secret Cities by Matthew Reilly and Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty.
On the first Monday of each new month, they accept submissions between 10am and 4pm Australian Eastern Time. You may want to use a time zone converter so you don’t miss the submission deadlines. But you can always wait for the next month if you miss out.
See more of their submission guidelines here.
16. Hachette Australia
This is an imprint of Hachette, one of the big five publishers, and is open for submissions from residents of Australia and New Zealand. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette, originally in France, but has since scaled its operations to Australia, the UK, and USA.
Hachette Australia has published best-selling titles such as John Connolly’s A Book of Bones, Tom Cavanaugh’s Blood River, and the 2018 Pulitzer prize winning Less, by Andrew Sean Greer.
It is currently welcoming fiction and non-fiction submissions only and is not accepting science fiction, fantasy, children’s books, poetry, self-help, and other genres.
Check out their submission rules guidelines here.
17. Legend Press
Legend Press publishes averagely 40 titles every year, focusing on literary, women’s, historical and crime fiction. Founded in 2005 by Tom Chalmers, who was only 25 years old at the time, the firm has been nominated for several awards, thanks to its robust international sales, licensing and acquisition networks.
It is an independent publishing company based in London and has published notable, bestselling titles including Dave Cameron’s School Days by Bill Coles, The Sky is Changing by Zoe Jenny, and The Sacrificial Man by Ruth Dugdall which sold more than 45,000 copies.
Unfortunately, the firm is not accepting manuscripts at this time due to the overwhelming number of manuscripts it has received.
You can follow their social media pages for updates, Twitter: @legend_Press, Instagram: @legendpress or their website here.
18. Wundor Editions
This London-based publisher accepts submissions of fiction, poetry, and even photography. Novelists must send a short synopsis together with their submissions of 30 pages, in PDF format. Poets are required to submit 30 pages of their material while photographers have to first send an outline of their idea.
Wundor Editions is famous for its City Guides, and for which it is not known to accept submissions. Others include The Bath Fugues by Brian Castro and Rubik by Elizabeth Tan.
You can find more on how to submit here.
19. Dedalus Book
Based in Sawtry, UK, Dedalus Books was founded in 1983 by Geoffrey Smith, Robert Irwin, and Eric Lane. The publisher began with only three titles, two of which were Smith’s vampire novel The Revenants and Robert Irwin’s The Arabian Nightmare, which is now considered a modern classic and has been translated into 20 languages.
Dedalus has focused on publishing literary fiction that combines the unusual, the bizarre, the surreal and the grotesque and turning it into beautiful pieces that audiences all over the world can enjoy. Notable authors published include David Madsen (Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf) and Hugh Lupton (The Ballard of John Clare)
The publisher will consider submissions either sent by agents or directly from authors. You can see their author guidelines here.
20. Skylight Press
If your book touches on or is based on Western esoteric tradition, paganism, ritual magic, Arthurian or grail traditions, then Skylight Press is the kind of publisher you want to be pitching to.
Founded in 2010 by Rebsie Fairholm and Daniel Staniforth, Skylight Press is based in Gloucestershire, UK, and is focused on publishing esoteric, extra-terrestrial, and occult fiction. Notable titles include Beyond the Sun by Nick Farrell and To Think Without Fear by Anthony Duncan.
Skylight Press only publishes about 12 titles each year and accepts full length manuscripts, between 40,000 – 90,000 words and no longer.
See all of their guidelines here.
21. PS Publishing
PS Publishing has won several awards, including the World Fantasy Award, British Fantasy Award, International Horror Guild Award and even received recognition from the Horror Writers Association.
Founded in 2010 by Peter Crowther, the firm is based in Hornsea, Yorkshire, England and it has specialized in novella length fiction, in the 20,000-40,000 word range. It has published prominent authors, including Gene Wolfe (Bibliomancy, A Borrowed Man) and Joe Hill (20th Century Ghosts).
PS Publishing is always open to new authors and new talent. However, they currently have a full publishing schedule for 2019.
Check out their website here for more information.
Are there any other book publishing companies that should be on this list? Please tell us about them in the comments box below!
John Nasaye is a Developmental Editor and Content Developer. He spends most of his waking hours helping authors develop and polish their manuscripts. You can catch him on his Social Media Pages: Twitter: @nasaye, Facebook: John Nasaye or send him an email: nasaye at gmail dot com.