Mysteries and thrillers have enjoyed widespread popularity ever since the advent of Sherlock Holmes. Perhaps it is a holdover from our days as hunter-gatherers, but the hunt - something that lies at the heart of every mystery story - has an appeal that is deeply ingrained in us.
If you write mysteries, crime novels, or thrillers, there are a number of respected publishing houses that are willing to accept manuscripts without an agent. All of the publishers on this list offer royalties and do not charge authors anything for editing, cover design, or distribution.
Be sure to read their submission guidelines carefully, and follow them to the letter. Don't give anyone an excuse to throw out your submission.
NOTE: For more than 450 publishers accepting unagented books in all genres go HERE.
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Bloodhound Books (UK) specializes in crime fiction, suspense, mystery, domestic noir and psychological thrillers and chillers. They have sold well over 4 million books worldwide and have had many top 10 best-sellers in the UK, USA, Canada & Australia. They do not consider any work that is less than 60,000 words. Read submission guidelines here.
Brash Books publishes psychological thrillers, murder mysteries, international espionage, and police procedurals. To submit send a one-page summary of the book and the first 25 pages as a Microsoft Word document to brashbooks@gmail.com. If they like the sample, they’ll request the entire manuscript. Read submission guidelines here.
Casablanca is an imprint of Tell-Tale Publishing. "Our mysteries reflect a respect for fans of suspense by containing red herrings that don't insult their intelligence. They instead test their inner sleuth, providing tantalizing clues and intriguing story lines. The characters are believeable and the hero or heroine earn the respect and support of their reading audience. Whodunnit? Read and speculate as you track the final reveal." Word Count: 55,000 to 75,000 words. Read submission guidelines here.
Crooked Lane publishes mysteries, thrillers, and suspense. titles in both print and electronic editions. Crooked Lane Books is distributed through Legato Publishers Group, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Crooked Lane is also represented by Biagi Literary Management for subsidiary rights licensing in foreign and domestic markets, and their business relationships include Bookspan, home of the country’s largest book clubs, and Blackstone Audio, one of the nation’s largest independent audiobook publishers. Read submission guidelines here.
Fahrenheit Press exclusively publishes mysteries and thrillers. They accept self-published and previously published work, provided the author has all the rights. They offer a generous royalty rate of 50% on both eBooks & paperback editions for a 5 year contract. Read submission guidelines here.
Hard Case Crime publishes old-fashioned, hard-boiled crime novels with "bare-knuckled" prose. They are unabashedly dedicated to "reviving the vigor and excitement, the suspense and thrills—the sheer entertainment—of the golden age of paperback crime novels, both by bringing back into print the best work of the pulp era and by introducing readers to new work by some of today's most powerful writers and artists. Determined detectives and dangerous women...fortune hunters and vengeance seekers...ingenious criminals and men on the run..." Read submission guidelines here.
Joffe Books is one of the UK’s leading independent publishers of crime and mystery novels. Many of their authors have topped the best-seller lists. They accept submissions from published authors and new writers, as well as authors who wish to relaunch their back-list titles. They are seeking mysteries, crime fiction, psychological thrillers, detective, thrillers, and suspense. Read submission guidelines here.
Lyrical Press, an imprint of Kensington, publishes suspense fiction, thrillers, and cozy mysteries. They have a penchant for romance. Submit to one editor only. (The list of editors includes the genres they are receiving.) Response time is three months. Read submission guidelines here.
Level Best, a publisher of anthologies, has recently opened its doors to full-length manuscript submissions. They are seeking crime fiction novels in the following categories: mystery, thriller, suspense, historical, traditional, and contemporary. No works of erotica or science fiction at this time. Read submission guidelines here. Will re-open in Fall 2025.
Tule Publishing specializes in romance and mystery ebooks. In mysteries they are looking for Domestic suspense, Cozy mysteries, Private Investigators, Mystery stories with diverse characters, Detective mysteries with women sleuths, Police Procedural, Thrillers. Read submission guidelines here.
Crooked Lane publishes mysteries, thrillers, and suspense. titles in both print and electronic editions. Crooked Lane Books is distributed through Legato Publishers Group, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Crooked Lane is also represented by Biagi Literary Management for subsidiary rights licensing in foreign and domestic markets, and their business relationships include Bookspan, home of the country’s largest book clubs, and Blackstone Audio, one of the nation’s largest independent audiobook publishers. Read submission guidelines here.
Fahrenheit Press exclusively publishes mysteries and thrillers. They accept self-published and previously published work, provided the author has all the rights. They offer a generous royalty rate of 50% on both eBooks & paperback editions for a 5 year contract. Read submission guidelines here.
Hard Case Crime publishes old-fashioned, hard-boiled crime novels with "bare-knuckled" prose. They are unabashedly dedicated to "reviving the vigor and excitement, the suspense and thrills—the sheer entertainment—of the golden age of paperback crime novels, both by bringing back into print the best work of the pulp era and by introducing readers to new work by some of today's most powerful writers and artists. Determined detectives and dangerous women...fortune hunters and vengeance seekers...ingenious criminals and men on the run..." Read submission guidelines here.
Joffe Books is one of the UK’s leading independent publishers of crime and mystery novels. Many of their authors have topped the best-seller lists. They accept submissions from published authors and new writers, as well as authors who wish to relaunch their back-list titles. They are seeking mysteries, crime fiction, psychological thrillers, detective, thrillers, and suspense. Read submission guidelines here.
Lyrical Press, an imprint of Kensington, publishes suspense fiction, thrillers, and cozy mysteries. They have a penchant for romance. Submit to one editor only. (The list of editors includes the genres they are receiving.) Response time is three months. Read submission guidelines here.
Level Best, a publisher of anthologies, has recently opened its doors to full-length manuscript submissions. They are seeking crime fiction novels in the following categories: mystery, thriller, suspense, historical, traditional, and contemporary. No works of erotica or science fiction at this time. Read submission guidelines here. Will re-open in Fall 2025.
Tule Publishing specializes in romance and mystery ebooks. In mysteries they are looking for Domestic suspense, Cozy mysteries, Private Investigators, Mystery stories with diverse characters, Detective mysteries with women sleuths, Police Procedural, Thrillers. Read submission guidelines here.
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