10 Mystery and Thriller Publishers Open to Submissions - No Agent Required

Updated 12/24/25

Whodunnits never go out of style, and neither do pulse-pounding thrillers, so if you write mysteries or thrillers, you are in luck. 

Here are ten mystery and thriller publishers that don't require an agent. All are traditional publishers. (No vanity presses) Make sure your manuscript is complete before you submit. None of these publishers accept proposals or partially completed work.

Happy submitting!

For a list of over 400 traditional publishers accepting unagent submissions see: Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts

(Image credit: Pixabay)

_____________________

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.

Camel Press is the genre imprint of Coffeetown Press. (Coffeetown Press publishes memoir, nonfiction, some literary mysteries, and literary fiction). "Camel Press is a feisty little publisher with a mission: to be your trusted purveyor of popular literature—the stuff that makes you lie in the sun too long and read in bed until the cock crows, the urban chickens start clucking, or your neighbor leaves for her 6 am shift." Seeking: Genre fiction: mystery/suspense, cozy mystery, mystery thrillers, romantic suspense and romance (contemporary and historical). They also consider general fiction, historical fiction and westerns. Read their 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.

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. Has submission periods.

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.

Oceanview Press is an independent publisher of original mystery, thriller, and suspense titles.  Oceanview Publishing’s titles have received many awards and award nominations. Any manuscript that has been published elsewhere in any format or language will not be considered. Read submission guidelines here. 

Red Dog Press (UK) publishes crime, thriller, noir, cosy and mystery. "As a small indie, we are actively trying to promote diversity in publishing. As a result, we are especially keen to hear from authors less well represented in traditional publishing — especially in crime, whether that be authors of colour, authors from the LGBTQ+ community, or authors with disabilities whether seen or unseen. We will accept romance or sci-fi if they break traditional molds. No standalone novels under 70,000 words, please." Read submission guidelines here.