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

Updated 9/26/23

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 a baker's dozen 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)

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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.

Close to the Bone "We are looking for bank robberies gone bad, double-crossing bastards going at it, serial killers with a heart (maybe literally), redemption and revenge. We like it thoughtful and well written. We publish work that is gritty, graphic and disturbing and stress readers err on the side of caution when reading certain themes. We will consider other genres such as western, science fiction, transgressive fiction and maybe fantasy, as long as they fit in with the grit theme we are looking for. We are not bothered about form and shape. As long as it’s noir and punchy, we will consider it. We publish novels, novellas, short story collections and chapbooks." They also publish short stories. 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.

Felony and Mayhem was launched in 2005, and now has more than 100 titles in print. Their focus is on literary mystery fiction. "We love wit, we love elegance, we love distinctive narrative voices. And while we may sound a little snotty, the truth is that we would love nothing more than to find your witty, elegant, distinctive manuscript in our inbox." The minimum length is roughly 75,000 words. Read submission guidelines here. Has submission periods.

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.

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.  Submissions will be accepted if the author has previously been published by a traditional publishing house (not self-published or published by a vanity press).  Read submission guidelines here. 

Red Dog Press (UK) publishes thrillers, crime stories or mysteries. "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. We will look at shorter novellas (25,000 words plus) only as part of a series. No standalone novels under 70,000 words, please." Read submission guidelines here.

Seventh Street Books—where fiction is a crime—is devoted to publishing quality mystery, thriller, and crime fiction. It is an imprint of Prometheus Books, an independent publisher of progressive nonfiction. A number of their debut titles have won prestigious awards, including the Edgar Award, the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and the Anthony Award. Read submission guidelines here.

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.