20 Publishers Accepting Novels, Poetry and Nonfiction Manuscripts NOW - No agent required

Updated 12/2/23

These twenty publishers have opened their doors to submissions - no agent required. They are looking for romance, thrillers, speculative fiction, kidlit, memoir, and more. All of these are traditional publishers (not vanity publishers). All pay royalties, but only the larger houses pay significant advances.

When submitting to a publisher make sure you follow their guidelines carefully. Don't give anyone an excuse to throw out your work!

For a list of hundreds of publishers organized by genre that don't require an agent see Publishers Accepting Unagented Manuscripts. 

(Image: Look and Learn)

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With Deadlines

June Road Press. Genre: Poetry collection, full-length, 40 to 60 poems, preferably the author’s first or second book. "We’re particularly interested in work with strong ecological/environmental themes, or that engages in meaningful ways with nature or place, by writers who identify as women." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: January 1, 2024.

Zero Street Restrictions: Open to LGBTQ+ writers. Genre: Full-length literary fiction. "Zero Street will be committed to LGBTQ+ literary fiction with commercial potential, providing marginalized authors opportunities for a wide readership in the trade fiction market. The series editors are Timothy Schaffert, bestselling author of The Perfume Thief, and SJ Sindu, author of Blue-Skinned Gods. The series seeks LGBTQ+ literary fiction of all kinds, from stories of modern life to innovations on traditions of genre and are particularly interested in BIPOC authors, trans authors, and queer authors over 50." Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 1, 2024.

No Deadlines

Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series. Restrictions: Open to any individual living in the U.S. who identifies as an immigrant and who either (i) was born in another country, (ii) has at least one parent who was born in another country (iii) is a refugee, or (iv) lives in the United States under Asylum or a Protection Program, such as TPS or DACA. Genre: Books of poetry, prose (fiction or nonfiction), and hybrid texts of poetry and prose. Payment: In addition to publication, marketing, and a standard royalties contract from Black Lawrence Press, authors chosen for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series will receive a travel stipend of $500, which can be used for book tours or in any manner chosen by the authors. Please read full guidelines here. 

Black Lyon Publishing, LLC is a small, independent publishing house operating in Oregon. Established in January of 2007, it is a royalty-paying, Romance Writers of America-recognized publisher. Response time: 3 months. Read guidelines HERE. Please read full guidelines here. 

Farrago Books is an imprint of Duckworth Press (UK). Farrago’s tagline is “fiction to make you smile”. All of the work they publish, from mysteries to science fiction, have humor at the core. They do not publish memoir. Please read full guidelines here. 

Pan Macmillan Australia accepts electronic manuscript submissions of fiction and commercial nonfiction, including memoir, directly from writers. Authors need not be Australian. Read their submission guidelines here.

Tundra Books, Puffin Canada, and Penguin Teen Canada publish books for teens and children. They are open to direct submissions by underrepresented authors and illustrators only. Authors need not be Canadian. Read their submission guidelines here.

Random House Canada has opened its doors to LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC writers, as well as those from other traditionally underrepresented communities. They are looking for commercial fiction in the following genres: literary, romance, speculative fiction, historical fiction, and mystery. The submissions inbox is open to writers from anywhere. Read guidelines here. 

Hydra Publications publishes genre fiction. All speculative fiction genres are desired and include thriller, horror, fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, dystopian, and all reasonable sub-genres thereof. Hydra is actively seeking LitRPG of any type! If you have a LitRPG submission, please include your sub-genre in the subject line of your email to get access to immediate consideration. Subtypes include VR, no logout, sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, dungeon core, harem, crunchy, light, moba, portal fantasy, town builder, and LitFPS, among others. See guidelines HERE.

Haunted Doll House is an imprint of Agape Editions that publishes full-length novels and memoirs in print. "As our name suggests, we aren’t afraid of the dark: we live there. We want your horror stories, your mystery novels, your dark sf/f, your genre-resistant writing about the ecstasies, traumas, and terrors that took you to the very edges of yourself." Please read full guidelines here. 

Crooked Lane publishes mysteries, thrillers, and suspense. titles in both print and electronic editions. Crooked Lane Books is distributed through Penguin Random House. They are 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 Dreamscape Media, one of the nation’s largest independent audiobook publishers. Read submission guidelines here.

Android Press is a small press that publishes science fiction, fantasy, and the various -punk subgenres. "We love stories that are full of hope and optimism. We also love stories that hold up a mirror to our society and force us reexamine our past and our values in order to move forward and build a better future." Accepts novels, graphic novels, and novellas. Read submission guidelines here.

Starry Eyed Press: 224-Verse and Galactic Treks is seeking space opera, 2,000 words to novel length. Payment: Royalty split. Read 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.

Publishers With Regional Restrictions

Penguin Random House SEA was launched in October 2018 to bring local writing from the South East Asian region to a wider audience, breaking barriers of language and geographies. "As one of the world’s premier English-language publishers, we publish across a whole range of genres and are home to some of today’s most revered names in fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose. We are publishing and discovering new and established, local and international voices in English for adults and children primarily for Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. We have a strong fiction and non-fiction list across every genre including biography, travel, business, politics, history, religion and philosophy, lifestyle and self-help."

Text Publishing Australia accepts non-fiction and fiction manuscripts, including middle grade and young adult, from Australian or New Zealand residents.

Hachette Australia accepts work from Australian or New Zealand residents. They do not accept science fiction/fantasy, illustrated children’s books, illustrated books, cookbooks, poetry, self-help, screenplays or academic submissions.

Allen & Unwin accepts pitches for fiction and nonfiction manuscripts on Fridays. Please only apply to the Friday Pitch if you are currently living in Australia or New Zealand.

Lucent Dreaming is open to any genre, but has a preference for accessible literary, fantasy, sci-fi, speculative and/or surreal fiction. Word Limit: 40,000-80,000+ words, Pay Rate: Advance fee of £500, 20% royalties. You must be a UK resident for your work to be considered. They are especially looking for novel submissions from writers who are under-represented in UK publishing.

Thistledown Press (CANADA). Restrictions: Open to Canadian authors, with a preference for Western Canadian voices. Genre: Full-length literary work, including novels, short story collections, creative non-fiction, and collections of poetry. They will consider YA novels and—occasionally—books for younger children. Payment: Royalties. Deadline: April 30, 2024.