31 publishers accepting previously published manuscripts in December 2025

Congratulations on writing your novel! Even though your novel has already been published, it’s time to find it a new home. Perhaps you have self-published and would now like to go through a publisher, or maybe you were published with another publisher have since received your rights back.

All of the publishers listed here are currently accepting manuscripts without a literary agent in December 2025, and I’ve done my best to weed out any dodgy or vanity publishers.

Don’t forget to check out my developmental editing services or pre-querying package if you want to make sure your novel is in top shape before you send it to a publisher for consideration. I offer a variety of services to suit all budgets, from writers looking for the standard developmental editing experience to those seeking high-level feedback with a quick turnaround time.

  1. Albert Whitman & Company

    Albert Whitman & Company was founded over a century ago with the goal of making good books that kids want to read.

    Genre: Children’s picture books (fiction and nonfiction), middle grade fiction and young adult fiction.

    Word count: Up to 70,000 words.

  2. Baobab Press

    Baobab Press strives to discover, cultivate, and nurture authors working in all genres. Please note they charge a $15 fee for fiction submissions.

    Genre: Literary fiction and creative nonfiction. They also consider genre fiction with a heavy literary bent.

    Word count: 125 to 400 pages.

  3. Bloom Books

    Bloom Books is an imprint of Sourcebooks that focuses on supporting self-published authors who have an established fanbase. Bloom Books isn’t the typical kind of publisher you would find on these lists as they target self-published authors who want to get their books into physical bookstores while still retaining flexibility and creative ownership of their books.

    Genre: Romance.

    Word count: Not stated.

  4. Bold Strokes Books

    As an LGBTQ+ publisher, Bold Strokes Books strives to ensure their authors represent the cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints of our world.

    Genre: Genre fiction, including romance, young adult, crime, suspense, speculative, mystery, thriller, contemporary, historical, saga, erotica and general. They also accept nonfiction.

    Word count: 15,000 to 120,000 words.

  5. Brain Jar Press

    Brain Jar Press is a Brisbane-based publisher specializing in shorter works of fantasy and science fiction. Please note some of their submission calls are limited to Australian and New Zealand writers.

    Genre: Fantasy, science fiction, horror, crime and thriller fiction.

    Word count: 4,000-60,000 words (chapbooks, novellas and short stories).

  6. Cardiotext Publishing

    Cardiotext Publishing is an independent print and digital publisher specializing in the field of cardiovascular medicine. Their books are written by physician-authors.

    Genre: Nonfiction in the area of cardiovascular medicine.

    Word count: Not stated.

  7. Carina Press

    Carina Press is Harlequin’s digital-first adult fiction imprint.

    Genre: Romance, especially in the subgenres of contemporary, erotic, paranormal, science fiction/fantasy, suspense, historical, and mystery.

    Word count: 50,000 to 125,000 words.

  8. City Owl Press

    City Owl Press is an indie publisher specializing in speculative fiction and romance. Please note that Writer Beware wrote an article on City Owl Press recently so make sure you do your research before submitting.

    Genre: Genre fiction in the subgenres of romance (dark, fantasy, historical, monster, paranormal, comedy, science fiction, suspense, small town, time travel) and speculative (fairy tale retellings, cozy, dark, urban). They also accept horror, psychological, thriller, mystery and new adult.

    Word count: 50,000 words and above.

  9. Crooked Lane Books

    Crooked Lane Books was founded in 2014 and publishes high quality crime fiction.

    Genre: Crime fiction, especially mystery, thriller, suspense, police procedural, cozy, horror and true crime.

    Word count: 60,000 to 100,000 words.

  10. David C Cook

    David C Cook is a nonprofit publisher dedicated to helping Christians all over the world grow in their faith and pass faith onto the next generation.

    Genre: Christian nonfiction and poetry that helps people grow in their faith.

    Word count: Not stated.

  11. Deep Desire Press

    Deep Desires Press is a publisher of erotica and high-heat-level erotic romance whose goal is to excite the reader.

    Genre: Erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres, including contemporary, paranormal, LGTQ+ BDSM, historical, science fiction, fantasy and similar.

    Word count: 10,000 words and over.

  12. Flame Tree Press

    Flame Tree Press launched in 2018 and is the author-led, trade fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing.

    Genre: Fantasy, science fiction, horror, and supernatural.

    Word count: 70,000 to 120,000 words.

  13. Future House Publishing

    Future House Publishing focuses on publishing novels that embrace their core values of community, liberty and family. They strictly focus on “clean” and “family friendly” content.

    Genre: Adult science fiction and fantasy, and middle grade adventure novels.

    Word count: 70,000 to 90,000 words for adult novels and 40,000 to 60,000 words for middle grade.

  14. Green Dragon Books

    Green Dragon Books was founded in 1969 in Atlanta, Georgia and publishes a range of books that improve life from childhood through to adulthood.

    Genre: Nonfiction.

    Word count: Not stated.

  15. Greg Kofford Books

    Greg Kofford Books is an independent press that publishes scholarly works in Mormon history, theology, literature and culture.

    Genre: Nonfiction and creative fiction in the area of Mormon history, theology, literature and culture.

    Word count: Not stated.

  16. Inkspell Publishing

    Inkspell Publishing is an ebook romance publisher.

    Genre: Adult and young adult romance, including science fiction, fantasy and other subgenres.

    Word count: 30,000 to 75,000 words.

  17. Islandport Press

    Islandport Press publishes stories rooted in the essence and sensibilities of New England.

    Genre: Genre fiction including adult, young adult, mystery, thriller and essay. They also consider picture books. For nonfiction, they accept history, humour, nature, outdoors, photography and gift books.

    Word count: Not stated.

  18. Italica Press

    Italica Press publishes Englishs translation of medieval, Renaissance and early-modern texts as well as historical travel, and scholarly essays in art and history.

    Genre: Nonfiction in the areas of translations of Latin or other ancient language texts and scholarly essays related to art and history.

    Word count: Not stated.

  19. JMS Books LLC

    JMS Books LLC is a small electronic press publishing LGBTQ+ romance, erotic romance, and young adult romance.

    Genre: LGBTQ+ romance, erotic romance, and young adult romance. They are not interested in straight romance stories at this time.

    Word count: 12,000 to 130,000 for adult stories and 20,000 to 130,000 for young adult.

  20. Ninestar Press

    Ninestar Press is a boutique publisher of quality LGBTQA+ romance, erotica, and literary fiction.

    Genre: LGBTQA+ romance and literary novels.

    Word count: 20,000 to 120,000 words.

  21. Publishing Genius Press

    Publishing Genius Press aims to make the best books by devoted members of the global literary community. They believe that literature can, and does, change the world.

    Genre: Poetry, literary fiction, creative nonfiction and “other” projects.

    Word count: Short stories to full-length novels.

  22. Purdue University Press

    Purdue University Press is dedicated to publishing works for both academic and general readers.

    Genre: Scholarly and general nonfiction in the areas of science, technology, careers in higher education, human-animal bond, central European studies, Indiana and Purdue, romance studies, Jewish studies, gerontology and dementia studies.

    Word count: Not stated.

  23. Renaissance Press

    Renaissance is a Canadian publisher who is dedicated to publishing novels from diverse Canadian voices.

    Genre: Genre fiction, literary fiction, narrative nonfiction and memoirs.

    Word count: 40,000 to 100,000 words.

  24. Siren-BookStrand

    Siren-BookStrand is an ebook publisher with over 8,000 romance novels under their belt and over 700 authors writing for them.

    Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres with ménage, M/M, and M/F (only if it includes BDSM) pairings.

    Word count: 20,000 words to 85,000 words.

  25. Suspense Magazine

    Suspense Magazine publishes some of the best titles in suspense, thriller, mystery and horror.

    Genre: Suspense, thriller, mystery and horror.

    Word count: 5,000 words and less.

  26. The Brucedale Press

    The Brucedale Press is the publishing division of Broad Horizons Books and was established in 1976. Please note they only accept queries sent via post.

    Genre: Literary and historical works by Canadian authors with a focus on the Queen’s Bush and Bruce Peninsula area of Ontario, Canada.

    Word count: Not stated.

  27. The O’Brien Press

    The O’Brien Press is a leading general publisher of adult and children’s books in Ireland. They publish a range of books and are always looking to explore new and exciting areas.

    Genre: Children’s fiction, children’s nonfiction and adult nonfiction. They are more likely to publish authors based in Ireland but are open to submissions from authors all around the world.

    Word count: Not stated.

  28. The Wild Rose Press

    The Wild Rose Press is primarily a virtual publisher founded in 2006.

    Genre: Romance, including contemporary, science fiction, steampunk, futuristic, paranormal and historical.

    Word count: 15,000 to 100,000 words.

  29. Travelers’ Tales

    Travelers’ Tales was founded in 1993 with the aim of publishing travel books that paint a portrait of a country through the experiences of travelers.

    Genre: Nonfiction in the areas of travel stories for their volumes.

    Word count: Not stated.

  30. University of Nebraska Press

    The University of Nebraska Press was founded in 1941 and is the largest university press between Chicago and California.

    Genre: Literary fiction and scholarly nonfiction.

    Word count: Not stated.

  31. Wolfpack Publishing

    Wolfpack Publishing started as a small Western publishing company and has grown to accept other genres.

    Genre: Genre fiction, including men’s adventure, crime, historical, action, adventure and western.

    Word count: Not stated.

Best of luck with your manuscript submissions! If you want to ensure your manuscript is in the best position to be accepted, check out my developmental editing services, pre-querying package or my free writing advice. Otherwise, take a look at my genre-specific list of publishers for romance, fantasy and science fiction.