If you’re recently written an exciting thriller or are currently working on one, you might wonder who the best publisher is for your novel.
While self-publishing is always an option, there are dozens of publishers out there looking for excellent thriller stories, from small, independent presses to large, traditional publishers.
In this post, you’ll find 36 thriller publishers that are currently accepting submissions.
Thriller Publishers Open to Unsolicited Submissions
The following thriller publishers accept unsolicited submissions and do not require an agent to submit your work.
1. Brash Books
Brash Books was founded by award-winning mystery authors Lee Goldberg and Joel Goldman. They specialize in thrillers, mysteries, whodunits, and stories of suspense.
Submission Guidelines: www.brash-books.com/submissions
2. Hard Case Crime
Hard Case Crime specializes in hardboiled fiction novels, as well as thrilling graphic novels and comics.
Submission Guidelines: www.hardcasecrime.com/submissions
3. Joffe Books
Joffe Books was founded in 2014 by Jasper Joffe. They were proud to shortlisted for Independent Publisher of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2020 and 2021, and specialize in thrillers, crime fiction, and suspense novels.
Submission Guidelines: www.joffebooks.com/submissions
4. Seventh Street Books
Seventh Street Books is an award-winning publisher of mystery, thriller, and crime fiction.
Submission Guidelines: www.seventhstreetbooks.com/submissions
5. Bella Books
Bella Books publishes unique stories across all genres, including mysteries and thrillers, that celebrate the diversity of the lesbian, queer, bisexual, and gender non-conforming communities.
Submission Guidelines: www.bellabooks.com/submission-guidelines
6. Bitter Lemon Press
Bitter Lemon Press is a London-based independent publisher that specializes in thrillers and other contemporary crime fiction books.
Submission Guidelines: www.bitterlemonpress.com/submissions
7. Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury is an independent publishing house established in 1986, and is also the original publisher of the Harry Potter series. They publish a variety of fiction genres, including crime, thriller, and mystery novels.
Submission Guidelines: www.bloomsbury.com/submissions
8. Bold Strokes Books
Bold Strokes Books publishes a variety of genres including thrillers, with a special focus on YA fiction and LGBTQ fiction.
Submission Guidelines: www.boldstrokesbooks.com/submissions
9. Camel Press
Camel Press publishes mysteries, cozy mysteries, mystery thrillers, romantic suspense, romance (historical and contemporary), westerns and select historical fiction.
Submission Guidelines:
www.camelpress.com/submissions
10. Carina Press
Carina Press is a digital publisher that specializes in romance and romance subgenres, including romantic suspense thrillers. They also release select titles in print and audio.
Submission Guidelines: www.carinapress.com/submission-guidelines
11. Felony & Mayhem Press
Felony & Mayhem publishes mystery fiction for adults. The company launched in 2005 and now has over 100 titles in print.
Submission Guidelines: www.felonyandmayhem.com/submissions
12. Kensington Books
Kensington Publishing was founded in 1974 in New York City. It’s a multi-generational family business and publishes over 500 titles each year across many genres, including thrillers, romance, historical fiction, cozy mysteries and non-fiction.
Submission Guidelines: www.kensingtonbooks.com/submissions
13. North Star Press of St. Cloud
North Star Press is a family business that specializes in a variety of genres, including mysteries and thrillers.
Submission Guidelines: www.northstarpress.com/submissions
14. Crooked Lane Press
Crooked Lanes Press was founded in 2014. They’re dedicated to crime fiction in both print and digital formats.
Submission Guidelines: crookedlanebooks.com/contact/
15. Dark Edge Press
Dark Edge Press is relatively new to the game, founded in 2020. They’re the number one crime fiction publisher in Wales, and also publish literary fiction, contemporary romance novels, and popular historical fiction.
Submission Guidelines: www.darkedgepress.co.uk
16. Fahrenheit Press
Fahrenheit Press publishes crime and thrillers exclusively and accepts both agented and unagented submissions.
Submission Guidelines: www.fahrenheit-press.com/submissions.html
17. Level Best
Level Best accepts submissions in crime fiction, including mystery, thriller, suspense, historical, traditional, and contemporary novels.
Submission Guidelines: www.levelbestbooks.us/submissions.html
18. Tule Publishing
Tule Mystery is a newly developed imprint that ranges from amateur mysteries to in-depth crime novels. They’re open to submissions of cozy mysteries, thrillers, and more.
Submission Guidelines: tulepublishing.com/submissions/
19. Bancroft Press
Bancroft Press is proud to publish stories they’re passionate about, regardless of the genre.
Submission Guidelines: www.bancroftpress.com/submission
20. Black Best Sheet Books
Black Bed Sheet Books publishes horror, sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, and anything with a dark tone.
Submission Guidelines: blackbedsheetbooks.com/submissions/
21. Penmore Press
Penmore Press is an Arizona-based independent publisher that publishes mysteries and thrillers, as well as other fiction and nonfiction genres.
Submission Guidelines: www.penmorepress.com/submissions/
22. Bluewater Press
BluewaterPress is a small publishing company whose books include include exciting non-fiction, inspirational self-help, educational manuals, thriller novels, and more.
Submission Guidelines: bluewaterpress.com/pages/how-to-publish-with-bluewaterpress-llc
Agent Required
The following publishers require a literary agent to submit your manuscript.
23. Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster is one of the “Big Five” publishers, and the third largest publisher in the U.S.
Submission Guidelines: www.simonandschuster.biz/submissions
24. Poisoned Pen Press
Poisoned Pen Press is an independent publisher of mystery novels based in Scottsdale, Arizona. They publish all kinds of thriller and mystery subgenres, from ghost stories to political thrillers.
Submission Guidelines: poisonedpenpress.com/submissions/
25. Allison and Busby
Allison & Busby is an independent publisher established in 1967. They publish many fiction genres, including crime, mystery, and thriller novels.
Submission Guidelines: www.allisonandbusby.com/submission-guidelines
26. Grove Atlantic
Grove Atlantic is an independent publisher based in New York City. They publish a variety of genres, including mysteries and thrillers.
Submission Guidelines: www.groveatlantic.com/submissions
27. Hachette Book Group USA
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a division of the educational publisher Hachette Livre. HBG publishes both nonfiction and fiction, including mysteries and thrillers.
Submission Guidelines: www.hachettebookgroup.com/submissions
28. Harlequin
Since 1949, Harlequin has been a leading publisher of books for women across dozens of genres and subgenres, including all sorts of thrillers.
Website: www.harlequin.com
29. HarperCollins
HarperCollins is one of the world’s largest book publishing companies and one of the Big Five. They’ve published mystery novels by greats like Agatha Christie and Karin Slaughter.
Submission Guidelines: www.harpercollins.com/submissions
30. No Exit Press
No Exit Press is an imprint of Oldcastle Books. Since 1987, No Exit Press has primarily published crime fiction.
Submission Guidelines: www.noexit.co.uk/submissions
31. Oceanview Publishing
Oceanview is a fast-growing independent publisher of mystery, thriller, and suspense titles.
Submission Guidelines: www.oceanviewpub.com/submissions
32. Soho Press
Soho Press is an independent book publisher that produces 80-90 books a year and is known for its award-winning international crime fiction, and groundbreaking young adult fiction.
Submission Guidelines: www.sohopress.com/submissions
33. Tyndale House Publishers
Tyndale is a Christian publisher that publishes books in a variety of genres, including suspense and mystery thrillers.
Submission Guidelines: www.tyndale.com/faq
34. Amphorae Publishing Group
Amphorae is a woman- and veteran-owned publishing house that publishes literary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, and mystery/thrillers. They actually do not require an agent to submit, but agented submissions are reviewed first, and unagented submissions can take 9–15 months to review.
Submission Guidelines: www.amphoraepublishing.com/about/
35. Angry Robot Books
Since 2009, Angry Robot has been publishing adult science fiction and fantasy, including sci-fi thrillers.
Submission Guidelines: www.angryrobotbooks.com/submissions/
36. Belle Books
BelleBooks was founded in 1999 with a focus on Southern fiction, and in 2008 added a second imprint, Bell Bridge Books, to expand its offerings.
Submission Guidelines: www.bellebooks.com/Contact
Publishing Your Thriller
Finding a potential home for your manuscript is just the first step toward getting your story published.
Whether you plan to approach a literary agent or publisher next, you should make sure you know how to write an outstanding query letter so you can effectively pitch your story.
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