58 epic fantasy publishers accepting unsolicited manuscripts in May 2025
You’ve written your epic fantasy novel and now it’s time to pitch it to a publisher! All of the publishers listed here are currently accepting epic fantasy manuscripts without a literary agent.
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.
Aethon Books
Aethon Books is a publisher dedicated to readers, passionate about publishing the next generation of fantasy and science fiction novels. Their main concern is finding stories with a compelling narrative that pulls readers through your world.
Genre: Fantasy and science fiction in any subgenre. They are also open to thrillers, especially action, political and military thrillers.
Word count: Novel-length work.Affirm Press
Affirm Press is an independent Melbourne-based publisher dedicated to publishing Australian stories and ideas. Please note they only accept submissions from Australian authors or authors based in Australia.
Genre: Literary and genre fiction as well as nonfiction that is engaging and entertaining.
Word count: Novel-length work.Alcove Press
Alcove Press is dedicated to publishing the stories and ideas that inspire, enlighten, and empower readers. They publish a variety of novels from book club fiction to commercial novels and narrative nonfiction.
Genre: Retellings, contemporary romance, book club fiction, fantasy, romantasy, historical fiction and nonfiction.
Word count: Not stated.Amble Press
Amble Press publishes fiction from writers who identify as a person of color or those writing across the broader queer spectrum.
Genre: Genre fiction, including general, crime, mystery, thriller, historical, action/adventure, speculative, young adult, new adult and romance. For nonfiction, they accept narrative, memoir and biography.
Word count: 45,000 to 100,000 words.Arcadia
Arcadia is Quercus' imprint for science fiction, fantasy and horror. It started as Jo Fletcher Books in 2011 and was relaunched in 2023.
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy and horror. They consider young adult as long as it will appeal to an adult reader.
Word count: Not stated.Baen
Baen is an American publishing house specializing in science fiction and fantasy.
Genre: Science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: 100,000 to 130,000 words.Beacon Publishing Group
Beacon Publishing Group is a traditional publishing house based in New York which releases great literary works.
Genre: Fiction and nonfiction.
Word count: Not stated.Black Bed Sheet Books
Black Bed Sheet Books publishes horror, science fiction and fantasy.
Genre: Fiction of a dark nature, especially horror, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, young adult, contemporary and thrillers.
Word count: Not stated.Black Dawn
Black Dawn is the speculative imprint of AK Press. AK Press believes that the voices of the disenfranchised must be heard and that speculative fiction is the perfect tool for exploring paths to bring forth a just and free world. They seek to explore themes that do not reinforce dependency on oppressive forces.
Genre: Fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, horror, and mystery.
Word count: 25,000 to 55,000 words.Black Rose Writing
Black Rose Writing is a Texas-based publisher who strongly believes in developing a personal relationship with their authors. Please note that Writer Beware wrote an article about Black Rose Writing. Please do your research before submitting.
Genre: Fiction, including action, fantasy, historical, horror, humor, inspirational, LGBT, literary, mystery, suspense, paranormal, romance, science fiction, thriller, women's fiction. They accept children's books, middle grade and young adult books as well. For nonfiction, they accept biography, memoir, business, history, humor, inspirational, spiritual, military, self-help, sports and true crime.
Word count: Not stated.Blind Eye Books
Blind Eye Books publishes science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and romance novels featuring LGBTQ protagonists.
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and romance with LGBTQ protagonists.
Word count: 70,000 to 150,000 words.Blueberry Lane Books
Blueberry Lane Books publishes novels and anthologies.
Genre: Novels that tend toward science fiction and fantasy, women's fiction, and off-beat mysteries. They also accept new adult. For nonfiction, they accept business and reference books.
Word count: Not stated.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.Bookouture
Bookouture is a division of Hachette UK that publishes digital commercial fiction.
Genre: Commercial fiction, especially crime, thriller, suspense, police procedural, women's fiction, contemporary romance, bookclub, cozy mystery, historical, multicultural, science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: Not stated.Brother Mockingbird
Brother Mockingbird is a small, independent publisher committed to the discovery of talented writers.
Genre: Literary and genre fiction, including action, commercial, contemporary, crime, cozy mystery, historical, horror, humor, mystery, romance, science fiction, multicultural, suspense, thriller, upmarket, western, women's fiction and young adult.
Word count: Not stated.Bywater Books
Bywater Books primarily publishes lesbian and feminist fiction.
Genre: Lesbian and feminist fiction and nonfiction. This includes general fiction, historical, action, adventure, speculative, young adult, new adult and romance. For nonfiction, they're looking for narrative nonfiction, memoirs and biography.
Word count: At least 60,000 words.CamCat Books
CamCat Publishing opened in 2019 and takes pride in facilitating and engaging communication between their readers and writers. They will not publish erotica or books with strong religious or political slants.
Genre: Genre fiction, including mystery, thriller, suspense, science fiction, fantasy, romance, historical, paranormal, horror, adventure, western and young adult.
Word count: 60,000 to 100,000 words.Castle Bridge Media
Castle Bridge Media is an independent publisher of genre books.
Genre: Horror, science fiction, thriller and fantasy.
Word count: 80,000 to 120,000 words.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.Cosmic Egg Books (Collective Ink)
Cosmic Egg Books is the speculative imprint of Collective Ink, seeking books that will inspire, inform and illuminate readers.
Genre: Science fiction (including steampunk), fantasy (including magical realism and spiritual fantasy), metaphysical cosmology, supernatural fiction horror and paranormal.
Word count: Not stated.Creature Horror
Creature Horror is a Virginia-based publisher focusing on genres like feminist horror, dark speculative fiction, and fantastical fiction.
Genre: Feminist horror, dark speculative fiction, women-driven thrillers, spooky fantastical fiction, literary fiction, or genre-defying prose.
Word count: 20,000 to 90,000 words.Dancing Star Press
Dancing Star Press is a Michigan-based indie publisher specializing in speculative fiction.
Genre: Space opera, solarpunk, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, fantasy based on non-Western cultures, optimistic futurism, poplar tesla, soft science fiction, and hard science fiction.
Word count: Novellas between 17,500 and 40,000 words.ECW Press
ECW Press has published close to 1,000 books, including nonfiction, poetry and fiction. Please note that they accept poetry and fiction from Canadians only but accept nonfiction submissions from around the world.
Genre: Fiction, including literary, mystery, crime, science fiction, young adult, middle grade and humour. They also accept poetry and nonfiction, including sports, pop culture, memoir, biography, science, nature, true crime, travel, business, personal finance, poker, literary criticism and reference.
Word count: Not stated.EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
EDGE publishes thought-provoking and well-written science fiction and fantasy novels.
Genre: Adult science fiction and fantasy. They occasionally accept young adult fiction.
Word count: 75,000 to 100,000 words.Flame Tree Fiction
Flame Tree Fiction is the author-led imprint of Flame Tree Publishing, focusing on speculative fiction.
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, horror, suspense and supernatural.
Word count: 70,000 to 120,000 words.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.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.Hague Publishing
Hague Publishing is an independent Australian publisher of science fiction and fantasy. Please note that they publish work by Australian and New Zealand authors.
Genre: Science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: 30,000 to 80,000 words but they will consider works outside of this range.House of Riviera
House of Riviera is a new independent commercial fiction publishing house based in Monaco with a presence in the UK. They
Genre: Romance, crime, thriller, cozy mystery, women's fiction, historical fiction, detective series, science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: Not stated.HQ
HQ, a boutique division under HarperCollins, publishes a broad range of fiction.
Genre: Adult genre and upmarket fiction. They also accept memoirs.
Word count: At least 70,000 words.Ink Smith
Ink Smith is a small independent publishing house who streamline their genres to best serve their authors and readers.
Genre: Adult and young adult adventure, fantasy (contemporary, dark, fairy tale, heroic, historic, magic, paranormal, shapeshifting, sword and sorcery , urban, medieval), horror, science fiction (near future, apocalyptic, superhero, steampunk, time travel) and thriller (conspiracy, psychological, techno-thriller)
Word count: Not stated.Joffe Books
Joffe Books is one of the UK’s leading independent publishers of commercial fiction, especially crime and mystery.
Genre: Genre fiction, including crime fiction, mysteries, psychological thrillers, cosy crime, police procedurals, chillers, suspense, domestic noir, women’s fiction, fantasy, historical fiction and romance novels, including WWII romances and sagas.
Word count: Over 60,000 words.Kensington Publishing Corp.
Kensington Publishing Corp. is an independent publisher based in New York City, releasing over 300 titles per year in a range of popular genres.
Genre: Literary and genre fiction (romance, mystery, suspense, thriller, upmarket, historical, speculative, mystery and romantasy) and nonfiction (biography, memoir, history, true crime, pop culture, film, TV, music, military history, narrative law enforcement and pop science). Each editor has their preferences across various genres of fiction and nonfiction.
Word count: Not stated.Literary Wanderlust
Literary Wanderlust strives to help new and experienced authors achieve their dreams of publishing.
Genre: Genre fiction, including romance, women's fiction, historical and western fiction, paranormal, urban fantasy, crime, mystery, thriller, LGBTQ, science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: 60,000 to 100,000 words.Lodestone Books (Collective Ink)
Lodestone Books is the young adult and new adult imprint of Collective Ink.
Genre: Young adult and new adult fiction.
Word count: Not stated.MidnightSun Publishing
MidnightSun Publishing grew from a disenchantment with the established publishing houses in Australia. They want their readers to be entertained and accept manuscript submissions in the first week of every month.
Genre: Fiction and nonfiction. They also accept picture books, middle grade and young adult novels.
Word count: Not stated.New Dawn Publishing
New Dawn Publishing is an independent publisher of speculative fiction based in Perth, Western Australia.
Genre: Speculative fiction.
Word count: Not stated.Orbit Works
Orbit Works is the digital imprint of Orbit, publishing science fiction and fantasy.
Genre: Science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: 70,000 words and above.Pan Macmillan Australia
Pan Macmillan Australia is committed to investing in Australian authors and publishes a variety of bestselling books.
Genre: Middle grade, young adult, commercial and literary fiction. For nonfiction, they're interested in narrative nonfiction, contemporary issues, memoir, history, true crime, lifestyle, health, and mind, body & spirit.
Word count: Not stated.Penguin Random House New Zealand
Penguin Random House New Zealand celebrates writers, stories and ideas that entertain and inspire.
Genre: Adult fiction and nonfiction. Children's submissions are closed until 2025.
Word count: Around 80,000 words (guideline).Red Adept Publishing
Red Adept Publishing is a small fiction publisher with multiple USA Today Bestsellers. Please note they only accept submissions from US authors.
Genre: Genre fiction, including cozy mystery, fantasy, historical, romance, science fiction, mystery, thriller, suspense and women's fiction.
Word count: 50,000 words and above.Ringwood Publishing
Ringwood Publishing is an independent Scottish publisher based in Glasgow. Please note that they only accept authors who are Scottish or are a resident of Scotland.
Genre: Literary fiction, genre fiction and nonfiction from Scottish authors or residents.
Word count: 50,000 words and above.Roundfire Books (Collective Ink)
Roundfire Books is the general fiction imprint of Collective Ink.
Genre: Literary and genre fiction.
Word count: Not stated.Shadow Alley Press
Shadow Alley Press strives to entertain readers with the best books in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Action-Adventure.
Genre: Gamelit (adventure or slice of life), LitRPG, Cultivation, Magical Academy, Dungeon Core, Harem, High/Epic Fantasy, Military science fiction and Space Opera.
Word count: 75,000 words to 150,000 words.Solaris Nova
Solaris Nova is a new imprint of the genre publisher Solaris.
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, or horror.
Word count: 70,000 to 150,000 words.Stargazer
Tell-tale Publishing's fantasy imprint is Stargazer.
Genre: Fantasy, especially urban and steampunk.
Word count: 65,000 to 110,000 words.Storm Publishing
Storm Publishing believes in the power of storytelling to transport readers to other worlds.
Genre: Genre fiction, including crime, thriller, mystery, psychological thrillers, historical, multicultural fiction, romance, women's fiction, science fiction, fantasy and upmarket.
Word count: Not stated.Sunbury Press
Sunbury Press is a rapidly growing publisher with six imprints.
Genre: Literary and genre fiction, including history, mystery, detective, police procedural, crime, thriller, horror and young adult. For nonfiction, they accept history, current events, science, reference, art history, local/regional history, humour, spiritual, metaphysical, self help, professional and memoirs.
Word count: Not stated.Text Publishing
Text Publishing is an independent Melbourne-based publisher of fiction and nonfiction. They accept submissions from citizens or residents of Australia and New Zealand.
Genre: Genre fiction, including crime, thriller, erotica, fantasy, paranormal, historical, romance, LGBTQIA+, young adult, and middle grade. For nonfiction, they accept biography, memoir, essays, film, history, humour, philosophy, politics, religion, science, environment, relationships, society, culture, sport, travel and war.
Word count: 10,000-120,000 words.The Mad Duck Coalition
The Mad Duck Coalition has simple quackteria (yes, they do use that pun on their website): they want to see academic, radical or revolutionary writing!
Genre: Fiction and nonfiction, especially literary, genre, speculative and original.
Word count: Not stated.Tiny Fox Press
Tiny Fox Press is in search of engaging stories needing a great home. They also boast a bearded dragon on their staff who leads a double life as a very tiny fox.
Genre: Fantasy, litRPG, science fiction, light fantasy, cozy fantasy, mythology, fairytale retellings, Arthurian, gaslamp, humorous, urban, space opera, post apocalyptic and young adult.
Word count: Not stated.Torrey House Press
Torrey House Press publishes books focusing on environmental advocacy.
Genre: Literary fiction and genre fiction, including mystery, thriller, horror, climate fiction, Indigenous futurism, afrofuturism, magical realism, fantasy, historical, romance and nontraditional western. They also accept investigative nonfiction, creative nonfiction and narrative nonfiction.
Word count: Not stated.Turner Publishing Company
Turner Publishing Company is an award-winning, independent publisher.
Genre: Genre fiction, including contemporary romance, upmarket, romantasy, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, thriller and horror. For nonfiction, they accept history, current events, business, economics, psychology, science and medicine.
Word count: Not stated.UpLit Press
UpLit Press publishes books with a positive message. They do not accept anything that glorifies violence.
Genre: Genre fiction, including young adult, fantasy, science fiction, romance, general and middle grade. They also accept picture books with illustrations and memoir.
Word count: Not stated.Vulpine Press
Vulpine Press established in 2017 with the aim of publishing commercial, innovative and stylish fiction.
Genre: Commercial fiction. This includes genres such as horror, biography, children's books, young adult, crime, thriller, culture, drama, adventure, literary, humor, romance, science fiction and fantasy.
Word count: Not stated.Wicked Ink Publishing
Wicked Ink Publishing is an independent publishing house that is dedicated to championing diversity and creators of extraordinary tales.
Genre: Genre fiction, including romance, crime, fantasy, folklore, horror, mystery, thriller, science fiction, supernatural, thriller, time travel and young adult.
Word count: 50,000 to 100,000 words.WildBlue Press
Wildblue Press was founded by two college friends who recognized that the publishing world was changing. They strive to create a unique and engaging process for authors.
Genre: Fiction in the genres of fantasy, mystery, romance, science fiction and thriller. For nonfiction, they accept biography, memoir, history and true crime.
Word count: Not stated.Woodhall Press
Woodhall Press is an independent publisher of independent authors. They have published emerging writers, poet laureates, and New York Times best-selling authors.
Genre: Genre fiction, upmarket fiction and nonfiction.
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, check out my science fiction publishers list or country-specific list of fantasy publishers in Australia and New Zealand.