54 horror publishers accepting unsolicited manuscripts in June 2025
Congratulations on your horror novel! Now it’s time to embark on the next stage of your writing journey: seeking a publisher. All of these publishers are specifically seeking horror fiction, so if you’ve written a romance, literary or fantasy novel I suggest you check out my genre-specific publishers lists.
All of the publishers listed here are currently accepting manuscripts without a literary agent, and I’ve done my best to weed out any dodgy or vanity publishers from this list but please make sure you do your research to ensure any publisher you submit your manuscript to aligns with your vision for your novel.
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.
Good luck with your manuscript submissions!
Bella Books
Bella Books believes stories about women-loving-women are essential to our lives.
Genre: Fiction that reflects and celebrates the diversity of the lesbian, sapphic, queer, bisexual, and gender non-conforming community. They commonly publish romance, action, adventure, mystery, suspense, intrigue, historical, fantasy, speculative, erotica and general fiction. They also accept poetry and nonfiction.
Word count: At least 60,000 words.Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin are an Australian-owned and operated publisher. They were named 2023 Publisher of the Year and have won the title twelve times since 2000! They accept submissions every Friday during their The Friday Pitch sessions.
Genre: Adult literary and genre fiction, nonfiction and illustrated books. Fiction. They are not currently interested in adult high fantasy and science fiction but do accept other fantasy manuscripts.
Word count: Full length works.Honno
Honno is an independent co-operative press committed to bringing the world the best in Welsh women's writing.
Genre: Fiction and nonfiction written by women of Wales. For nonfiction, they consider food writing, women's history, Welsh history, Welsh interest and nature writing. For fiction, they consider crime, thriller, romance, historical, humour, literary, horror, fantasy and science fiction.
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.Bancroft Press
Bancroft Press is a publisher without a niche! They publish titles they're passionate about.
Genre: Literary fiction and genre fiction, including contemporary, financial thriller, historical, Jewish, LGBTQ+, legal thriller, medical, mystery, political, romance, rural, satire, science fiction, suspense and general thriller. For nonfiction, they accept biography, crime, essays, finance, history, humor, investing, memoir, movie reviews, parenting, politics, psychology, religion, self-help, spiritual and sports.
Word count: Not stated.Aurealis
Aurealis is Australia's most successful science fiction and fantasy magazine.
Genre: Fantasy, science fiction, or horror short stories.
Word count: 2,000 to 8,000 words.Dead Sky Publishing
Dead Sky Publishing publishes a variety of works that are inherently dark across the spectrum of genres and formats.
Genre: Nonfiction, memoirs and fiction that are inherently dark.
Word count: Not stated.Fractured Mirror Publishing
Fractured Mirror Publishing is an all-female owned and operated independent press publishing speculative fiction for both young adult and adult audiences. They publish books that prompts people to challenge the way they look at the world.
Genre: Adult and young adult speculative fiction.
Word count: Not stated.Launch Point Press
Launch Point Press is dedicated to publishing high-quality fiction books that center on the experiences of lesbian characters.
Genre: Fiction manuscripts where the main characters are lesbians, especially crime, suspense, mystery, intrigue, thriller, historical, literary, romance, sagas, speculative, paranormal and horror.
Word count: 55,000 to 100,000 words.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.Quill & Crow
Quill & Crow love all things odd and the macabre. They aim to work with authors to create something special.
Genre: Dark fiction, such as horror, historical and speculative.
Word count: 45,000 to 110,000 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.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.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.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.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.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.Dark Peninsula Press
Dark Peninsula Press is an independent publisher of speculative fiction.
Genre: Speculative fiction, especially horror for their anthologies.
Word count: Varies by submission call.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.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.Page Street Publishing
Page Street Publishing publishes over 150 titles per year in a variety of genres.
Genre: Young adult fiction, nonfiction and adult horror.
Word count: Not stated.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.HarperNorth
HarperNorth is a Manchester-based imprint of HarperCollins Publishers and their aim is to connect northern writers to readers.
Genre: Genre fiction, especially upmarket, crime, thriller, historical and romance. For nonfiction, they consider memoir, politics, history, sport, music, nature, popular science, smart thinking and popular economics.
Word count: Over 80,000 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.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.Penmore Press
Penmore Press is an Arizona-based independent publisher.
Genre: Adult genre fiction, including contemporary, historical, nautical, military, mystery, thriller, horror and supernatural, and nonfiction.
Word count: 75,000 to 150,000 words.Turnstone Press
Turnstone Press is a literary publisher who publishes Canadian authors and landed immigrants.
Genre: Literary fiction and nonfiction. They publish a variety of literary mysteries, thrillers and speculative fiction under their Ravenstone imprint.
Word count: Not stated.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.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).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.Burial Books
Burial Books is primarily a horror and dark fantasy publisher.
Genre: Horror.
Word count: 60,000 words and above.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.Severed Press
Severed Press is an independent publisher of horror and science fiction, proud of the diversity of their authors.
Genre: Horror and science fiction, including LitRPG, apocalyptic, killer sea creatures and dinosaurs.
Word count: Minimum of 30,000 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.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.Decadent Publishing
Decadent Publishing is a romance fiction publisher. They are always looking for submissions for their main line as well as ongoing series and special calls.
Genre: Romance in a variety of subgenres.
Word count: 15,000 words and over.Dark Dragon Publishing
Dark Dragon Publishing is a small indie press located in Canada. They specialize in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
Genre: Genre fiction, including dark fantasy, paranormal, historical, science fiction, and horror.
Word count: 75,000 to 150,000 words.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.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.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.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.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.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.Nightshade (Tell-tale Publishing)
Nightshade is Tell-tale Publishing's horror imprint.
Genre: Horror.
Word count: 60,000 to 90,000 words.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.Kessler Books
Kessler Books is an imprint of Beacon Publishing Group. They publish a vast array of fiction and nonfiction.
Genre: Fiction and nonfiction.
Word count: Not stated.Clash Books
Clash Books publishes books that transcend labels and break boundaries. They claim to put the "lit" in literary!
Genre: Literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry and literary horror.
Word count: Not stated.Farrago
Farrago's mission is to help readers find fiction that makes them smile. They are the sister imprint of Duckworth Books.
Genre: Accessible, entertaining and humorous fiction, including humorous mystery and crime, romantic comedy, satirical comedy, speculative fiction and social comedy.
Word count: Not stated.From Beyond Press
From Beyond Press is an independent publishing imprint founded by Michael W. Phillips Jr. They specialize in new horror, science fiction and poetry.
Genre: Short stories in new horror, science fiction and poetry for their anthologies.
Word count: 1,000 to 5,000 words.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.Oceaniacom Pty Ltd
Oceaniacom Pty Ltd is all about "making waves" (yes, that is an ocean pun they use on their website!) and turning wild ideas into successful books.
Genre: Literary fiction and genre fiction, including science fiction, romance, comedy, thriller, horror, slice of life, fairy tale, young adult and LGBTIQA+.
Word count: Not stated.Sourcebooks Horror
Sourcebooks Horror is the horror imprint of Sourcebooks, an entrepreneurial independent publisher bound together by the idea that books change lives.
Genre: Horror.
Word count: 80,000 to 100,000 words.The Evil Cookie Publishing
The Evil Cooking Publishing is run by horror author and artist, K. Trap Jones, and specializes in creating horror novels, novellas, collections and anthologies with unique hand drawn covers.
Genre: Horror.
Word count: 40,000 words and above.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.
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.