17 police procedural publishers accepting unsolicited manuscripts in July 2025
Congratulations on writing your police procedural novel! It’s time to find your novel a home and pitch it to a publisher. 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.
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.
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.Sparkling Books
Sparkling Books is an independent publishing house and a member of the Independent Publishers Guild. Please note they require manuscripts to be independently edited prior to submission. They don't specify how they check this, but it's worth noting!
Genre: Genre fiction, including crime, mystery, suspense, thriller, detective, romance, women's fiction, new adult, urban fiction and drama. For nonfiction, they accept finance, business and current politics.
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.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.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.Canelo
Canelo was founded in 2015 to bring the best commercial storytelling to a wide audience.
Genre: Genre fiction including saga, action, adventure, romance, commercial women's fiction, crime, and psychological thrillers.
Word count: Over 80,000 words.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.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.Akan Books
Akan Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers led by June Sarpong, accepting submissions from underrepresented groups in the UK (especially ethnic minority backgrounds, those who identify as working class and those with a disability).
Genre: Genre fiction, including crime, thriller, psychological suspense, romance, historical, contemporary/book club and family drama. For nonfiction, the accept self-help, smart thinking, memoir and parenting.
Word count: Not stated.Hera
Hera was launched in 2018 with the mission to be "unashamedly commercial, always inclusive".
Genre: Genre fiction, including crime, thriller, romance, saga, and general.
Word count: Over 80,000 words.Brash Books
Brash Books were founded by Lee Goldberg and Joel Goldman, both Edgar-Award nominated authors, with the aim of publishing innovative whodunits, espionage adventures and novels of suspense from both new voices and well-established authors.
Genre: Crime, including thrillers, whodunits, cozy mysteries, psychological suspense, espionage, and police procedural.
Word count: Not stated.Coffeetown Press
Coffetown Press is based in Kenmore, Washington has been publishing fiction and selective nonfiction and memoirs since 2005.
Genre: Fiction and nonfiction, especially historical and literary fiction.
Word count: 50,000 to 100,000 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.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.TCU Press
TCU Press publishes the history, culture and literature of Texas and the American West. They are the university press of Texas Christian University.
Genre: Children's books, genre fiction, literary fiction and nonfiction. They publish a wide variety of genres from history, nature, art, biography, photography, humor, young adult, cooking, religion, science, education, law and more. I suggest you look at their website to see the full list as I can't possibly list them all here!
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.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.
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.