You’ve written a novel or nonfiction Book for a young adult audience. Or you have a fantastic idea for one.
The problem? You keep finding links to YA publishers who either don’t exist anymore or don’t accept unagented submissions.
You don’t currently have an agent. But you don’t think that should hold you back.
Welcome to our dead-link-free list of young adult publishers. We aim to make it easier to find the YA publishers most likely to love your book.
Because, with or without an agent, your well-written YA book deserves a chance.
- 25 Young Adult Publishers
- Young Adult Fiction Publishers
- Allen & Unwin (Children’s and YA fiction)
- Curiosity Quills Press (YA novels)
- Flux (YA fiction)
- Persea Books (YA fiction and nonfiction)
- Polis Books (YA fiction; genres include mystery, suspense, crime, and supernatural)
- Soho Teen (YA mysteries and thrillers, stories relevant to teens)
- Swoon Reads (all genres of YA and NA fiction, though romance is a clear favorite)
- Watershed Books (YA Christian fiction)
- YA Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts
- Albert Whitman & Company (Middle grade, YA novels, and picture books)
- Arthur A. Levine Books (Literary fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults)
- August House (YA stories based on world folktales from the oral tradition)
- Bancroft Press (YA fiction and nonfiction)
- Charlesbridge (Children’s books, middle grade fiction & nonfiction, and YA novels)
- Clarion / Jennifer Green (Upper middle grade and YA fiction and nonfiction)
- Clean Teen Publishing (YA and NA novels with a preference for series; authors 18+)
- Entangled Teen
- Free Spirit Publishing (Nonfiction for children, middle grade, and YA)
- Holiday House (Children’s and young adult fiction and nonfiction)
- NCM Publishing (YA fiction and nonfiction)
- Page Street Publishing (Children’s books, YA fiction, nonfiction)
- Red Deer Press (Children’s books and YA fiction and nonfiction)
- Speaking Volumes (YA fiction in multiple genres and nonfiction)
- Sky Pony Press (Children’s books, middle grade, YA fiction & nonfiction)
- Tanglewood Books (Middle grade and YA fiction and nonfiction)
- Tor Teen (Children and YA)
25 Young Adult Publishers
Here’s our list of 25 young adult book publishers, some of which prefer agented submissions, but most are open to unagented and unsolicited manuscripts.
Look through their book catalogs and see how many titles interest you or how many resemble your own book.
Editors like to see an author who’s familiar with books they’ve published and who can point out what their book has in common with one of their best selling titles.
Young Adult Fiction Publishers
The following options focus on fiction for young adult readers– including publishers for young adult fantasy, which is a massive genre for the young adult reader market. You’ll find all of them are open to either a variety of genres or to literary fiction in particular.
Allen & Unwin (Children’s and YA fiction)
Allen & Unwin accept unagented submissions (as well as agented ones) by email using their own “Title Information Sheet.” They take a particular interest in stories from underrepresented authors (indigenous, people of color, LGBTQIA, etc.)
Review their guidelines before sending your email to [email protected].
Curiosity Quills Press (YA novels)
Curiosity Quills Press favors a variety of genres — including fantasy, speculative fiction, mysteries, horror, and romance — for adult, young adult, and new adult readers:
To submit a manuscript for their consideration, complete their online query form, which will direct your submission to the appropriate acquisitions editor.
In the interest of transparency about their process, they’ve posted a helpful FAQ section.
Flux (YA fiction)
An imprint of North Star Editions, Inc., Flux is open to unagented YA fiction in a variety of genres. They take submissions by email only, with your query letter in the body of the email and the first three chapters of your book attached as a Word document.
See their submissions page for the information they want to see in your query letter, and send everything to [email protected].
The subject line of your email should be the working title of your book.
Persea Books (YA fiction and nonfiction)
Persea Books publishes literary novels and short story collections, as well as creative nonfiction and books on contemporary issues. Read their guidelines for more information.
They accept unagented submissions by USPS mail. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) if you want a response, which they will send within five months of receiving your query.
If this is a simultaneous submission, please make note of this in your cover letter.
Polis Books (YA fiction; genres include mystery, suspense, crime, and supernatural)
Polis is currently open to unagented (or agented) fiction or nonfiction, including books written for young adult readers, in a wide variety of popular genres — including mystery, fantasy, and romance.
If you have reason to believe your book is a good fit for them, based on their guidelines, send an email with a query letter, three sample chapters, and an author biography to [email protected].
Soho Teen (YA mysteries and thrillers, stories relevant to teens)
Soho Teen — an imprint of Soho Press — started with YA mysteries and thrillers and expanded to include novels on adolescent identity and self-discovery.
Check out their catalog to see if your book would be a good match for their readers.
They prefer to work with agents and their website doesn’t include information on how to submit unsolicited manuscripts or book proposals. Try connecting through their Twitter or Facebook account.
Swoon Reads (all genres of YA and NA fiction, though romance is a clear favorite)
Once you sign in or create an account on Swoon Reads, you can upload your story for their reading members to review and rate. Swoon Reads editors will take note of those that receive the highest ratings and consider them for a $10,000 publishing package.
Follow their submission tips to ensure your work is formatted to their specifications. Once your story goes live on their site, you can share links to its Swoon Reads page.
Watershed Books (YA Christian fiction)
Watershed publishes Christian fiction between 25,000 and 65,000 words for readers aged 14 to 19. They accept a variety of genres as long as the protagonist is Christian or discovering Christianity.
If your story is a good fit, use their submission form to send a synopsis and answer their questions about your book and about you as the author.
YA Publishers Accepting Unsolicited Manuscripts
Here’s a list of teen publishers for unagented authors of either fiction or nonfiction.
Albert Whitman & Company (Middle grade, YA novels, and picture books)
Young adult novelists with a manuscript of up to 70,000 words should send a query letter (in the body of their email) to [email protected].
Send the sample documents as attachments in either Word (preferred) or PDF format. And follow their guidelines for the query letter. They typically respond within six months if they’re interested in your book.
Arthur A. Levine Books (Literary fiction and nonfiction for children and young adults)
The Levine Querido imprint of Arthur A. Levine books focuses on high-quality writing from underrepresented artists — including people of color, Latinx creators, members of the LGBTQ community, indigenous artists and writers, and creators with disabilities.
They receive all their submissions online through Submittable. Authors of YA novels should send a query letter, the first two chapters, and a synopsis of their work.
August House (YA stories based on world folktales from the oral tradition)
Submit your proposal and a sample (at least 40-50 pages) of your work by U.S. mail only. They will delete anything submitted as an email attachment.
If you enclose a self-addressed stamped postcard, they will acknowledge receipt of your submission. But they only follow up with authors (within six months) whose work they want to publish.
They also publish children’s picture books — also based on folktale stories from the oral tradition — for readers aged four to eight.
Bancroft Press (YA fiction and nonfiction)
The folks at Bancroft Press publish trade fiction and nonfiction. While they don’t list their favored genres, they are open to unagented manuscripts, which they prefer to receive by U.S. Mail (no need for Priority Mail or anything faster).
For fiction, submit your entire manuscript or as many chapters as you’ve completed. See their guidelines for more information.
Charlesbridge (Children’s books, middle grade fiction & nonfiction, and YA novels)
Charlesbridge seeks to publish well-written fiction and nonfiction for young readers. Their goal with both fiction and nonfiction titles is to represent and celebrate our diverse world.
Authors of YA novels should send a plot summary and the first three chapters of your book. You’ll submit these electronically to [email protected], attaching your sample as an attachment in either Word or PDF format (double-spaced).
You can download their catalog or visit charlesbridge.com to get a sense of whether your manuscript is a good fit for them (or vice-versa).
Clarion / Jennifer Green (Upper middle grade and YA fiction and nonfiction)
From authors of YA fiction (or middle grade fiction), the editor (Jennifer Greene) wants to see emotionally true, character-oriented stories — nothing fast-paced or focused on romance. She’d like to see more stories along one of the following lines:
Clean Teen Publishing (YA and NA novels with a preference for series; authors 18+)
Genres of greatest interest to this publisher include horror, mystery, witches, fortune teller, psychic, magician, historical, and escapism.
Clean Teen may also consider your novel for one of their imprints, including their digital first imprint, CTP Pulse.
They accept unsolicited email submissions to [email protected]. Allow six to eight weeks for them to review your submission, and they’ll respond by email.
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Entangled Teen
This publisher is open to both agented and unagented submissions, as long as they meet their guidelines and are a good fit for their readers — and as long as your book has at least a romantic subplot.
They have two imprints — Teen Crush and Teen Crave — each with their own set of guidelines. And they accept submissions only through Submittable. Create an account, and sign in to submit your full manuscript along with a synopsis of your story.
Free Spirit Publishing (Nonfiction for children, middle grade, and YA)
This publisher focuses on educational books for young children, self-help books for children and teens, and teaching resources for educators. They accept unagented proposals for the following subject categories (among others):
They accept all submissions online through Submittable. Follow their guidelines when putting together your proposal.
Holiday House (Children’s and young adult fiction and nonfiction)
This publisher specializes in quality hardcover books for children — from picture books to young adult fiction and nonfiction.
While they can’t acknowledge every submission, Holiday House will respond within four months if they’re interested in your book. Send the whole manuscript by U.S. Mail (not certified or registered). No need to include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
They also consider submissions by email ([email protected]).
NCM Publishing (YA fiction and nonfiction)
NCM accepts the first three chapters of your manuscript — along with a query letter, a promotions plan, and contact information — by email ([email protected]).
They do not consider queries sent without a manuscript or poorly edited content.
NCM is open to manuscripts in all genres of fiction, young adult fiction, and nonfiction, including self-help. They also consider work by teen authors who provide the name and contact information of a consenting parent or guardian.
Page Street Publishing (Children’s books, YA fiction, nonfiction)
Page Street Publishing is open to unagented fiction and nonfiction — in a wide variety of genres — for children and young adult readers. They’re particularly interested in reviewing work by marginalized or underrepresented creators.
Authors of YA fiction should submit a query with the first three chapters in the body of their email. The query should include a book synopsis and a brief author bio, See their detailed guidelines for more info.
Red Deer Press (Children’s books and YA fiction and nonfiction)
Red Deer Press is open to unsolicited submissions of both fiction and nonfiction by email (to [email protected]) or mail.
Authors of YA fiction should submit a query letter (with a brief author bio) and three sample chapters if you have them. Authors of YA nonfiction should submit a query letter with a chapter outline.
Allow four to six months for a response.
Speaking Volumes (YA fiction in multiple genres and nonfiction)
Speaking Volumes is open to both agented and unagented manuscripts. They publish a variety of fiction genres as well as nonfiction for adult and young adult readers.
Authors of unpublished YA novels should email the manuscript, a synopsis, and a resume, along with a cover letter, to [email protected].
The publisher responds within six months to authors whose books interest them. If they do select your book, they publish in digital, printed, and audiobook formats.
Sky Pony Press (Children’s books, middle grade, YA fiction & nonfiction)
Sky Pony Press is open to books of any genre and style, particularly if it involves original concepts, fresh voices, and stellar writing.
They accept submissions only by email to [email protected]. Unsolicited manuscripts sent by mail will be returned unopened.
To submit your work, use the body of your email for your query letter and attach your manuscript or proposal in Word format.
Tanglewood Books (Middle grade and YA fiction and nonfiction)
This publisher is open to most genres of fiction as well as narrative nonfiction. One of their goals as a publisher is to broaden their representation of marginalized groups and to give underrepresented voices a place to tell their stories.
Get acquainted with their guidelines and know your book’s market. Authors of middle grade or YA novels should email a query letter with a few sample chapters to [email protected].
Tor Teen (Children and YA)
Don’t bother sending a query letter to Tor Teen; they don’t read them. Instead send them the first three chapters of your book in standard manuscript format (double-spaced) on white paper.
Along with this, send a synopsis of your book — with all the details requested in their guidelines — and a dated cover letter.
It’s time to publish your young adult book.
Now that you’ve looked through this list of YA book publishers, which ones stood out for you the most? If you looked at their catalogs, did the covers and descriptions of their published works interest you?
The fit goes both ways. If you see books you want to add to your TBR (to be read) list, chances are, the editors will be more open to your work, too.
Make a short list of the YA publishers you’re most interested in and compose a query letter for each one.
May all your responses help you grow as a writer — even when the answer is no.
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