Best Independent Publishers in 2024

Publisher of: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Short Fiction

WTAW Press is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit publisher devoted to discovering and publishing enduring literary works.

Publisher of: Nonfiction, Fiction, and Short Fiction

This micro-press releases no more than four books a year. But their tightly curated list has earned them a reputation for producing fiction and nonfiction that’s as accessible as it is groundbreaking. Future Tense Books’ catalogue might be boundary-pushing, but this publisher’s aesthetic is more DIY than avant-garde. They're equally at home with wry short story collections and raw, unprententious memoirs that delve into darkness head-on.

Publisher of: Poetry and Short Fiction

Founded in 1976, BOA Editions focuses on poetry. Though they publish fewer than 20 books a year, their editors are discerning enough to sniff out plenty of prizewinners. BOA’s roster includes decorated — and phenomenally popular — poets like National Book Award finalist Lucille Clifton and Naomi Shihab Nye, the first Arab American to be named the Young People’s Poet Laureate. But BOA also looks beyond verse, running several contests for short fiction writers, as well as poets seeking publication.

Publisher of: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Short Fiction

Tin House’s legendary literary magazine may have shuttered its doors 2019, but their book publishing program is still going strong. Originally launched as an Bloomsbury imprint, Tin House Books spun off into an indie publisher in 2005. They release around 12 books a year often from first-time authors. Tin House Books publishes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and they have a penchant for lush, character-driven contemporary novels, playful essay collections, and memoirs that delve into complex relationships with uncompromising insight.

Publisher of: Fiction, Poetry, and Short Fiction

Alternating Current Press is an indie press dedicated to publishing and promoting incredible literature that challenges readers and has an innate sense of self, timelessness, and atmosphere. We love science, history, homebound roots, rural landscapes, sense of place, poetic literary fiction, diverse voices, and all that is electric in the literary world.

Publisher of: Fiction, Nonfiction, and Short Fiction

Catapult Books may have been founded in 2015, but they’ve made a huge impact on the literary scene in just a few years. In fact, they’ve made such a big splash that they managed to acquire an older indie publisher, Counterpoint Press, back in 2016. Post-merger, Catapult’s small, impeccably curated catalog — mostly memoir and literary fiction — continues to exemplify quality over quantity.

Publisher of: Fiction and Nonfiction

This New York-based press kicked off with a series of Dive Bar guides that showed much-traveled tourist hubs, from San Francisco to Chicago, in an offbeat new light. These days, their list tilts much more towards literary fiction as well as political nonfiction: since the Bush years, Ig authors have been tackling issues from workers’ rights to PTSD care for veterans.