If you’re considering publication for your finished novel or work-in-progress, you’ve probably learned a thing or two about your options. That might include the two most commonly discussed paths: (1) self-publishing or (2) securing a literary agent, who, for a commission, will help to sell your book to a publisher.

But there’s also a third popular path: selling your story directly to a publisher.

Not all publishers accept unagented submissions, and not all welcome fantasy or science fiction manuscripts. It takes some research to discern where might be a good home for your story and where it might never rise above the slush pile. In addition to genre and openness to submissions, some considerations include:

• How your book compares to the publisher’s recent output. Even if a publisher states that they’re open to a variety of genres, you’ll likely have better luck with one that’s already publishing books similar to yours (same subgenre, similar ‘vibe’, etc.). As with literary agents, you can even point out this compatibility as part of your submission pitch by mentioning those previous books as comp titles. In addition to making a persuasive argument for yourself, this will also show the publisher that you’re professional enough to do your homework on them, which is always appreciated.

• The format of publication. While some publishers sell print books, e-books, and even audiobooks for most or all titles, others sell e-books only or might deliver their content in some other way that you weren’t expecting. Research is also about ensure that you’re happy with how the publisher would offer your book if it’s accepted.

• The publisher’s legitimacy. Be wary of any publisher that contacts you unsolicited about publication, especially if they mention any fees. These are typically vanity publishers, who mislead or deceive authors into paying to have their books published.

Finding relevant publishers, checking their legitimacy and formats, and exploring their output and how it relates to your book can feel like a huge task to do on top of preparing your submission package and, well, writing the book.

That’s why we’ve done the first step – and then some! – for you. Below are 15 top fantasy and science fiction publishers based in the UK or in the US and Canada. At the time of writing, they all accept unagented submissions.

Read the submission guidelines carefully

For each of these publishers, be sure to check the submission guidelines on their website before contacting them – and follow these to the letter. Like agents, publishers receive too many submissions every day to spend time on ones that don’t contain everything they need to make a decision. Plus, following their instructions helps you to make a brilliant first impression.

Keep an eye on other publishers

Also note that the publishers on our list are those we know are open to submissions all year (or at least most of it). They don’t include other, often larger publishers, such as Gollancz and Luna Press, that have occasional and very brief windows when authors can submit directly to them rather than through an agent. We left these out because the submission windows can be unpredictable, and we wouldn’t want you to look up every publisher on our list only to find that none of them are currently accepting submissions!

To stay updated on when these other publishers are open, we recommend signing up for publishing industry newsletters or following the publisher on social media, where they’re likely to make announcements.

The lists

Without further ado, our top 15 fantasy and science fiction publishers are, in no particular order: