Below is a listing of publishers of fantasy literature. A number of the publishers will accept unsolicited ‘submissions’ from even first-time (previously unpublished) authors. Some will have ‘submission windows’, specific times of the year when they will accept any and all submissions. You need to check the ‘submission guidelines’ for each publisher and keep an eye on their sites for announcements regarding submission/open windows/doors.
Historically, the majority of UK publishers asked that authors only made submissions through a literary agent, to spare themselves being inundated with thousands of submissions a week – most wouldn’t even provide the names and contact details of their staff on their websites because they didn’t want to be flooded with enquiries. That situation is now beginning to change, as publishers realise they 1. don’t necessarily want first-timers to feel forced to go straight into self-publishing 2. don’t want to appear to be operating a ‘closed shop’ – terrible for the ol’ brand, don’t you know.
Flame Tree Press. A publishing imprint for SF, fantasy, horror and crime. They’re London-based. You don’t need an agent to approach them – you can email a submission directly. They also often have a call for anthology submissions (short stories, etc), and pay decent American-market rates. https://www.flametreepublishing.com//submissions.html
Immanion Press. Scifi and fantasy publisher based in Stafford UK. They publish some big name authors like Tanith Lee. Their submission criteria are quite specific, however. http://www.immanion-press.com/index.asp
Titan Books. Scifi, fantasy and horror publisher, in both UK and US. Owns Forbidden Planet too! I love Titan. You can send a synopsis and cover letter. They will take you seriously. http://titanbooks.com/
Grimbold Books (with imprints Kristell Ink and Tenebris Books). UK independent publisher. Scifi and fantasy. I love these people. Often have an open submissions window. http://www.grimboldbooks.com/
Gollancz. Imprint of Orion Books. Market leader for fantasy and scifi in the UK. Will sometimes accept submissions (check www.gollancz.co.uk), but it can understandably be up to six months to get a reply.
Luna Press Publishing. Fairly new UK indie publisher of scifi, fantasy and dark fantasy. Unusually, they also specialise in academic work relating to said genres. http://www.lunapresspublishing.com/
Random House Group. Under its scifi fantasy imprints, tends to specialise in TV and film franchises. No unsolicited manuscripts. http://suvudu.com/
HarperCollins. Does not usually accept unsolicited manuscripts (although there was an e-book opportunity with the Voyager imprint in Oct 2012). HC maintains the very useful community for writers called Authonomy. You can upload your manuscript and have it reviewed by other members. Once you have enough decent reviews, an HC editor will then look at your work. http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Pages/Have-you-written-a-great-book.aspx
Pan Macmillan. (Also see info about the Tor UK imprint below). Sporadically runs the ‘Macmillan New Writing’ scheme, which from time to time publishes debut authors. Otherwise, no unsolicited manuscripts, unless you approach Tor UK. http://www.panmacmillan.com/Help-is-at-hand?slider=true
Headline. Part of the publishing giant Hachette UK. Prints scifi and horror, and the odd bit of fantasy (including Neil Gaiman). Submissions through an agent only. http://www.headline.co.uk/about.aspx
Orbit Books. Need to approach them through an agent. http://www.orbitbooks.net/faq/
Bloomsbury Publishing. No unsolicited manuscripts. http://bloomsbury.com/aboutus/content/16
Angry Robot. Has an ‘Open Door Month’ from time to time. However, they tend to deal with authors they know. http://angryrobotbooks.com/march-2011-open-door-month/
Solaris Books /Abaddon Books/Rebellion Publishing. Associated imprints. Do not accept unsolicited submissions. http://www.2000adonline.com/
Tor UK. Imprint of Pan Macmillan. Accepts unsolicitied manuscripts! http://torbooks.co.uk/2013/01/29/submitting-a-novel-to-tor-uk/
Tor and Forge. Imprints of Macmillan USA. They have an open submissions policy. Unbelievable! You don’t need an agent to contact them. (US publishers tend to be more approachable than UK ones, strangely.) http://us.macmillan.com/Content.aspx?publisher=torforge&id=255#ctl00_cphContent_ctl30_lblQuestion
DAW. Imprint of Penguin Group USA. They have an open submissions policy! http://www.penguin.com/meet/publishers/daw/
Wizards of the Coast. The world’s biggest publisher of fantasy (cos they publish Dungeons&Dragons, you see). This US publisher tends to have a submissions window around Sept of each year. http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/writersguidelines
Little, Brown Book Group. Have to go via an agent. https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/search.page?SearchText=submissions
Jo Fletcher Books. An imprint of Quercus Publishing (a UK independent press). Send an enquiry email before any submission is my advice. http://www.jofletcherbooks.com/contact/
Eibonvale Press. A UK independent small press which often accepts submissions of magical realism, horror, slipstream and surreal fiction. Okay, strictly speaking, they shouldn’t be in this listing for publishers of fantasy, but I like these guys. http://www.eibonvalepress.co.uk/
Tartarus. A UK independent small press which often accepts submissions, although they tend to be quite particular/careful about what they will publish. http://tartaruspress.com/
Pendragon Press. A UK independent small press which often accepts submissions of short stories for anthologies and of novels. http://www.pendragonpress.net/submissions/
PS Publishing. A UK independent small press which accepts submissions, but can’t promise to read what you send them. They have a common sense/fact-of-the-matter approach to things. See: http://www.pspublishing.co.uk/submissions-guidelines-3-w.asp
Telos Publishing. Publisher of Time Hunter, a Doctor Who spin-off series! A UK independent small press which sometimes accepts submissions, but probably won’t do so for the next year or two. http://www.telos.co.uk/
The Black Library. Publishers of Warhammer. They have submission windows every now and then, but you pretty much have to submit ‘fan fiction’ for their universe. http://www.blacklibrary.com/Getting-Started/FAQ-Working-For-Black-Library.html
World Weaver Press. A decent US indie publisher. Three submission windows in 2014. http://worldweaverpress.com/
Tachyon Publications. A decent US indie publisher. http://www.tachyonpublications.com/
Prime Books. World Fantasy Award-winning publisher of scifi and fantasy. A very decent US indie publisher, but only accepts submissions via agents. http://www.prime-books.com/
Zharmae Publishing Press. US indie publisher of genre fiction, principally scifi and fantasy. Doesn’t pay an advance, but pays a generous 50% royalty on both hard copy and e-books. https://www.facebook.com/tzppbooks/
Metaphysical Fantasy 
FablePress.com is now accepting fantasy novel submissions.
The Zharmae Publishing Press (zharmae.com) accepts fantasy novel submissions.
Curiosity Quills Press take submissions for fantasy manuscripts, from both agented and unagented authors. Here are the submissions guidelines: http://curiosityquills.com/submission-guidelines/author-submissions/
I might be a late-comer to an old post, but this list is going to prove helpful, I think, for when I’ve finished writing my first epic fantasy novel. I’m also going to check out the ones that accept short stories for anthologies. Had a whole year of rejects – both stock and personalised – that led to me going self-pubbed. Thanks for the list! 🙂
Thanks for doing so much of the work for me !
Fabulous list, Adam! Thanks
Pingback: Which publishers publish fantasy novels? | H L Petrovic
Thank you so much for doing all this marvellous work. So much more useful than the Yearbook!
I have been trying for nearly 15 years now to publish my nearly 8 fantasy books. The only reply I get is to ‘self publish’. Yet all the people that read them say that my books should be published. Two of those Publishers tell me my books should be turned into movies!
Hi Barb
I wrote 9 books in the early days that never got published. I had comments like ‘It doesn’t fit squarely within the genre’ from publishers. A friend then said, ‘If you believe in your work, you’ll put your money where your mouth is and self-publish, and pay for a distribution deal, so that you can get into book stores and prove there’s a market for your work via sales stats.’ With those stats, mainstream publishers will be more liable to take you on. And that’s what I did. And it worked.
Beyond that, the UK has quite a few indie publishers accepting submissions. Luna Press Publishing are accepting work in June 2023 – I recommend them. And writing competitions are good ways into the industry. I suggest you look at the Creative Calendar on http://www.creativewritinghq.com. Sign up for the free e-newsletter and you’ll be notified of opps each month.
Your statement that publishers told you your books should be turned into movies sounds like absolute nonsense and the sort of thing said by someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about in terms of how the industry works. You need to get published first, get huge sales stats, and then movie companies will option the rights to your books.
rgds, Adam