14 Genealogy Publishers, Printers, and Research Tools

A family history can begin as a box of photographs, a carefully sourced family tree, a memoir, or decades of research spread across notebooks and files. Turning that material into a book requires the right kind of help. One company may evaluate and publish a marketable genealogy, while another prints a private edition for relatives. A full-service studio can handle interviews, writing, design, and production when you would rather not manage each step yourself.

The options below cover those different needs. I have separated traditional publishing opportunities from paid production services in each description, so you can quickly see which path fits your manuscript, budget, and intended readership.

Submission policies change without notice, so check the publisher’s own page before you send anything, and never pay a reading fee. Last verified: August 1, 2026.

Genealogy publishers and book-production services

1. Genealogical.com

Genealogical.com is the home of Genealogical Publishing Company and Clearfield Company. Its catalog contains more than 2,000 genealogy and history publications, including reference works, source transcriptions, research guides, and family histories. This is a strong place to browse when you want to understand how specialist genealogy books are positioned and presented for a research-minded audience.

The site does not currently provide a general manuscript-submission page, so do not treat the storefront as an open call. Start with its catalog and contact information if your project has a clear scholarly or reference value.

Working on a book of your own? You can publish it yourself with PublishDrive (affiliate link).

2. Family History Publishers

Family History Publishers produces personal and family histories in quantities ranging from a single copy to larger family runs. Its staff focuses on archival, heirloom-quality books and can guide clients through printing and production. This is a paid service for authors who already have family material and want practical help turning it into a finished physical book.

Consider this option when distribution is mostly private: relatives, a family association, a local archive, or a small circle of researchers. Ask for a detailed quote covering editing, design, proofs, paper, binding, shipping, and future reprints before committing.

3. Heritage Books

Heritage Books is a specialist publisher of local history and genealogy. Its publishing program covers new compilations as well as improved historical reprints, and its catalog is built for genealogists, libraries, and researchers.

Heritage Books accepts proposals and manuscripts. The official guidance explains what to send at different stages, from an outline and sample chapters to a completed draft or an out-of-print book proposed for reissue. Read the subject and time-period preferences carefully before preparing your package; a focused source compilation may be a better fit than a modern single-family narrative.

4. Legacy Books

Legacy Books creates highly customized family, personal, and organizational histories. Its paid services can include interviewing, genealogy research, writing, editing, project management, design, printing, binding, and digital archiving. The process is collaborative and designed for clients who want a polished heirloom rather than a conventional commercial publishing deal.

This is one of the most comprehensive options on the list, and the scope is reflected in the price: the company says projects using a wide range of services typically reach five figures. It makes the most sense when the book has significant family value and you want a team to manage both the story and the artifact.

5. Genealogy Book Publisher

Genealogy Book Publisher works with family histories, memoirs, research compilations, and books exported from genealogy software. Its paid production menu includes manuscript preparation, editing, typesetting, indexing, cover design, photo cleanup, printing, and binding. The company can begin with a finished file, scattered source material, or even handwritten notes, depending on the project.

Use the quote form to describe your manuscript, page count, images, desired binding, number of copies, and timeline. The minimum quantity is higher than a one-copy photo-book service, so compare the total project cost with local short-run printers if your files are already press-ready.

6. Higginson Book Company

Higginson specializes in print-on-demand reproductions of scarce genealogy, local-history, and military-history books. It has spent decades keeping out-of-print material available and offers both softcover and hardcover editions through its catalog.

Its reproduction-publishing program accepts books supplied as a PDF or as an original volume that can be scanned. The program is designed for preservation and availability rather than a standard royalty arrangement. If you have a newly written manuscript and want traditional consideration, Higginson directs authors to its publishing partner, so read the distinction before sending files.

7. Smith Printing Company

Smith Printing Company is a book printer and binder serving self-publishing authors, including people producing family histories. It is best suited to a project that needs physical production without editorial selection by a publishing house.

Ask about hardcover and softcover options, color pages, binding, file preparation, proofs, minimum quantities, and freight. A printer’s quote is easiest to compare when every supplier receives the same trim size, page count, paper specification, color count, binding style, and delivery destination.

8. American Ancestors

American Ancestors is a nonprofit family-history organization with a substantial publishing program. It produces books, scholarly journals, research guides, and the quarterly American Ancestors magazine. Its Newbury Street Press imprint creates researched family histories with an in-house genealogy and production team.

This is most useful as a specialist publication ecosystem, not a general open door for book manuscripts. Researchers can study its catalog, journals, and editorial standards, while magazine and journal contributors should follow the guidelines for the specific publication they are targeting.

9. Janaway Publishing

Janaway Publishing is an active publisher and bookseller specializing in genealogy, family history, local records, and historical works. Its current catalog also extends beyond genealogy, and the company offers print-on-demand editions of out-of-print titles.

Janaway welcomes authors and asks writers interested in publishing to contact the company for details. Because its current storefront uses a different domain from the older address associated with this listing, search for the official Janaway Publishing site and confirm the latest contact route before sending your project.

10. Stories to Tell

Stories to Tell provides paid editing, design, and publishing support for family histories, memoirs, and other author-led books. Services can be purchased separately or as a package. Publishing assistance includes ISBN and rights-registration services, print-on-demand distribution, ebooks, and sales channels, while the book remains the author’s project.

This modular approach is helpful if your needs sit between hiring a printer and commissioning a full legacy-book studio. Decide which work you can handle yourself, then request a proposal for the gaps instead of buying services you do not need.

11. Family Heritage Publishers

Family Heritage Publishers offers short-run book design, digital printing, and binding, including one-of-a-kind and small-quantity family books. Its emphasis is on durable hardcover and softcover production, with options for full-color pages and covers.

This is a practical fit for a family historian who has a manuscript and photographs but needs help with layout or physical manufacturing. Clarify who owns the final design files, what corrections are included, how proofs are approved, and how much future reorders will cost.

12. Find My Past

Findmypast is a subscription research service, not a book publisher. Its databases, historical newspapers, digitized records, and family-tree tools can help you develop the evidence and narrative that eventually go into a family-history book.

Use it during the research stage, then export or document your findings carefully before moving into writing and production. A database hint is a lead, not a finished citation, so return to the underlying record whenever possible.

13. House of Names

House of Names is a retailer of surname histories, heraldry, coats of arms, downloads, and personalized products. It does not produce a genealogy of a specific family branch and should not be confused with a publisher that will edit or manufacture your manuscript.

Its products may provide a decorative starting point or a gift, but they do not replace documented family research. If you use heraldic material in a book, verify that it belongs to the specific historical person or line you are discussing; one crest does not apply to everyone with the surname.

14. Ancestry Printing

Ancestry Printing specializes in large family-tree charts and genealogy printing. It is a production service and does not choose manuscripts for a publishing catalog. This can be a useful companion to a book project when you want a wall chart, reunion display, or visual family tree alongside the finished volume.

Check the accepted software exports, image resolution, chart dimensions, paper, finishing, proof process, and shipping before ordering. Large-format genealogy projects become much easier when names, dates, relationships, and source notes are cleaned up before the file reaches the printer.

How to choose the right genealogy publishing path

Start with your audience. A source-based reference work intended for libraries and researchers belongs on a different path from a private memoir printed for twenty relatives. If you want a publisher to invest in the book and sell it through a specialist catalog, study Heritage Books and the traditional programs carefully. If preservation and family distribution matter more than bookstore reach, a short-run printer or assisted service may be faster and more flexible.

Next, decide what is finished. A press-ready PDF needs printing and binding. A rough manuscript may need developmental editing, permissions work, photo restoration, indexing, design, and proof management. A box of interviews and documents may call for a full legacy-book team. Ask each provider to separate these services in writing so you can compare like with like.

Finally, protect the project. Keep your original files and high-resolution images, request a physical proof, confirm ownership of edited and designed files, and understand whether the quoted price includes reprints, shipping, ISBNs, distribution, and corrections. Your research may have taken years; the production agreement deserves the same patient attention.