Beyond its status as a vibrant center of commerce and culture in Ohio, Cincinnati shines brightly on the map of American literary heritage, bustling with a dynamic publishing industry.
Cincinnati and its surroundings are home to literary presses, a university press, global scientific and technical publishers, children’s book houses, and hybrid publishers that work with authors on their own books. Some read submissions year-round, others only in short windows, and several charge authors for services. For each one below you’ll find what it publishes, how it takes submissions right now, and whether you pay. Once you’ve finished this guide, there’s a database of over 2,000 publishing companies for you to explore.
Submission policies change without notice, so check the publisher’s own page before you send anything, and never pay a reading fee. Last verified: October 2, 2026.
13 Publishing Companies in Cincinnati, Ohio, and How They Take Submissions:
1. Cincinnati Book Publishing
Cincinnati Book Publishing is a hybrid press funded by its authors and book sponsors, and it is upfront about it: the press does not buy manuscripts, each book is sponsored by its author or an organization, and the author or sponsor keeps the copyright and owns the inventory. It still reviews every manuscript for literary merit, accuracy, and scholarship, and it offers developmental editing and author coaching for promising drafts. Cincinnati Book Publishing accepts manuscripts and proposals with a cover letter, a short bio, a synopsis or abstract, and your target audience. It suits memoirs, tribute books, and organizational histories with funding in place. Submission guidelines.
Did you know that Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of the groundbreaking anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, for nearly 20 years? Her experiences and encounters in Cincinnati influenced her perspective and fueled her passion for abolitionist causes. The city remains proud of its literary heritage and connection to this pivotal work.
2. Porkbelly Press
Porkbelly Press is a micro-press making chapbooks and micro chapbooks in small and open editions, plus zines, anthologies, and broadsides. It is queer friendly and feminist, welcomes BIPOC authors, and favors poetry and prose leaning toward fabulism, folklore, and magic, from flash fiction to lyric essays. Porkbelly reads chapbooks from January 1 to 31 and micro chapbooks from July 1 to 31, through its online form only. Simultaneous submissions are fine; AI-generated work is not. Submission guidelines.
3. Miami University Press
Miami University Press, at Miami University in Oxford, about 45 minutes from Cincinnati, publishes poetry, poetry in translation, and fiction, including novellas. Its open route for novellas is the annual Novella Prize, which charges a contest entry fee. The 2027 prize window closed on September 1, 2026, so Miami University Press is closed to submissions until the next prize opens. Novella Prize guidelines.
4. Elsevier
Elsevier is a global publisher of scientific, technical, and medical journals, books, and reference works, and it gives healthcare professionals clinical information they can use. If you are a researcher or practitioner with a book idea, Elsevier accepts proposals for new books, and its publish-a-book page explains the process. Journal articles go through each journal’s own submission system. Submission guidelines.
5. Hanser Publications
Hanser Publications is the English-language technical book line of Carl Hanser Verlag, the Munich publisher. Its books serve the plastics, manufacturing, and engineering industries, with titles on plastics additives, lean factory design, maintenance logistics, and sound design. Its web address now opens Hanser’s main technical-book shop. If you are an engineer or educator with a book idea, contact Hanser through the shop. Hanser technical books.
6. Blue Manatee Press
Blue Manatee Press publishes board and picture books that support early learning, child health, and family routines, and it partners with organizations such as Reach Out and Read and Nurse-Family Partnership. Blue Manatee is not accepting unsolicited submissions right now. If you are invited to submit, it is most interested in STEAM topics related to child health and brain development and in developmentally rich early concepts. Illustrators can send a portfolio for its children’s book projects. Submission guidelines.
7. Keke’s Publishing
KeKe’s Publishing creates children’s books that all children can see themselves reflected in, including its Self-Love series, picture books, and early learning series, along with merchandise. It also offers tutoring from pre-K up, grounded in the science of reading. Its books are its own, so treat it as a local resource for families and educators more than a place to pitch a manuscript. About KeKe’s.
8. Holon Publishing
Holon Publishing has helped leaders and experts publish books since 2011. It is a paid publishing service: its team handles editing, design, formatting, marketing, and distribution to more than 40,000 retailers, and it can interview you and turn your voice into a manuscript or coach you through writing it yourself. You keep 100% of your rights, royalties, and control. Ask for a full quote before you sign. Publishing services.
9. Fountain Square Publishing
Fountain Square Publishing takes its name and its logo, a boy holding a shell, from the Tyler-Davidson Fountain on Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. It publishes books with local roots, such as Jinny Powers Berten’s historical novel By His Side: The Story of George Washington and William Lee. It posts no submission policy, so use its contact page to ask before you send anything. Publisher website.
10. Acre Books
Acre Books, connected to The Cincinnati Review and led by publishers Lisa Ampleman and Sarah Haak, publishes poetry, literary fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid forms, and it is especially interested in debut writers. Acre is closed to submissions right now: its poetry window ran through September, and the next prose reading period opens in August 2027. When it is open, send a query letter and up to ten pages through Submittable, one book at a time, and expect three to six months for a reply. Acre does not consider AI-generated work, chapbooks, novellas, children’s books, or previously published books. Submission guidelines.
11. Orange Frazer Press
Orange Frazer Press, in Wilmington, less than an hour from Cincinnati, has been crafting quality nonfiction for almost forty years. Its traditional publishing list focuses on sports biographies and books with regional interest, and it also offers custom and self-publishing services. Orange Frazer accepts queries by email: send a short two-page proposal and a sample chapter. Submission guidelines.
12. Your Literary Prose
Your Literary Prose, run by Peter and Colleen, offers editing, proofreading, and publishing services that help writers turn a manuscript into a published book, magazine, or blog. It works with all kinds of writers but focuses on nonfiction and children’s authors, magazine publishers, and copywriters, with experience in memoir, cookbooks, family history, business, and cozy mysteries. It is a paid service for business owners and self-publishers. Publishing services.
13. Braughler Books
Braughler Books is a hybrid publishing company that works one-on-one with first-time and repeat authors, from the submitted manuscript through national and international distribution, in hardcover, paperback, coil-bound, ebook, and audiobook formats. It has helped more than 600 authors and clients, and it also sells consultations to help you choose a publishing path, whoever you publish with. As a hybrid publisher, it charges for its services, so compare quotes and read the contract. Publishing services.
Names you may be looking for
University of Cincinnati Press
The University of Cincinnati Press published scholarly books and journals for the university. Its website did not load in October 2026, so confirm its current status with the university before you send work.
Did You Know Publishing
Did You Know Publishing is a Cincinnati company that now focuses on workplace training, soft-skills resources, and AI consulting for organizations.
Whitefish Press
The Whitefish Press is known for books about fishing history. Its website did not respond in October 2026.
Resource Edge Publishers
Resource Edge Publishers published educational and self-help nonfiction. Its web address returned a missing-page error in October 2026.
Conclusion
Cincinnati’s publishing scene runs from chapbooks to global science. If you want a traditional deal, watch the reading windows: Porkbelly in January and July, Acre for prose in August 2027, and Miami University Press when its Novella Prize reopens, or query Orange Frazer for sports and regional nonfiction and Elsevier for professional books. If you would rather invest in your own book, Cincinnati Book Publishing, Braughler Books, Holon, and Your Literary Prose can help, as long as you read every quote. And if you widen your search, the state of Ohio still has a lot to offer. Next up, you may want to explore a guide on the top book publishers in Michigan.
Questions or corrections? Spotted a publisher that has closed or changed its guidelines? Send me a message.
Rafal Reyzer
I'm Rafal Reyzer. I put together free lists of publishers, literary agents and magazines for writers, sorted by genre and region, so you spend less time searching and more time writing. More about me.