Illinois is a state known for its rich literary history and vibrant publishing industry, offering a wealth of literary treasures to anyone willing to take a closer look.
Maybe you have a scholarly monograph, a children’s picture book, a play, a Chicago history, or a Christian living title in progress, and you’d like a publisher close to home. Below are 17 book publishing companies in Illinois: three university presses and a university literary imprint, independent nonfiction and children’s houses, a radical nonprofit press, a historic Black-owned publisher, theatre and faith publishers, and a small Chicago press that reviews query letters. Each entry says what the company publishes and how to approach it. Once you’re done with this guide, there’s more to discover in my curated directory of publishing companies.
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.
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Here are the best book publishing companies in Illinois:
1. Agate Publishing
Agate Publishing is an independent Chicago-area publisher founded in 2002. It works through focused imprints: Bolden for fiction and nonfiction by African American writers, including books for young readers; Surrey for food, cooking, and nutrition; B2 for business books; and Midway for nonfiction on Midwestern topics or by Midwestern authors. Agate accepts submissions by email inquiry in those four areas only, and it asks you not to phone or post anything before that first email. Submission guidelines.
Did you know that Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, has been a beacon for literary giants? From Upton Sinclair’s muckraking in “The Jungle” showcasing Chicago’s meatpacking industry to Gwendolyn Brooks’ poetic depictions of the city’s South Side, the state’s cultural fabric is deeply woven with influential words and tales. With every page turned, the Prairie State proves it’s more than just cornfields and politics; it’s a wellspring of stories that resonate across the nation.
2. University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press was founded in 1918 and publishes books and journals in history, music, sports, women’s and gender studies, labor, food studies, and Midwestern life, plus regional trade books under its 3 Fields Books imprint. It accepts proposals from scholars and regional trade authors: find the acquiring editor for your field, then email a cover letter, CV, a sample chapter or two, and a proposal. Allow at least four weeks before you follow up, and send a full manuscript only when an editor asks. Submission guidelines.
3. Sourcebooks
Sourcebooks is a large independent publisher in Naperville, founded in 1987 by Dominique Raccah. Its list spans fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, young adult, and gift titles, and it is especially strong in romance and women’s fiction. Most of its imprints acquire through literary agents, and its old submissions page has been taken down, so look up the current policy for the specific imprint you have in mind before you query.
4. Chicago Review Press
Chicago Review Press is an independent Chicago publisher founded in 1973. It publishes general nonfiction meant to sell for years, across history, biography, music, popular culture, parenting, crafts, and activities for children. It accepts proposals from both agents and authors, simultaneous submissions are fine, and you send the proposal by email to the front desk address on its author page. Submission guidelines.
5. Northwestern University Press
Northwestern University Press is the publishing arm of Northwestern University in Evanston, founded in 1893. It publishes scholarship in literature, philosophy, theatre, and cultural studies, along with fiction and literature in translation. It accepts scholarly proposals by email to the relevant acquiring editor or its general submissions inbox. For now it has paused unsolicited poetry, literary nonfiction such as memoirs and essay collections, and plays, including agented ones, and it won’t consider anything written with AI help. Submission guidelines.
6. Haymarket Books
Haymarket Books is an independent, nonprofit Chicago publisher founded in 2001 and known for radical politics, social justice, labor, and history. It wants manuscripts accessible to both seasoned organizers and readers new to radical ideas. It accepts submissions of nonfiction proposals through Submittable only; it takes no fiction, poetry, children’s books, dissertations, or AI-written proposals, and it warns authors that its editors never ask for payment. Submission guidelines.
7. Albert Whitman & Company
Albert Whitman & Company has published children’s books in the Chicago area since 1919 and is best known for The Boxcar Children. It publishes picture books, middle-grade fiction, and young adult novels. It is open to submissions from unagented authors by email, with a strict subject-line format for each category, and it replies only if it’s interested; after six months, assume the answer is no. Submission guidelines.
8. Southern Illinois University Press(SIUP)
Southern Illinois University Press was established in 1956 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Its list leans on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, Illinois and Chicago history, rhetoric and composition, and theatre, alongside poetry and regional books. It accepts proposals that follow its published proposal guidelines; don’t phone in a pitch, and send a complete manuscript only when an editor invites it. Submission guidelines.
9. Third World Press Foundation
Third World Press Foundation is a nonprofit Chicago publisher founded in 1967 by poet Haki R. Madhubuti to give Black writers a home. It has published Gwendolyn Brooks, Sonia Sanchez, and Amiri Baraka, and its list covers poetry, fiction, history, and social commentary. It accepts submissions of book proposals by post to its South Side address: an abstract, intended audience, competing titles, an annotated table of contents, one or two sample chapters, and your CV. Submission guidelines.
10. Loyola Press
Loyola Press is a Jesuit ministry in Chicago, founded in 1912. Most of what it publishes is Catholic faith formation for schools and parishes, such as the Finding God and Christ Our Life programs, plus language arts curriculum and books on Ignatian spirituality and prayer. It posts no open call for outside manuscripts, so contact the press first if your project fits its list.
11. Dramatic Publishing Company
Dramatic Publishing Company is a theatrical publisher and licensing house in Woodstock, founded in 1885. It publishes and licenses full-length and one-act plays and musicals for professional, school, and community theatres, including stage adaptations of books such as To Kill a Mockingbird. It accepts submissions of plays only if you meet one of its criteria: you already have a play with Dramatic or another major licensing house, you have a theatre or literary agent, or the play has had two separate full productions in the past five years. Replies can take up to six months. Submission guidelines.
12. TriQuarterly
TriQuarterly began in 1958 as Northwestern University’s literary magazine, and TriQuarterly Books is now the literary imprint of Northwestern University Press, publishing poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Book-length manuscripts go through the press’s own guidelines in the Northwestern entry above. The magazine at triquarterly.org is a separate, student-edited outlet for short work, read through Submittable during seasonal windows for a small fee.
13. Tyndale House Publishers
Tyndale House Publishers is a Christian publisher in Carol Stream, founded in 1962 by Kenneth N. Taylor, who wrote The Living Bible. It publishes Bibles, including the New Living Translation, devotionals, Christian living, fiction, and children’s books. Tyndale does not accept unsolicited manuscripts: it reviews only work sent by literary agents, its own authors, authors known from other publishers, and industry contacts. Submission policy.
14. Joshua Tree Publishing
Joshua Tree Publishing is a small Chicago publisher that works on spirituality, health, personal growth, memoir, fiction, and children’s books. It accepts submissions that start with a query letter; if it’s interested, it asks for the first three chapters, then the whole book and a marketing plan, and aims to decide within about a month. Ask for the full agreement, including who pays for editing, design, and printing, before you sign. Submission guidelines.
15. The University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press was founded in 1891 and is one of the largest university presses in the United States. It publishes scholarly books and journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, books about Chicago, and The Chicago Manual of Style. It accepts proposals sent straight to the acquiring editor in your field, and you don’t need an introduction; contact an editor once you can explain what the book is, who will read it, and why Chicago is the right home. Submission guidelines.
16. Crossway Books
Crossway is a nonprofit evangelical publisher in Wheaton, founded in 1938 as Good News Publishers and best known for the English Standard Version Bible. It accepts proposals for evangelical nonfiction on key issues, the Christian life, a Christian worldview, and academic theology, sent through its online form. It takes no fiction, poetry, end-times books, collected sermons, or personal-experience stories, and if you hear nothing within eight weeks, the answer is no. Submission guidelines.
17. ACTA Publications
ACTA Publications is a Chicago publisher of Catholic and general Christian books on prayer, spirituality, grief, and parish life. It accepts unsolicited submissions as short email proposals: a cover letter explaining who will buy the book, a table of contents, and an introduction plus one chapter. Tell it up front if you’re submitting elsewhere at the same time. Submission guidelines.
Names you may be looking for
Curbside Splendor
A Chicago indie press of literary fiction and poetry. It no longer publishes books, though its Curbside Books & Records shop carries on.
Lake Claremont Press
A publisher of Chicago history and guidebooks. Its founder, Sharon Woodhouse, now runs Conspire Creative, a coaching and consulting business for authors.
Dalkey Archive Press
The experimental fiction press long associated with Illinois is now an imprint of Deep Vellum in Dallas, Texas.
Arktoi Books
A Red Hen Press imprint for literary fiction and poetry by lesbian writers, based in California.
Cozy Cat Press
A small cozy-mystery publisher. Its old web address now shows unrelated content, so look for its books through the authors themselves.
Conclusion
Illinois gives you a wide range of doors, as long as you knock on the right one. Scholars have three strong university presses in Urbana, Evanston, and Chicago, plus SIU Press in Carbondale. Chicago Review Press, Agate, Third World Press Foundation, ACTA, and Joshua Tree read proposals directly, Albert Whitman welcomes unagented children’s writers, and Haymarket wants radical nonfiction. Playwrights should look at Dramatic Publishing, and Christian authors at Crossway, while Tyndale and most Sourcebooks imprints work through agents. Keep honing your craft and be persistent. Next up, you may want to explore a guide on top book publishers in Chicago.
Rafal Reyzer
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