10 Best Publishing Companies in New Mexico (Submissions)

New Mexico is brimming with vibrant culture and rich history, and its book publishing tradition is quite exceptional.

The Land of Enchantment is home to university presses, museum presses, and small independents, mostly clustered around Santa Fe. In this article, you will find ten publishers with links to their websites and, where one exists, their submission guidelines. Several are closed to unsolicited work right now, and each entry says so. As we embark on this journey, you may also be intrigued by my comprehensive resource of publishing houses.

Submission policies change without notice, so confirm on the publisher’s own page before you send anything, and never pay a reading fee. Last verified: October 3, 2026.

Here are the best book publishing companies in New Mexico:

1. University of New Mexico Press

The University of New Mexico Press is a nonprofit academic publisher based in Albuquerque, NM, USA. Established in 1929, this university press is among the most venerable and reputable in the nation, and it is committed to publishing books that advance learning, research, and education in areas such as the humanities, social sciences, as well as Native American and Hispanic studies. The UNM Press publishes an average of 50 new titles per year, with a backlist of over 2,500 titles in print. Its editorial program includes books in a wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, arts and architecture, literature, Native American and Indigenous studies, regional studies, and many others. The Press is renowned for its publications on the culture of the American Southwest and the greater region of Latin America. To submit, send an initial query letter and a book proposal to the acquiring editor whose subjects match your manuscript. The Press warns that it cannot answer every query, and it asks poets and children’s authors not to send unsolicited ones. Submission guideline.

2. Sunstone Press

Sunstone Press is an independent book publisher located in Santa Fe, NM, USA. Founded in 1971, with a mission to publish and promote understanding and appreciation of the cultural heritage and diverse peoples of the American Southwest and other regions. The Sunstone Press catalog includes a variety of books of different genres, like fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, biographies, and regional guidebooks. They have a particular focus on publishing titles that explore the history, arts, cultural life, and other aspects of New Mexico and the greater Southwest region of the United States. Submissions go by post only: a short summary, author bio, one sample chapter, table of contents, and a marketing statement, plus a SASE. They do not take email submissions or manuscripts containing AI-generated material. Submission guideline.

3. The Museum of New Mexico Press

The Museum of New Mexico Press is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, based in Santa Fe, NM, USA. Its mission is producing high-quality books on the arts, tradition, and culture of NM and the Southwest. The press has published exhibition catalogs, scholarly works, and photography collections, and its current list ties in with museum exhibitions. Many of the press’s publications are based on the museum’s extensive collection of art and artifacts and focus on the lessons and culture of New Mexico’s indigenous peoples, Spanish colonists, and Anglo settlers. Its submissions page currently says the press is not accepting new submissions and asks you not to send materials or inquiries, so check back before you contact them. Submission guideline.

4. Radius Books

Radius Books is a Santa Fe, NM nonprofit publisher of books on contemporary art and photography. It works closely with artists, photographers, and writers, and pairs its publishing program with a donation program. Its site lists no open route for unsolicited submissions, so treat it as a press to study rather than one to pitch cold, and look at its website for current opportunities.

5. Clear Light Publishers

Clear Light Publishers is an independent book publisher based at 823 Don Diego Avenue in Santa Fe, NM, USA. Its own site says it was founded more than 30 years ago to publish books that chronicle the legacy of the human spirit and the wisdom of the elders, for Native American, Tibetan, and Western authors inspired by the world’s indigenous peoples. Its catalog covers Native American and Southwest topics, spirituality, folklore, cookbooks, and children’s books, and it has published the Dalai Lama, Oren Lyons, and Vine Deloria. The site does not post submission guidelines, so call or write through its contact page before you send a manuscript.

6. Pajarito Press

Pajarito Press is a small independent book publisher in Los Alamos, NM, USA. It aims to publish well-designed, high-quality books in print and electronic formats. Its current projects focus on World War II stories, including the Manhattan Project and the people involved, along with local New Mexico history, science, environment, and culture, and its titles include a northern New Mexican recipe collection. The site does not post submission guidelines, so email the press at the address on its website with a short query before sending anything.

7. Cinco Puntos Press

Cinco Puntos Press was founded in 1985 in El Paso, Texas, just across the state line from New Mexico, and is now an imprint of Lee & Low Books, a children’s book publisher focused on diverse characters and voices. It publishes picture books, middle grade, young adult, and bilingual titles, many in English, Spanish, or both, with themes of cultural identity, social justice, and human rights. Lee & Low’s imprints are currently closed to unsolicited manuscripts, though agented submissions and its New Voices and New Visions contests remain open. Submission guideline.

8. Hurleymedia Inc.

HurleyMedia is a Santa Fe, NM book packaging agency rather than a traditional publisher. It represents and creates illustrated books: it helps artists and photographers shape the idea, find writers and designers, build the proposal and marketing plan, and then pairs the project with a publisher and distributor. Its site says unsolicited work is off the table for now, so check back later. Submission guideline.

9. The Blue Giraffe Press

The Blue Giraffe Press describes itself as a small, family-owned press based in Santa Fe, NM, dedicated to a wide variety of art mediums and to accommodating ethnic artists. Its site says it looks for thought-provoking, ambitious work and asks you to call for details on how to submit a manuscript. It does not list a catalog, genres, or fee terms, so ask about costs and what it publishes before you send anything. Visit the website.

10. Synergetic Press

Synergetic Press is an independent publisher that grew out of Synergia Ranch near Santa Fe, NM, and has published since 1984. Its books span ecology, sustainability, cultural studies, consciousness, Indigenous wisdom, and psychedelics. Its submissions page currently says it is not accepting manuscripts, so check back before you pitch. Submission guideline.

Names you may be looking for

Twin Palms Publishers

Twin Palms Publishers is a respected art and photography press, but its own site lists Los Angeles, California, not New Mexico, and posts no submissions page, so look elsewhere for a Santa Fe press.

West End Press

West End Press is a name you may remember, but its old domain is parked with no publishing content, so confirm it is still operating through another channel before you send work.

Final Thoughts

New Mexico’s publishing scene is small but distinctive, shaped by its universities, museums, and Santa Fe’s arts community. The University of New Mexico Press and Sunstone Press currently describe a way to send proposals, while the Museum of New Mexico Press, Hurleymedia, Synergetic Press, and Cinco Puntos Press say they are closed to unsolicited work. Clear Light, Pajarito, and Blue Giraffe post no guidelines, so contact them first, and if you would rather not wait on any of them, self-publishing is a real option. Next up, you may want to explore a guide on the best publishing houses in Arizona.