24 Best Sports Publishing Companies (19 Need No Agent)

If you are an athlete, a coach, or a fan who can write, there is a sports publisher out there looking for exactly your kind of book. The trick is knowing which door to knock on, and how.

Below you’ll find 24 sports publishing companies, grouped by how you get in. Nineteen will look at a proposal or manuscript with no agent involved, from dedicated sports imprints and coaching publishers to outdoor and martial arts specialists. Two of the biggest houses read only through agents, and three are publishing sports books without a submission route you can confirm on their sites. For each one you’ll find what it publishes, what to send, and where its own guidelines live. If sport is only part of your search, browse my extensive directory of publishing firms.

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 1, 2026.

Sports publishers you can pitch without an agent

1. Sports Publishing

Sports Publishing is the sports imprint of Skyhorse Publishing in New York, and sport is all it does: athlete memoirs and biographies, team histories, great games and seasons, and books about the business of sport. If your manuscript is about a team, a player, or a moment fans still argue about, start here.

Email your proposal to the dedicated sports submissions address on its guidelines page. Introduce yourself and the book in a short cover letter in the body of the email, then attach Word files with a one-to-three-page synopsis, an annotated chapter outline, a competitive analysis, a basic marketing plan, a sample chapter or two, and your bio. Leave images out, because they can delay your email. Submission guidelines.

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

2. Human Kinetics

Human Kinetics, based in Champaign, Illinois, is one of the biggest names in physical activity publishing. Its Trade and Professional Division publishes for coaches, athletes, trainers, and fitness professionals, with titles such as The Happy Runner by David and Megan Roche, while its Academic Division covers textbooks and reference works for schools, universities, and professionals.

Human Kinetics welcomes first-time authors, and the process starts small. Do not send a manuscript or a full proposal first. Send a summary of your idea, a table of contents if you have one, and the intended audience. If the editors like it, they will ask for a full proposal with a preface written for your readers, a detailed contents list, sample material, and a look at competing books. Submission guidelines.

3. Meyer & Meyer Sport

Meyer & Meyer Sport began in Aachen, Germany, and publishes sports books in English and German: training manuals, coaching guides, fitness and conditioning, sports science, and athlete biographies across football, running, cycling, swimming, martial arts, and more.

The UK office says it is always looking for new book ideas. Email the submissions address on its guidelines page with your name and the theme of your book in the subject line, an outline of the whole book, a short description and audience, your credentials, and your marketing network, from social media to governing bodies you belong to. Up to three sample chapters are optional. Submissions are discussed at monthly editorial meetings, and you may not hear back if the answer is no. Submission guidelines.

4. Coaches Choice

Coaches Choice publishes instructional books and videos for coaches across football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer, and track and field, covering drills, strategy, player development, and leadership. If you have spent years refining how you teach a sport, this is the most natural home on the list.

The house says it is always looking for people passionate about sports instruction. To become an author or have a manuscript evaluated, email its submissions address. Submission guidelines.

5. YMAA Publication Center

YMAA Publication Center in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, was founded by Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming in 1984 and specializes in martial arts, tai chi, qigong, and traditional health practices. Its list runs from kung fu and self-defense manuals such as David Kahn’s Krav Maga Professional Tactics to martial arts philosophy and fiction.

YMAA says it accepts manuscripts for publication consideration. Its editorial guidelines ask for a short package that starts with a one-page cover letter and a one-page description of the proposed book. Submission guidelines.

6. University of Nebraska Press

The University of Nebraska Press in Lincoln has published since 1941, and alongside its scholarly list it runs one of the strongest sports programs of any university press, with deep lists in baseball, football, basketball, and sports history. Its Potomac Books and Bison Books imprints sit in the same trade program.

Trade proposals for sports books start with a query letter, a working title, a brief description of the project, and information about you. Email the proposal to the acquisitions editor who covers your subject. Submission guidelines. You can also browse my list of Nebraska book publishers.

7. Mountaineers Books

Mountaineers Books in Seattle publishes for people who play outside: climbing, hiking, mountaineering, biking, paddle sports, skiing, snowshoeing, surfing, and the safety and skills behind them, plus adventure narratives and its Skipstone imprint for nature and sustainable living. It does not publish fiction or books about organized spectator sports, so pitch it your outdoor adventure book, not your team history.

If you are unsure about fit, email a query letter first. A full proposal needs a cover letter, a one-to-two-page synopsis, an annotated outline, a market analysis, four sample chapters (or about ten sample routes for a guidebook), sample artwork if relevant, and your full bio, all in a single Word file. You will hear back within three months only if they are interested. Submission guidelines.

8. Rocky Mountain Books

Rocky Mountain Books, or RMB, is a Canadian publisher of mountain culture: guidebooks for hikers, climbers, and skiers, plus memoirs and biographies of athletes, adventurers, and mountaineers, and books on outdoor recreation and the natural world.

Familiarize yourself with RMB’s current books first. Then read its proposal guidelines, fill in the author questionnaire, and send a formal proposal by email before you send the manuscript itself, which goes to the publisher. Submission guidelines.

9. Lyons Press

Lyons Press was founded by Nick Lyons as a home for “responsible outdoor sport” and is now an imprint of Globe Pequot. Its list covers fishing, hunting, the outdoors, history, and sports, including team histories and books on running and training.

Lyons Press takes proposals through the Globe Pequot submission guidelines, which list a Lyons Press editorial contact. Email is preferred. Send a description of the book, a table of contents, a sample chapter, an overview of your platform, and a market analysis with competing titles, then allow three months before you follow up. You will find those guidelines linked from the Globe Pequot site.

10. Stackpole Books

Stackpole Books has published since 1927 and is now part of the Globe Pequot Publishing Group. Its sporting heart is fly fishing and fly tying, where it is one of the leading publishers, alongside nature guides, military history, and specialty crafts.

Stackpole proposals go through the same Globe Pequot submission guidelines as Lyons Press, which list separate Stackpole editors for fishing, history and military history, and crafts. Pitch one editor only; a proposal that fits elsewhere is forwarded internally.

11. Black Inc.

Black Inc. is an independent Australian publishing company in Melbourne known for serious nonfiction: politics, history, current affairs, essays, memoir, and sport.

Black Inc. reads nonfiction proposals on a monthly rhythm: email yours during the first seven days of any month, and nothing by post. You will get an automatic receipt and a reply within eight weeks only if it wants to talk further. It is not reading unsolicited fiction, poetry, scripts, YA, middle grade, or picture books, or anything generated by AI. Submission guidelines.

12. BenBella Books

BenBella Books is an independent publishing company in Dallas, Texas that publishes nonfiction across health, wellness, personal development, business, science, and pop culture, including sports books such as Josh Gross’s Ali vs. Inoki.

BenBella is actively acquiring nonfiction and is not looking at fiction. It is open to any nonfiction proposal and states a preference for authors who bring a platform, which suits athletes, coaches, and commentators with an audience. Submission guidelines.

13. Histria Books

Histria Books in Las Vegas publishes general interest, fiction, children’s, and scholarly books through a family of imprints. Sport lives in Histria A&E, which covers sports, film, biography, and pop culture, while Histria Academic takes peer-reviewed history and cultural studies.

Email a query to its submissions address with a short bio, a description of the book and its audience, and the first two or three chapters. Simultaneous queries are fine, but if Histria invites a formal proposal it will ask you to withdraw the book from other houses while its editorial board reviews it. Submission guidelines.

14. New Holland Publishers

New Holland Publishers is an Australian house that publishes mainly nonfiction, from sport, nature, and travel to cooking, true crime, lifestyle, memoir, and history.

New Holland says it welcomes all manuscripts, with a clear lean toward nonfiction. Email the submissions questionnaire with a cover letter, a 300-word bio, comparison titles, your target market and promotion ideas, a 300-word synopsis, and ideally the full manuscript. Only successful authors are contacted, so assume a no if three months pass in silence. Submission guidelines.

15. Heritage House Publishing

Heritage House Publishing in Victoria, British Columbia, publishes 20 to 30 books a year, mostly by Canadian authors writing about Western Canada. Its hockey and sports history titles fit within history, biography, and memoir, which are among the categories it is currently acquiring, alongside humour, Indigenous studies, art and photography, nature guides, and books for children. It does not publish poetry, adult genre fiction, cookbooks, self-help, or how-to.

Heritage House accepts unsolicited submissions by email only. Send one PDF with a 250-word synopsis, your bio and credentials, a preliminary marketing plan, an outline, one or two sample chapters, and sample images if relevant. It can take up to six months to hear back. Submission guidelines. For more options north of the border, see my list of Canadian publishing companies.

16. Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Fitzhenry & Whiteside has been a Canadian publisher since 1966, with a broad list that includes sports alongside children’s books, fiction, history, and education, such as Bob Ferguson’s Who’s Who in Canadian Sport.

Fitzhenry & Whiteside says it is actively acquiring, and both agents and authors are welcome to send proposals and manuscripts. Submissions go to the Sutherland House email address given on its submissions page. Submission guidelines.

17. Abbeville Press

Abbeville Press in New York publishes illustrated books on art, architecture, design, photography, and lifestyle. It is not a sports specialist, so it suits one kind of sports book: a richly visual one, such as a history of sporting art or a heavily illustrated chronicle.

Abbeville considers brief submission queries by email, with “SUBMISSION QUERY” in the subject line, though it may not reply to every one. It will not consider unsolicited submissions sent by mail or courier. Submission guidelines.

18. Mascot Books

Mascot Books in Herndon, Virginia, was founded in 2003 by Naren Aryal and is now an imprint of the Amplify Publishing Group. It publishes sports, children’s books, fiction, and nonfiction as a hybrid publisher, which means you invest in your book’s production in exchange for editing, design, distribution, and marketing support.

Mascot evaluates each project and issues an individual proposal, not a one-size-fits-all package. Submit through its book idea form or by email with a synopsis, and read the proposal’s costs and terms carefully before you sign. Submit a book idea.

19. Sports Publication

Sports Publication in Darya Ganj, New Delhi, has published since 1991 and is well known in India for physical education, sports, yoga, and exam preparation books. Its author program is self-publishing or guided publishing on a print-on-demand platform, and authors keep full rights to their work.

To pitch, email your name and contact details, the book’s title and genre, a synopsis, two sample chapters, and the word count. Because this is a self-publishing service, ask up front which costs, if any, fall on you. Submission guidelines.

Sports publishers that read only through an agent

20. HarperCollins

HarperCollins traces its roots to 1817 and is one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, headquartered in New York City and owned by News Corp. Its sports list spans athlete autobiographies, coaching memoirs, and books on the Olympics, the World Cup, and the biggest championships.

HarperCollins does not accept unsolicited submissions, so you will need a literary agent. The one standing exception is its Heartdrum imprint, which takes picture book, chapter book, middle grade, and YA manuscripts directly. Submission guidelines.

21. Penguin Random House

Penguin Random House was formed in 2013 by the merger of Penguin and Random House and is owned by Bertelsmann. Its imprints publish sports books for every age, from star athlete memoirs to children’s titles such as James Buckley Jr.’s Little Kids First Big Book of Sports.

Penguin Random House does not accept unsolicited submissions, proposals, or query letters, so an agent is required. Occasional open-submission programs run for adult fiction only. How to get published.

Sports publishers with no confirmed submission route

22. Triumph Books

Triumph Books calls itself the nation’s leading sports book publisher. Founded in 1989 and based in Chicago’s River North, it publishes team-by-team books for MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, and college programs, plus athlete biographies, memoirs, and histories.

Its site lists only trade and publisher contact details and publishes no submission policy, so there is no route you can confirm. If your book is a fit, an agent who sells sports titles is the safest way in.

23. Ulysses Press

Ulysses Press began in Berkeley in 1983 and now works from Brooklyn as part of the Stable Book Group, which it joined in 2025. It publishes niche nonfiction in health, fitness, wellness, pop culture, and self-help, and its sister press in the group, VeloPress, specializes in endurance sports.

The Ulysses Press page on the Stable Book Group site lists an editorial email address but publishes no submission policy. Check that page for current details before you write.

24. Firefly Books

Firefly Books has published from Richmond Hill, Ontario, since 1977 and is a leading independent nonfiction publisher in North America. Its sports and recreation titles include paddling guides, cycling anatomy, and skateboarding skills, alongside nature, science, astronomy, gardening, and reference.

Its site publishes no submission policy, and no current route is confirmed, so treat Firefly as a publisher to approach through an agent or through a direct contact you already have.

Names you may be looking for

Sportsbooks Ltd

SportsBooks is the small York-based British publisher behind off-beat sports books and the International Track and Field Annual. Its website no longer loads, so there is no current submissions page to use.

Final Thoughts

Sports publishing is more open than most corners of the industry. Nineteen publishers on this list will look at your work without an agent, and several of them, from Sports Publishing and Human Kinetics to Coaches Choice and Meyer & Meyer Sport, publish nothing but sport. Pick the two or three whose recent books look most like yours, match your pitch to their exact guidelines, and show them the audience you already have. If your book is a life story, my list of memoir publishers is a good next stop, and if it leans toward training and health, try the guide to medical publishing companies.