Some random lists of [pseudo]random publishers
All Steidl books are designed and produced under the same roof. Every title gets its own special format and book design. Gerhard Steidl himself whose passion for paper is legendary chooses the paper and the linen and personally sees to every step of the production, from layout to printing. He virtually has his hand on every book that has written Steidl on the cover. What began as a backyard enterprise has evolved into one of the world’s most sophisticated and distinguished printing and publishing companies. Whether fashion, art or literature, Steidl sees himself as the artist’s and author’s ally, helping him or her “to do magic”, to create an object of art and to get it out to the readers.
If you are interested in submitting a book proposal to us, please keep in mind that we specialize in illustrated books in the categories you can see on this website. We do not publish works of fiction. If you have a proposal, please send a short outline only, without attachments.
Black Balloon Publishing is an independent press with both print and digital distribution channels, headquartered in New York, NY. We've published literary fiction, nonfiction, and memoir, and we're willing to grow our reach in any direction that suits: our books evolve, rotate, get mapped onto cities and light up your screen. We champion the weird, the unwieldy, and the unclassifiable.
The New Press has worked with cultural organizations, including historical societies, museums, archives, media watch groups, and educational associations to bring the most exciting work produced at a local level to a broad, national audience. The New Press is very much an activist press; with the help of a dynamic group of editorial advisory committees, it seeks to identify areas in which new books and materials are most needed, and to commission books to fill those needs. The Press has also experimented with innovative formats and designs, including book-and-audio sets, art portfolios, postcard books, posterbooks, and alternative textbooks.
City Lights Books is an independent publisher of fiction, essays, memoirs, translations, poetry, and books on social and political issues. We do not publish New Age, self-help, children’s literature, how-to guides, or genre works such as romance, westerns, or science fiction. City Lights does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. We do consider book proposals. Before you send one, you should keep in mind that we publish only a dozen books a year and have a long line of books already scheduled for publication.
AK Press is a worker-run collective that publishes and distributes radical books, visual and audio media, and other mind-altering material. Thanks for your interest in publishing with AK Press. Before submitting, please familiarize yourself with our list and the range of works we tend to publish. As an anarchist collective, we're primarily interested in works that reflect the rich traditions within anarchism (theory, history, art, culture, economics, labor) and related movements — both historically and contemporarily. We make an effort to provide materials of use to activists, academics, and individuals in pursuit of intellectual self-defense and revolutionary social/economic change. Further, we welcome the opportunity to work with authors from diverse backgrounds.
Manic D Press was founded by Jennifer Joseph in 1984. An award-winning literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction, poetry, pop culture, music, art, narrative-oriented comix, and alternative travel books, we represent a diverse group of unique writers and artists, with emphasis on those who have been shunned by the traditional publishing establishment for lacking commercial viability, regardless of their talent or future promise. For 10 years, we were funded in part by the California Arts Council, then California got screwed by Enron and state funding for the arts evaporated. We've recently expanded our mission to offer refuge to established writers escaping from the commercial publishing meltdown.
Feral House has been publishing innovative and celebrated non-fiction books since 1989. Movies have been made, cultural trends influenced and political crimes exposed by our small, independent press. Headquartered in Port Townsend, WA, Feral House publisher Adam Parfrey has also co-founded the new imprint, Process Media, with Jodi Wille, formerly of Dilettante Press. If a personal obsession has caused you to investigate a fascinating piece of history or cultural phenomenon, or if you are an artist or photographer interested in unusual subject matter, we’d be interested to hear about it.
We seek to create radical and stimulating fiction and nonfiction books, pamphlets, T-shirts, visual and audio materials to entertain, educate, and inspire you. We aim to distribute these through every available channel with every available technology, whether that means you are seeing anarchist classics at our bookfair stalls; reading our latest vegan cookbook at the café; downloading geeky fiction e-books; or digging new music and timely videos from our website.
Interesting range: http://gingkopress.com/book-label/new/
Zero+ publishes fine art monographs in limited print runs. The Zero+ line of books is distinguished by its terrific roster of artists and beautifully designed books with impeccable bindings and packaging. From the street to the gallery Zero+ has published books on artists such as Above, Andrew Hem, Yumiko Kaykawa, Mark Dean Veca, Sage Vaughn and Nathan Ota. Zero+ is based in Pomona, California.
As publishers of artists’ books, monographs, catalogues, and other art ephemera, Smart Art Press is modeled on New York artist/theorist Dick Higgins’ Something Else Press of the sixties, publishing an eclectic and eccentric mix of works by and about artists, as well as related literary endeavors that seek to vitalize the scene and expand the understanding of contemporary art and culture. – Tom Patchett
The IF SF imprint, praised in the past for publishing the work of 'voices that deserve to be heard in books of visually arresting formats' is known for taking a collaborative approach to each project, inviting the artist to take part in the creation of the book. Each IF SF book is published in the medium best suited to the material. While continuing to focus on the literary and graphic arts, IF SF remains open to the projects of interest in other categories.
Looks kind of interesting, though they charge for proposal submissions.
powerHouse Books is the premier conceptual publisher of art photography and innovative illustrated books. World-renowned and critically acclaimed powerHouse Books is best known for a diverse publishing programme—specialized in fine art, documentary, pop culture, fashion, and celebrity books. The company has redefined the cultural landscape of the illustrated book, the only U.S. independent publishing company to do so.
Reaktion also publishes many series of books, including Animal, short natural and cultural histories of individual animals, Edible, global histories of a particular food, drink or ingredient, Critical Lives, concise critical biographies of important cultural figures, and Botanical, which combine horticultural and cultural history.
This (kind of) publisher looks promising…
See especially their limited editions and ephemera:
Siglio is an independent press dedicated to publishing uncommon books and editions that live at the intersection of art & literature: inimitable, visionary works by renowned as well as little known artists and writers that defy categories and thoroughly engage a reader’s intellect and imagination. We are interested in queries for book-length image-text works, artist-writer collaborations, and literary-visual “hybrids“ whether originally in English or in translation. This may include - among other interpretations - innovative works of fiction/prose that have integral visual elements and/or extensive typographical play, or that use the space of the book in an unusual way; visual art works with a literary component or departure point, that use text as physical or substantive material, or that have a sustained engagement with narrative; graphic novels or extended comics; artists’ or altered books that could be converted into a trade edition; etc. Please note that we do not publish poetry or books that use images only as illustrations.
Our program involves three distinct components: (1) the publication of lost or unpublished material still vital to contemporary discussions, (2) the publication of books by contemporary artists, and (3) the publication of editions that function as publications, though may take the shape of say a record or poster (in this way, we are very much influenced by how Printed Matter has come to define the artist book and its varied forms since the 1960s). Our aim is to reach audiences throughout the world, those to whom publications can reach but galleries and museums cannot.
Since 2010, Badlands Unlimited has published path-breaking books on art and culture in both paper and digital forms. Our experience on the Internet and the emerging digital platforms connected to the growing array of digital devices enables us to create content in formats for a broad range of distribution channels. Our relationship with emerging and traditional book distributors globally has allowed us to serve and reach many kinds of audiences. And our aesthetic and editorial sensibility makes us uniquely positioned to understand how innovative and exciting publications can meet the interests of contemporary art and culture.
Uitgeverij Stichting Kunstboek is actief sinds 1992 en legt zich toe op de beeldende en toegepaste kunsten, design, architectuur, gastronomie, florale kunst en tuin- en landschapsarchitectuur. Het fonds omvat louter hoogkwalitatieve en geïllustreerde boeken. Daaronder worden zowel catalogi, monografieën, referentiewerken, themaboeken, bijzondere essayistische uitgaven als boekobjecten verstaan.
Een onafhankelijke uitgeverij van kwalitatieve kunstboeken Ludion heeft zich sedert 1 oktober 2013 losgemaakt van een uitgeefconcern en is opnieuw, zoals in de jaren '90, een onafhankelijke uitgeverij van kunstboeken. We kiezen voortaan voor een zuiniger publicatiebeleid en een eigenzinniger profiel. Er zal in het nieuwe fonds veel aandacht zijn voor hedendaagse beeldende kunst, voor internationaal talent, en er zijn projecten in voorbereiding in de vorm van monografieën en oeuvrecatalogi. Werk van oude meesters zal vanuit een nieuw en verrassend perspectief door onze auteurs becommentarieerd en getoond worden. Het museale luik zal versterkt worden met nieuwe gidsen en collectiecatalogi. Meer dan in het verleden, wordt Ludion een huis dat een selecte groep auteurs en kunstenaars wil dienen door samen met hen boeken, grafiek of tentoonstellingen te realiseren.
Van Halewyck staat voor grensverleggende non-fictie met een neus voor de actualiteit en gevoel voor waardevolle thema's. De uitgeverij brengt werk van auteurs met een eigenzinnige visie, van kookboeken tot memoires, van persoonlijke verhalen tot onderzoeksjournalistiek.
(mostly concerned with 'design' - but I add it to the list, since two friends of mine recently published a book there - Printing Things - and I could ask them to introduce us)
Please check with the appropriate MIT Press editor before submitting a book proposal. A list of our acquisitions editors and the subject areas they handle appears below. Please contact only one editor about your proposal; if the project would be best considered by another editor, your initial contact will refer your inquiry to that person. Note that different editors have different submission requirements and review schedules. Your initial inquiry, which may be sent by post or e-mail, should simply describe, in a few paragraphs, the project, its authors or editors, its primary field, its intended readership, and the contribution it will make or need it will fill. If the editor is interested in the project, he or she may request a more detailed proposal. Please do not send manuscripts, sample chapters, or illustrations unless an editor specifically requests them.
perhaps a publisher/distributor to collaborate with if we are interested in the high end fashion and art world 'niche'. see http://www.someslashthings.com/printed-magazine/#magazine and/or http://www.someslashthings.com/store-online/st-cahier-white