I received a lot of mail from QueryTracker members requesting that I add a list of publishers to the database, and so here it is.

Personally, I still feel it is better for a writer to seek an agent instead of going direct to publishers. But some writers don't feel that way, or have special situations which suggest they do otherwise.

That being said, there are a few things about publishers that need to be explained.

• Most major publishers do not accept queries from un-agented authors. Therefore I saw no reason to list the major houses (though some of them have made it onto the list for reference purposes.)
  
  
• The information for publishers is constantly changing. Editors move on, imprints often open and close to submissions, and even their genres of choice will change regularly. For these reasons, keeping an up-to-date list is nearly impossible. Instead, QueryTracker's aim is to provide a good starting point. It will be up to you, the writer, to visit the publisher's website and determine if they are right for you.
  
  
• Often, a publisher will not list their genres of interest, but instead will request that writers become familiar with their catalog in order to determine if your work will be a match for them. For this reason, you may not want to search QueryTracker by genre, because some potential matches may not show up.
  
  
• QueryTracker is dedicated to only providing quality listings. Each new agent or publisher is thoroughly researched to make sure they are legitimate and qualified. This means that our publisher list is still short. It'll take time to track them all down and verify them. Your patience is appreciated. But you can also help. If you know of a qualified publisher not yet listed on QT, use the Suggest A Publisher link to tell us about them.

Thank you.

-Patrick McDonald
QueryTracker.net