20 Top Book Publishing Companies in India
If you are a writer or author looking for reputable publishing companies to showcase your work to the world then India is a top destination to achieve this dream. With established publishing houses, self-publishing companies and boutique publishers, India has a vibrant and very reliable publishing industry with some of their publishers among the biggest in the world. If you’re looking for book or journal publishing companies that accept works written in English or other languages you have numerous of such companies in India too. Selecting which publishing company to work with might be a challenge so we present to you a list top publishing houses in India with high reputation even beyond the country.
1. Jaico Publishing House
Jaico was founded in 1946 by Jaman Shah with headquarters in Mumbai. This was India’s first publisher of paperback books in the English language. This company began as a book distribution company. Jaico is popular for publishing self-help, religion and philosophy, mind/body/spirit and business titles. It also publishes travel, current affairs, biography and popular science books. Jaico has a translation division that translates English into nine Indian languages. Some of its famous authors are Robin Sharma, Deepak Chopra, Khushwant Singh, Brian Tracy and John Maxwell. One of Jaico’s well known titles is ‘The Monk who Sold His Ferrari’ by Robin Sharma.
2. Westland Publications
Westland Publications is an Indian publishing house which was co-founded by the Padmanabhan family in 1962, starting out under the name East West Books. The company began as an amalgamation of two companies, EastWest Books (Madras) Pvt Ltd. and Westland Books Pvt Ltd. EastWest Books, founded in 1996, was a successor company to the south India operations of Affiliated East West Press Private Limited, New Delhi, established in 1962. Back then it was a subsidiary of Trent which is the retail arm of the Tata group, a global enterprise headquartered in India. The company was acquired by Amazon in 2016 enabling Westland to grow their physical and digital book business. Westland is one of the largest English language trade publishers in India. Bestselling authors of the company include Amish Tripathi, Ashok Banker, Rujuta Diwekar and Harsha Bhogle. Westland accepts submissions only through literary agents.
3. Penguin Random House India
Penguin Random House India was established in 1985 first as Penguin India. This company is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House which is a global publishing house. It is the largest English language trade publisher in the continent. Penguin Random House India publishes classic fiction, modern fiction, biographies, sports, travel, business and illustrated children’s books. The books are available in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Urdu. The list of books by Penguin includes critically acclaimed titles such as ‘The God of Small Things’ by Arundhati Roy and ‘The Inheritance of Loss’ by Kiran Desai. While the head office is based in Gurgaon, you can actually download the Penguin app and enjoy the experience of utilizing their services.
4. Roli Books
Roli Books is a mid-sized publication firm which was founded in 1978 by Pramod Kapoor. The company is popular for beautifully crafted books on Indian art, photography and cuisines. Writers and authors that want to publish good quality books that are a mixture of art and literature should engage Roli Books for such services.
5. Rupa Publications
Rupa Publications was established in 1936 by D. Mehra with its headquarters in Delhi. A majority of the Rupa catalogue books (95%) of the Rupa catalogue is converted into e-books and this strategy helps to effectively reach a wider audience. The company publishes a mix of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. They have titles in history, business, politics and a host of memoirs. Renowned a such as Ruskin Bond, APJ Abdul Kalam, Pranab Mukherjee and Chetan Bhagat, publish their works with Rupa Publications.
6. Hachette India
Hachette India is relatively new in India’s book publishing landscape as it was founded in 2009. This company is the Indian arm of Hachette UK and it is based in Gurgaon, one of the major satellite cities of Delhi. Hachette India publishes general, literary and commercial fiction, children’s and reference books as well as non-fiction, covering memoirs, self help, travel, history, business, popular culture, lifestyle and sport. Successful titles at the house are ‘Turbulence’ by Samit Basu, ‘Durbar’ by Tavleen Singh and Amit Varma’s ‘My Friend Sancho.’ This is a company you can work with from any part of the world and be sure your job will be delivered with top quality.
7. Aleph Book Company
Aleph Book Company is a reliable publishing house which was founded in May 2011 byDavid Davidar with R.K. Mehra and Kapish Mehra of Rupa Publications India. This company pays serious attention to quality rather than quantity with around 40 titles published annually in areas like fiction, history, autobiography, travel, business, popular culture and non-fiction. The author list at Aleph has names like Shashi Tharooor, Devdutt Patnaik, Valmik Thapar, Vikram Seth and Khushwant Singh.
8. HarperCollins Publishers India
HarperCollins Publishers India was launched in 1992 in Noida, a satellite city of Delhi. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of HarperCollins Worldwide. A number of high-profile authors such as Kiran Nagarkar, Tarun Tejpal and Arvind Adiga, publish their works with this company.
9. Pan Macmillan India
Pan Macmillan India is a part of Macmillan Publishers, a global trade publishing group. Another new kid in the Indian publishing bunch, Pan Macmillan started publishing operations in August 2010. Pan Macmillan India covers genres like fiction and non-fiction across various sub genres. One of its most famous books was ‘India after Gandhi’ by Ramachandra Guha. Pan Macmillan India has, until recently, been publishing only under the Picador imprint. The company has now added Pan and Macmillan, two new imprints to cover its local commercial fiction and non-fiction publishing.
10. Scholastic India
Scholastic India was established in 1997 with its headquarters in Gurgaon. The company is a publisher and distributor of children’s books with a famous title such as ‘The Hunger Games’ by Suzanne Collins. The based publishing house publishes books on educational technology, educational services and children’s media. They print in 45 languages and reach more than 150 countries. Gulzar, Paro Anand and Anushka Ravishankar are some of their renowned authors.
11. 24by7Publishing
24by7Publishing is one of India’s very popular and reliable self-publishing companies based in Kolkata. The company lets authors take charge to publish their work without the involvement of a third party publisher. Some authors enjoy such freedom as they can create their own cover, book and control your content without any interference.
12. Pothi
Pothi was established as a self-publishing platform available for all writers in India. It allows writers to publish and sell their books, even e-books without having to go through the hassle of waiting for your manuscript to be approved. It can be used by individual publishers or NGOs. Pothi has already published almost 7000 books.
13. Cinnamon Teal Publishing
Cinnamon Teal was founded in 2007 as a self-publishing company that has strict standards which gives their books a certain quality that other platforms might lack. The company has on-demand printing and global distribution network which makes easy for authors and writers to get their books into the hands of readers. They also have a team of experienced editors and designers that ensure the books they publish are polished and professional.
14. Become Shakespeare
Become Shakespeare is another big self-publishing brand with its headquaters in Bombay. They have extensive packages suitable for different needs and budget. They have published nearly 1050 books till date. The company offers a host of services like getting your books in retail stores, public relations and handling social media. They go the extra mile to set up a team dedicated to an author that ensures the published work is getting marketed and promoted with positive results..
15. Leadstart Publishing
Leadstart Publishing is a reliable publishing house based in Mumbai, India. It has published titles in health, biography, travel, fiction, religion, health and children’s books. hey have Digital Leadstart to reach the readers online. Leadstart Publishing also has a literary agency that works for writers either looking to publish or resell or pitch content to other mediums.
16. Fingerprint Publishing
Fingerprint was established in 2012 with its headquarters in Delhi. This publishing house is owned by Prakash Books, a major distributor in India. Their current bestsellers are ‘Seven Uncommoners’ by Ridhima Verma and ‘The Sari Shop Widow’ by Shobhan Bantwal. Fingerprint’s primary aim is to publish interesting paperbacks that can be sold country wide with the backing of Prakash Books. This company is growing in reputation in India’s publishing landscape.
17. Petals Publishers
Petals is another reliable publishing company in India that was founded in 2013 by Harpreet Makkar. It is a multi-faceted publishing house that provides access to digital marketing, editing and distribution for all writers. With its office in Ludhiana, Petals is also offers the option of self-publishing along with traditional publishing depending on what the author needs. Though this company does not have any celebrity authors on its list of accomplished works yet it has a solid collection across genres like romance, fantasy and mystery. You can check out this company for good quality jobs.
- Srishti Publishers
Srishti was established in 1997 with its headquarters in Delhi. The company specializes in publishing books in genres as diverse as Astrology, Biography, Children’s Literature, Culture, Health, Fiction, Management, Philosophy, Plays, Self-Help, Translations, among various others. Srishti has as one of its primary objectives the provision of a platform to first-time writers – young in age and at heart, to showcase their works to the world. They also publish translations of works in languages like Oriya, Malayalam, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Tamil and Hindi, Srishti has genres like fantasy fiction, self help, philosophy, astrology, espionage thrillers and culture..
- APK Publishers
APK Publishers was established in 2008 by Prashant and Anagha Karhade with the aim of giving priority to first time writers so they can have a platform to share their stories. This company is ‘truly English’ publishing house and has published 50 books till date. Their top sellers are ‘Ripples’ an anthology of 48 short stories by 26 Indian women writers, ‘Alice’ series by Megha Rao and ‘Moonstone: The Incredible One Hour’ by Atul Gupta. They accept only English fiction and non-fiction materials. For submission guidelines see: View Guidelines
- Pustak Mahal
Pustak Mahal was established in 1974 and it is the pioneer for language learning and supplementary books for children. With nearly 1500 titles and 50 on the bestseller’s lists, the company produces books on general information, children, language, education, career guidance and self-management. The company prides itself as one of the first publishing houses in India to digitalize its publications. You can always reach them from any part of the world through their website to commence transactions with them.
- S. Chand Publishing
- Chand Publishing company was founded in 1939 by Shyam Lal Gupta with its headquarters in Delhi. It has since grown to become the second largest education publisher in India. It offers online platforms for exam preparations, designing activities for children and a home tutoring service. If you are interested in writing for higher education, competitive and children’s books then submit a manuscript to S. Chand.They publish books in almost all regional languages.
