Independent book publishing is thriving, and it’s not hard to see why. Indie presses meet a need for an eclectic array of works—sometimes too niche for corporate publishing—that cater to a broad range of interests and tastes.

But there is nothing niche about independent publishers’ impact: they sell hundreds of millions of books per year in the United States, according to international research firm WordsRated. In fact, indie books account for about 40 percent of all commercially available titles. And they cover a wide range of genres, from literary fiction to nonfiction to pulpy thrillers to short stories to children’s books.

Some indie presses exist to empower authors and content creators by offering a very different business model. For instance, London-based Unbound Books operates on a crowdfunding paradigm that gives writers the tools, support, and freedom to bring their book ideas to life.

“We were founded on the idea that if you were to plug directly into the audience, then a lot more interesting books might end up being published,” says Unbound Books Publisher John Mitchinson. “Having been in this business for 35 years, I was struck by the fact that it’s often really difficult to get things through the gatekeepers” that exist within traditional publishers. 

Other indies arose to fill a niche market in publishing. For example, Parallax Press is a nonprofit publisher focused on bringing mindfulness into our daily lives.

Whatever their ethos, it’s clear that independent publishers are bringing fascinating works to market and enriching the book publishing world in many ways. Here are some of the latest—and best—titles coming from indie publishing this fall.

The MIT Press

The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1962, it has long been a pioneer in the Open Access movement within academic publishing and publishes several academic journals. It also publishes books for scholarly as well as general audiences in areas such as art and architecture, public health, life and physical sciences, and technology.

“We’re committed to rigorous scholarship, like any academic press,” says Victoria Hindley, acquisitions editor for visual culture and design. “We’re looking to publish books that are original and bold, and that make a new contribution to knowledge or fill a key gap in scholarship.”

Writing for Their Lives by Marcel Chotkowski LaFollette, August 2023, ISBN 9780262048163, tells the stories of the women who helped pioneer the emerging profession of science journalism from the 1920s through the 1950s. Like the “hidden figures” of science, such as Dorothy Vaughan and Katherine Johnson, these female reporters have also been overlooked in traditional histories of science and journalism. But at a time when science, medicine, and the mass media were expanding dramatically, women such as Emma Reh, Jane Stafford, and Marjorie Van de Water played a key role in explaining theories, discoveries, and medical advances to millions of readers through syndicated news stories, weekly columns, and books.

Katie Helke, acquisitions editor for science, technology, and society, says one of the things that drew her to this book was that it provides an intimate look into the personal lives and adventures of mid-20th-century career women. The book raises fascinating questions that working women still grapple with today, Helke says, such as whether using their married name in their byline will help or hurt their career.

Feminist Designer: On the Personal and the Political in Design, edited by Alison Place, September 2023, ISBN 9780262048422, is a collection of essays examining the intersection of design and feminist theory. Featuring 43 contributors from 16 different countries, the book explores how sexism is ingrained in the design of many artifacts and systems, and how the design process can either reinforce—or push back against—gender-based oppression. 

Hindley calls Place, who is an assistant professor of graphic design at the University of Arkansas, an important emerging voice in the design world. “She has created the book she wishes she had to navigate the sexism she has encountered in her career and that still exists within the field.”

Unbound Books 

Founded in 2011 by three authors—Dan Kieran, John Mitchinson, and Justin Pollard—who were feeling disillusioned with the publishing industry, Unbound Books is a London-based publisher inspired by the 18th-century subscription model that authors like Samuel Johnston used to distribute their works but powered by crowdfunding and the internet.

“We focus on four new projects per month,” says Mitchinson, Unbound’s publisher. “The company looks for unique projects that can develop a movement behind them.”

A prime example is 42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams, edited by Kevin Jon Davies, September 2023, ISBN 9781800182684. It’s a full-color, large-format book featuring never-before-published material from the author of the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” sci-fi series. After his death in 2001, Adams’s papers were loaned to his old college. Reproduced here in conjunction with Adams’s family and literary estate, the notebooks, letters, scripts, jokes, and speeches in this collection provide insight into their author’s brilliant mind.

“It’s bursting with ideas about the future,” Mitchinson notes. In one speech given at a tech conference, Adams talked about what he’d like to see in an ebook several years before the Kindle was introduced.

I Could Read the Sky by Timothy O’Grady and Steve Pyke, June 2023, ISBN 9781800182714, is a new edition of the 1997 classic novel about an Irish laborer in London told through words and photos. O’Grady’s vivid prose and Pyke’s starkly beautiful photographs combine to make a unique work of fiction that captures the lives of migrant workers. Mitchinson published the original version when he was with Harvill Press. “It became a cult classic but never found its proper shape the first time around,” he says.

Three new projects from British artist and writer Jackie Morris are being released in October 2023. The Unwinding Cards, ISBN 9781800182677, is a collection of 100 postcards featuring artwork and text from Morris’s best-selling book, The Unwinding & Other Dreamings. The front of each card features one of her paintings from the book; on the back is a short quote, spell, or poem, as well as space for writing a message.

In addition, Morris is creating a series of beautifully illustrated “accordion books” that unfold to reveal watercolor images of an animal on one side. The other side features text inspired by the same animal. Fox (ISBN 9781800182042) and Otter (ISBN 9781800182059) are the first two works in the series; others will include Hare, Hound, Cat, and Owl.

CamCat Books

Founded by author and entrepreneur Sue Arroyo in 2019, CamCat focuses on genre fiction (sci-fi/fantasy, horror, mystery/suspense, romance, westerns) for adults and young adults. The company’s ethos is “books to live in,” which it defines as stories that create an immersive experience by drawing readers into another world.

“We produce books that you can curl up on the couch with and stay up long past your bedtime to read,” says Editorial Director Helga Schier. “Our secret sauce is our utter commitment to quality.” CamCat’s author-centric approach is a key element of this strategy: The company empowers authors to be heavily involved in all aspects of their books, including cover and interior design, marketing, and audio production. “As our founder says, we want authors to feel proud to stand in the middle of Times Square and shout out, ‘This is my book,’” Schier explains.

Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons, September 2023, ISBN 9780744302790, is a paranormal story of aspiring comedienne Raely, who survives a train wreck that kills her best friend and awakens her ability to see ghosts—including one spirit who has watched over her all her life and another who is hell-bent on destroying her. This book from a new author to watch is equal parts scary, poignant, and hilarious. “It has a strong, kick-ass heroine, and it’s told in a sassy, first-person voice,” Schier says. “I don’t say this often, but I cried at the end.”

The gruesome horror thriller Girl Among Crows by Brendan Vayo, November 2023, ISBN 9780744306552, is the debut novel from a college-level creative writing instructor. When two boys vanish from heroine Daphne Gauge’s hometown, she notices similarities to her own brother’s disappearance several years earlier. As Daphne investigates the boys’ disappearances, she becomes a target herself—and she suspects that a mysterious cult of Norse god worshippers is involved. “This book is in the vein of both Gillian Flynn and Stephen King,” Schier observes.

The Oxygen Farmer by Colin Holmes, December 2023, ISBN 9780744306675, is a sci-fi/fantasy story based in the near future. When a curmudgeonly oxygen farmer on the moon stumbles onto a hidden facility containing nuclear warheads placed during the Apollo space missions in the 1960s (and pointed toward the Soviet Union), his discovery could threaten diplomacy on Earth if the secret should emerge.

Parallax Press 

Parallax Press is a nonprofit publisher founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, whom Oprah Winfrey called “the monk who brought mindfulness to the world.” Parallax publishes books and media on the art of mindful living and Engaged Buddhism, which applies the teachings of Buddhism to real-life situations to help transform suffering and injustice. 

Parallax publishes 12 to 15 books per year, says Director of Sales and Marketing Liz McKellar. Its goal is to bring about a more joyful, healthy, and compassionate society.

How to Smile by Thich Nhat Hanh, November 2022, ISBN 9781952692246, is the final book in Parallax’s “How to” series of introductory guides to mindfulness, which have sold millions of copies worldwide. Written before Thich Nhat Hanh’s death last year at the age of 95, it includes simple, refreshing meditations and exercises to help readers find moments of happiness and peace, even amid hardship. 

Plum Blossom Books is an imprint of Parallax Press devoted exclusively to children’s books. Where Did Poppy Go? by Gail Silver, illustrated by Amanda Quartey, November 2022, ISBN 9781952692246, is a book that helps children ages 5–9 navigate loss, grief, and renewal. In this touching story of a father comforting his son after the boy’s beloved grandfather “Poppy” dies, children come to see how our loved ones remain with us forever, in everything we do. 

Another Plum Blossom book, Mop Rides the Waves of Courage by Jaimal Yogis, April 2023, ISBN 9781952692413, is the third book in a series about a young surfer named Mop in which readers ages 4–8 learn how to regulate their emotions. In this book, Mop learns to overcome his fear of public speaking.

Greystone Books Ltd. 

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with offices in the U.S. and the U.K., Greystone Books Ltd. publishes nonfiction works on nature and the environment, science, social issues, and health and wellness.

In 2019, the company started two imprints to nurture the next generation of readers. Greystone Kids publishes fiction and nonfiction picture books, as well as nonfiction books for middle grade and young adult readers, in similar subject areas as the adult publishing program. Aldana Libros brings unique picture books from around the world to children in North America, translating them into English and sometimes Spanish.

“Across all our imprints, we focus on books that explore the health of the planet, ourselves, and our communities,” says Publisher Jen Gauthier. “We aim to change the way that readers look at the world or themselves.”

A good example is The Lost Supper: Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past by Taras Grescoe, September 2023, ISBN 9781771647632. There are many frightening headlines about the future of food, from the effects of climate change to the health consequences of our ultra-processed diets. Many of the proposed solutions, such as lab-grown meat, seem equally frightening. 

“The Lost Supper is a hopeful manifesto arguing that the solutions to many of our anxieties about food are there waiting for us in the past, if we’re willing to listen,” says Editor Paula Ayer. “The good news is that eating more like our ancestors is not only better for the planet and our health, but much more delicious and interesting, too.”

The Two-Headed Whale: Life, Loss, and the Tangled Legacy of Whaling in the Antarctic by Sandy Winterbottom, October 2023, ISBN 9781778400902, is a parable of environmental and human exploitation that “resonates with our current climate crisis and endless drive for resource extraction,” Gauthier says. “It’s also an engaging travel narrative to a beautiful place few of us will see in person in our lives.”

Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope, and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls by Angela Sterritt, May 2023, ISBN 9781771648165, is a memoir from an award-winning journalist who writes about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. “I found Sterritt’s personal story of survival both heartbreaking and uplifting,” says Editor Jennifer Croll. The book “cuts deep with personal detail and hard-hitting true crime journalism.”

Dexterity Collective 

Founded in 2017 and based in Nashville, Dexterity is an award-winning indie publisher and publishing services company built on community. Consisting of more than 100 writers, editors, printers, and other professionals, Dexterity publishes its own titles and provides publishing services to book creators and independent authors.

“We publish helpful, hopeful, and inspiring books that make the world a better place,” says CEO Matt West. About half of Dexterity’s titles are faith-based works intended for a broad audience, he says; the other half are nonfiction works such as biographies, self-help books, and other lifestyle titles “that help people get where they want to go.” 

Last year, Dexterity appeared on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing U.S. companies, and this fall it’s bringing 20 new titles to market. So Long as It’s Wild: Standing Strong After My Famous Walk Across America by Barbara Jenkins, September 2023, ISBN 9781947297715, is the company’s first work from a New York Times best-selling author. 

Jenkins, who grew up in the Ozarks without running water, became famous in 1976 along with her then-husband, Peter, for their ambitious walk across America. That journey became the inspiration for their book The Walk West, which sold more than 12 million copies. So Long as It’s Wild “tells her own version of the story for a new generation of readers,” West says. “It’s a story that will resonate with many people.”

Mom Enough: Inspiring Letters for the Wonderfully Exhausting but Totally Normal Days of Motherhood by Rachel Marie Martin, September 2023, ISBN 9781947297821, is a collection of love letters to moms everywhere from a blogger, influencer, and founder of the popular social media community FindingJoy.net. Martin’s heartfelt letters aim to inspire moms through difficult times and remind them that they’re doing enough. “Rachel writes about the ups and downs of motherhood with a steady, encouraging voice,” West says. Her overarching message is to live a life of joy and gratitude—and set aside the need to compare yourself with others.

Flying Sideways: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Stunt Pilot by Fred North, October 2023, ISBN 9781947297876, is a memoir from Hollywood’s leading helicopter pilot. With more than 200 film credits to his name, including Inception and Fast X, North was the go-to pilot for helicopter camera work and action scenes—and this book tells his gripping story. “It keeps the pages turning,” West says.

SPONSORED CONTENT