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Witherby Publishing Group

Witherby Publishing Group was established in 2008, initially as Witherby Seamanship Limited, through a merger between Witherbys Publishing and Seamanship International Ltd. The Witherby business dates back to 1740 when Thomas Witherby opened a stationery shop in Birchin Lane, London, next to the Sword Blade Coffee house, providing stationery and printing for the newly founded commercial marine insurance market.

Established: 2008

Types of books published: Specialist publisher of marine training, reference and regulatory materials, providing the finest books and publications to the shipping industry.

Submission details: Send a synopsis of a sample chapter, a CV and supporting information. Please send submissions by email or by post.

Swan & Horn

Swan & Horn is a small, independent publishing house with a focus on health-related non-fiction for the public and professionals. We are expanding into fiction and non-fiction for children, also with health and wellbeing messages. Our books address the challenges of modern living, to make complex subjects accessible to non-academics, and to provide important insight, foster curiosity, expand thinking, and stimulate collaboration between disciplines. We also provide expert editorial and publishing services to self-publishing authors.

We differ from most publishers in as much as our authors deal with a single person through the entire publishing process, namely the Managing Editor, Maria Carter. This gives authors a rich and rewarding working relationship, whereby they benefit from an unparalleled level of continuity and engagement. Collaboration is encouraged every step of the way.

Established: 2011

Publications: (planned): 1–5 per year

Types of books published: Healthcare and health-related, including public health, clinical practice, medical science, ethical and social issues, mental health, psychology, parenting, and worldviews that have an impact on human well-being.

Submission details: We actively solicit material in the above areas, and from authors who approach us for editorial support (whose work lies within our publishing remit). Happy to hear from authors by email (maria.carter@gmx.com), with a synopsis of the book, an outline of their ambitions, and a sample of text (of at least 1000 words).

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is an independent publisher of research in Scottish history and archaeology. Our publishing activity dates back more than 200 years to the Enlightenment: the first volume of the Society’s transactions, Archaeologia Scotica, was published in 1792. We follow in the tradition today by producing research papers, reports and books written by leading experts on Scotland’s past.

Our list includes many large-format, highly illustrated non-fiction books, such as Painting the Town: Scottish Urban History in Art, as well as academic monographs, including Portmahomack on Tarbat Ness: Changing Ideologies in North-east Scotland, Sixth to Sixteenth Century AD.

We are a charity advocating for the heritage sector and we work towards sharing the knowledge of Scotland’s past as widely as possible. Open Access is a key part of the Society’s publishing programme and we offer a range of Open Access options for all our publications.

Established: 1780

Types of publications: Scholarly and non-fiction books on Scottish history and archaeology; excavation reports from sites across Scotland; and papers covering new research, ideas, interpretations and discoveries. All publications are fully peer-reviewed.

Submission details: Please contact the Managing Editor with a summary of your project in the first instance. See our website for further information on making a new submission.

Scottish Text Society

The Scottish Text Society is the leading publisher of older Scots literature. Since its foundation the Society has played a significant part in reviving interest in the literature and languages of Scotland. It has published around 150 volumes covering poetry, drama and prose from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries, each of which combines scholarship and accessibility.

Texts currently available include reprints of the Society’s editions of the great epic poems of the Wars of Independence, Barbour’s Bruce and Hary’s Wallace; a revised edition of The Shorter Poems of Gavin Douglas; an edition of the poetry of Scotland’s greatest Renaissance poet, Alexander Montgomerie, Poems; and Sir David Hume’s History of the House of Angus. In 2008 the Society published editions of important late-medieval poetry, The Poems of Walter Kennedy and Golagros and Gawane. In collaboration with the National Library of Scotland it has also issued a DVD, The Chepman and Myllar Prints, which gives access, via digitised facsimile, to the work of Scotland’s first printers.

Established: 1882

Publications (yearly average): 1

Types of books published: Editions of Scottish texts, chiefly of the medieval and Renaissance periods and including works of historiography, theology and imaginative literature

Submission details: Potential editors should send an outline of the proposed edition to the secretary, for submission to the council. Guidelines for Editors and a proforma for proposal submissions can be found on the Society’s website.

NMS Enterprises Limited – Publishing

We produce lavishly illustrated catalogues for Museum exhibitions such as The Jacobites; Scotland’s Early Silver; Rip it up: The story of Scottish pop; Embroidered Stories: Scottish Samplers and Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland.

Our very varied list includes: The Lewis Chessmen Unmasked; Early Medieval Scotland; Commando Country; Scottish Photography: The First Thirty Years; Sir Walter Scott: A Life in Story, Jock’s Jocks: Voices of Scottish Soldiers from the First World War and Going to the Berries: Voices of Perthshire and Angus Seasonal Workers – these last two are co-publications with the European Ethnological Research Centre.

We also publish the Scotties activity series for young readers at home or at school. Titles currently available include The Jacobites; Mary, Queen of Scots; Scotland’s Vikings; and Scottish Kings and Queens.

Most of our books come through Museum curators or are commissioned, but the Publishing Director is open to ideas of scholarly or popular Scottish interest in our subject areas.

Established: 1985 as National Museums of Scotland; 2002 as NMS Enterprises Limited – Publishing
Publications (yearly average): 10
Types of books published: Trade; scholarly books on history, art, archaeology, science, technology, geology, ethnography, natural history; popular Scottish history and culture; biography; photographic archive.
Submission details: Send an outline and a covering letter in the first instance.

National Galleries Scotland

The National Galleries of Scotland has been publishing books for over 100 years. The publishing house of the National Galleries of Scotland publishes a wide range of high-quality titles on the visual arts, combining rigorous research, lavish illustration and engaging writing.

As well as publishing books that provide access to Scotland’s national collection and that also accompany a range of exhibitions, we publish a number of titles on different aspects of art.

Our titles are designed to delight those who are unable to come to the Galleries in person and to enhance and provide deeper information for those who are able to visit.

There is something for everyone, including those seeking a deeper understanding of art history. Whatever the topic, all of our books are accessible and underpinned by careful and scholarly research.

100% of all profits support the National Galleries of Scotland.

Types of books published: Art books, photography books, collections and catalogues of the highest quality to enhance and enrich the exhibitions and collections.

Submission details: please refer to the author submission guidelines on our website.

Moonlight Publishing Ltd

Moonlight Publishing was founded in 1980 to create a new kind of information book for young children. From the start our aim was to explain how things work and how different facts are related to one another, why the world is as it is and why people and things interact in everyday life as they do.

Discovery has always been the theme behind our publishing and most of our series are named accordingly. Our most successful series, First Discovery, has sold over 40 million copies in 30 languages around the world, which proves that these books have a universal appeal.

Although we are a small independent company, we operate all over the world through publishing partnerships.

The majority of our readers are repeat buyers; many collect our series. Many customers buy direct from us because they can’t find the full range of our books in bookshops.

Established: 1980

Types of books published: Children’s illustrated non-fiction

Submission details: We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts

Hodder Gibson

Hodder Gibson publishes the widest and largest range of textbooks and revision guides in Scotland – including the award-winning How to Pass series – and is the home of TeeJay Maths, Scotland’s No. 1 Maths publisher and also RS Assessment, well known in Scottish Schools for their Maths and Reading Assessments, such as MALT and Progress in Reading Assessments, used in some of the ongoing initiatives in Scotland. Our publishing is largely focused on the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, providing resources for primary schools, secondary schools and FE colleges as well as continuing professional development for Scottish teachers. We also publish a growing number of electronic support materials for interactive learning.

We won the Times Educational Supplement Scotland/Saltire Society Award for Educational Book of the Year on no fewer than eight occasions in the competition’s twelve-year history, and were commended or highly commended in three of the other four years.

Established: 2002 (part of Hodder Education), Hodder Education established 1906, Robert Gibson established 1874

Publications (yearly average): 50

Types of books published: Educational textbooks and revision guides for the Scottish curriculum

Submission details: Contact Rosie Howie in the first instance

Historic Environment Scotland

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is the lead public body for Scotland’s historic environment: a charity dedicated to the advancement of heritage, culture, education and environmental protection.

Our books tell the stories of Scotland. From landmark works of expert research to creative collaborations with internationally renowned authors, our aim is to explore ideas and start conversations about the past, present and future of our nation’s history and heritage.

Established: 2015 (as RCAHMS, 1908)

Publications: 50

Types of books published: Both general trade and specialised books exploring the history of Scotland, and in particular its architecture, archaeology and industry.

Submission details: We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts

HarperCollins

HarperCollins UK publishes a wide range of books, from cutting-edge contemporary fiction, to block-busting thrillers, from fantasy literature and children’s stories to enduring classics. It also publishes a great selection of non-fiction titles, including history, celebrity memoirs, biographies, popular science, dictionaries, maps, reference titles and education books, and its digital business is thriving.

With nearly 200 years of history, HarperCollins publishes some of the world’s foremost authors, from Nobel Prize winners to worldwide bestsellers. In addition it publishes the works of Agatha Christie, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. It was the first major UK trade publisher to go carbon neutral in December 2007. HarperCollins UK also offers a full range of third party distribution services including all aspects of digital delivery.

Established: 1819

Submission details: HarperCollins does not accept unsolicited manuscripts: see the HarperCollins website.

Types of books published: popular and literary fiction; non-fiction; biography; history; dictionaries and reference; children’s; bibles; educational; sport; travel; home and leisure; and cartographic