Independent publishing company
Verso Books
Nonfiction, History, Memoir
Published Updated Reviewed every month · next review November 2026
About Verso
Verso Books is open to nonfiction proposals by email from authors without an agent. Send a proposal of up to 15 pages with an overview, chapter summaries, your background, markets, competing titles and a timetable. No reply within two months means no. It does not consider unsolicited fiction.
Verso Books is a radical publisher based in London, with an office in New York, whose roots go back to New Left Books in 1970. Most of its list is nonfiction: political and social theory, economics, philosophy, history and international politics from radical and left perspectives, and the list has grown to include biography and memoir.
Verso reads nonfiction proposals sent directly by email, to separate addresses for North America and for the UK and the rest of the world. It does not consider unsolicited fiction or paper submissions, and it replies within two months only if interested.
What Verso is looking for
- Political and social theory
- Economics and philosophy
- History and international politics
- Biography and memoir
Publishes
- History
- Memoir
- Nonfiction
Readers
- Adult
How to submit to Verso
From its own guidelines- Write a proposal of no more than 15 pages: themes, contents with chapter summaries, your background, markets, competing titles and timetable.
- Email North American proposals to submissions@versobooks.com.
- Email UK and rest of world proposals to submissions@verso.co.uk.
- No reply within two months means Verso will not take it forward.
Is Verso right for your book?
A good fit if
Nonfiction writers and scholars working from radical or left perspectives with a clear argument and readership.
Look elsewhere if
Fiction writers, and anyone hoping to submit on paper.
Books published by Verso
Well-known titles- Against MethodPaul Feyerabend
- The Clash of FundamentalismsTariq Ali
- The Invention of the Jewish PeopleShlomo Sand
- The Holocaust IndustryNorman Finkelstein
- Planet of SlumsMike Davis
Questions about Verso
Does Verso Books accept unsolicited proposals?
Yes, for nonfiction. Verso reads proposals of up to 15 pages sent directly by email, with no agent needed. North American authors email submissions@versobooks.com and everyone else submissions@verso.co.uk. It does not consider unsolicited fiction or postal submissions. Read the steps on this profile before you send anything.
What should a Verso proposal include?
Verso asks for an overview of the book's main themes, a contents list with a paragraph per chapter, your background, the main markets, competing titles and a writing timetable. Keep it to fifteen pages or fewer and make the argument clear from the first page.
How long does Verso take to reply?
Verso replies within two months if it is interested. If you hear nothing after two months, it will not take the proposal forward. Use that window to refine your proposal for other radical and political nonfiction publishers. Send exactly what the guidelines ask for, and keep a note of the date.
Listing history
- Checked on the publisher's own site
