Independent publishing company
Beacon Press
Children's, Diverse and BIPOC voices, History
Published Updated Reviewed every month · next review November 2026
About Beacon Press
Beacon Press is open to email queries for general trade nonfiction. Send a 250-word query to editorial@beacon.org. If Beacon is interested, it asks for a full proposal within three weeks. It does not review poetry or self-help.
Beacon Press is an independent publisher in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Its publishing mission is currently general trade, and trade books with a secondary scholarly market are acceptable. Its list covers activism, biography and memoir, disability, education, environment, feminism and gender, history, politics, queer perspectives, race and ethnicity, religion, science and medicine, plus YA and children’s books. Titles include Cast Out by Joseph Margulies.
Authors can send a query by email. Beacon asks writers to review its mission statement and publications first, then email a 250-word query describing the project to editorial@beacon.org. If an editor is interested, Beacon emails within three weeks to request a full proposal. It cannot respond to all submissions, so no reply means no. It does not accept hard copies, faxes or phone calls about submissions.
What Beacon Press is looking for
- General trade nonfiction, including books with a secondary scholarly market
- Activism, politics, education and environment
- Biography and memoir, history and religion
- Books on disability, feminism and gender, race and ethnicity or queer perspectives
- Science and medicine
- YA and children's books
Publishes
- Children's
- Diverse and BIPOC voices
- History
- LGBTQ+
- Memoir
- Nonfiction
- Religion and Spirituality
- Young adult
Readers
- Adult
- Young adult
How to submit to Beacon Press
From its own guidelines- Read Beacon's mission statement and recent publications.
- Write a 250-word query describing your project.
- Email the query to editorial@beacon.org.
- Wait three weeks for a request for a full proposal; no reply means no.
Is Beacon Press right for your book?
A good fit if
Beacon Press suits authors of general trade nonfiction on social, political, historical or religious subjects who can pitch the book in a short email query.
Look elsewhere if
Look elsewhere for poetry, self-help or purely academic projects. Beacon does not review, answer or return new poetry or self-help.
Books published by Beacon Press
Well-known titles- Cast OutJoseph Margulies
Questions about Beacon Press
Does Beacon Press accept unsolicited manuscripts?
Beacon Press accepts unsolicited queries, not full manuscripts. Authors can send a 250-word query by email, and Beacon requests a full proposal only if it is interested. It does not review new poetry or self-help, and it does not take purely academic projects. Hard copy submissions, faxes and phone calls to staff about submissions are not accepted.
How do I submit to Beacon Press?
Email a 250-word query describing your project to editorial@beacon.org. Before you write, review Beacon's mission statement and publications to make sure your book fits its general trade list. Keep the query focused on what the book covers and why it matters. Do not send a full proposal unless Beacon asks for one, and do not contact individual staff.
How long does Beacon Press take to reply?
If Beacon Press is interested, it emails within three weeks to request a full proposal. Beacon cannot respond to all submissions, so if you hear nothing after three weeks, treat that as a no. You can then move on to other publishers. Do not call or contact individual staff members to follow up, since the guidelines ask writers not to.
Listing history
- Checked on the publisher's own site
