A single book proposal got me a three-book deal with Penguin Random House SEA. No finished manuscript. Just a chapter outline, three sample chapters, an author platform summary, and a few comparable titles. That is what non-fiction publishers in Singapore actually want to see, and it is the part most publishing advice skips.
Most of the "top 50 Singapore publisher" lists you find online never mention that non-fiction runs on proposals. Many of them also miss Penguin Random House SEA entirely, which is genuinely strange given it is one of the biggest non-fiction acquirers in Southeast Asia. If you are sitting on half a manuscript, waiting to finish before you pitch, you are doing it the slow way. Publishers acquire ideas, platforms, and angles. They commission the writing once the deal is signed.
This guide is built as a working pitching resource for non-fiction authors. It covers every Singapore publisher actively acquiring non-fiction in 2026, what each one wants in a proposal, how long they take to respond, and what kinds of books land where. Every submission link was verified on the publish date. Use it as your working shortlist.
For non-fiction, you pitch a proposal, not a completed manuscript. Singapore's most active non-fiction publishers in 2026 are Penguin Random House SEA, Marshall Cavendish International Asia, Epigram Books, Straits Times Press, Rishita Books, and a handful of academic and faith-focused presses. Response times run 2 to 6 months. None require a literary agent.
Which Singapore publishers are currently accepting non-fiction pitches?
As of April 2026, the Singapore publishers actively acquiring non-fiction are Penguin Random House SEA, Marshall Cavendish International Asia, Epigram Books, Straits Times Press, Ethos Books, Rishita Books, Armour Publishing, Asiapac Books, Candid Creation, and the academic presses World Scientific, NUS Press, and ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. Each accepts a proposal from a first-time author. None require a literary agent.
The submission channels vary. Penguin Random House SEA uses a Publish With Us form. Marshall Cavendish uses a dedicated email. Epigram routes through Submittable. Rishita Books handles pitches through their Publish With Us page. Academic presses route proposals to commissioning editors by discipline. None of these publishers expect a completed manuscript at the pitch stage. All of them expect a well-built proposal.
Response time is where first-time non-fiction authors get caught off guard. Two to six months for a full decision is standard, and Ethos Books explicitly allows itself five to ten working days just to review your cover letter before deciding whether to open the proposal at all (Ethos Books, 2026). Plan your calendar around that timeline rather than hoping to beat it.
The Singapore non-fiction publisher directory
This section lists the Singapore publishers that actively acquire non-fiction in 2026, grouped by type of non-fiction, with direct submission links, response times, and notes on what each one wants in a proposal. Every URL was verified on the publish date.
Publishers are grouped by primary focus: trade non-fiction (business, memoir, Singapore-interest), general and commercial, academic and scholarly, children's and educational, and multilingual or niche presses. Where a publisher sits across categories, I placed it where their non-fiction list leans heaviest.
Penguin Random House SEA
The regional arm of the world's largest trade publisher, headquartered in Singapore. Acquires fiction and non-fiction across different genres, with a published non-fiction catalogue spanning business, memoir, self-help, spirituality, and current affairs. Submit via their Publish With Us page or by email to submissions@penguinrandomhouse.sg. For non-fiction, send an annotated chapter list, synopsis, author bio, target audience, and comparable titles. This is the most prestigious non-fiction destination in the region, and the one most top-50 Singapore publisher lists miss.
Submit via Publish With Us →Marshall Cavendish International (Asia)
The largest trade publisher in the region and a workhorse for non-fiction. Strong lists in business, biography, history, parenting, and cookery. For non-fiction proposals, send a table of contents, brief chapter summaries, and the opening three chapters. Two months of silence equals a rejection.
Visit Marshall Cavendish →Epigram Books
Singapore's best-known independent trade publisher. Non-fiction list includes narrative non-fiction, memoir, Singapore history and culture, and illustrated non-fiction for kids and adults. Accepts proposals through Submittable with chapter outline and sample chapters. Also runs the Epigram Books Fiction Prize, open to writers from Southeast Asia, with a S$25,000 award. (Also publishes fiction, but for non-fiction pitchers, this is the primary channel.)
Submit via Submittable →Straits Times Press
The book publishing arm of the Straits Times, owned by Singapore Press Holdings. Focused almost entirely on Singapore-interest non-fiction: biography, history, political memoir, current affairs, and institutional profiles. No public submissions page; reach out via their Facebook page or through SPH contact channels to find the current commissioning editor.
Contact via Facebook →Rishita Books
Boutique Singapore publishing house founded by Jit Puru. Author-first hybrid model with end-to-end support: developmental editing, rewriting, proofreading, cover design, layout, printing, ISBN, and distribution across Singapore and Malaysia. Authors retain copyright. Strong fit for speaker-authors and business thought leaders who want professional production without waiting on a traditional house.
Visit Rishita Books →Ethos Books
Independent press with a focus on Singapore and Southeast Asian voices. Non-fiction list includes essays, graphic memoir, and biography. Does not publish children's titles. Ethos prefers a full manuscript but will also review a detailed proposal with outline, chapter summaries, and sample pages.
Read submission guidelines →Landmark Books
Small press focused on Singapore-interest non-fiction with a historical or cultural lens. Publishes biographies, institutional histories, and local culture titles. Accepts submissions by email per their own submissions page.
See submission details →Candid Creation Publishing
Small independent publisher with a non-fiction list across business, motivational, and self-development titles. They offer a complimentary exploration session for prospective authors before you formally pitch. Best initial contact is by email or phone.
Visit Candid Creation →Times Publishing Group
One of Singapore's oldest publishing houses, covering educational, reference, and professional non-fiction. Proposals route through specific imprints or commissioning editors rather than a single gateway.
Visit Times Publishing →Talisman Publishing
Publishes illustrated reference titles on Asian culture, food, travel, and history. Niche focus, smaller list. Proposals should be tightly aligned with the existing catalogue.
Visit Talisman Publishing →Editions Didier Millet (EDM)
Singapore-based publisher (since 1989) of illustrated coffee-table non-fiction on Southeast Asian history, culture, and design, with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Bali, and Paris. The clearest route for heavily illustrated non-fiction project pitches. Heads up: their old edmbooks.com domain no longer belongs to EDM, so reach them through their Facebook page or by phone at +65 6749 3551 rather than any email at that domain.
Contact EDM on Facebook →World Scientific Publishing
Singapore-based academic publisher founded in 1981, with a catalogue of peer-reviewed scientific books and journals. Proposals go through commissioning editors by discipline rather than a single submission inbox.
See author resources →NUS Press
Academic press of the National University of Singapore. Publishes scholarly monographs, translations, and edited volumes on Southeast Asia. Accepts book proposals with chapter outline and sample chapter.
See NUS Press author page →ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute
Academic publisher with 40+ years of history, focused on Southeast Asian politics, economics, and security studies. Proposals should be policy-relevant or research-grounded. Submit via the book proposal form on their For Authors page, or email publish@iseas.edu.sg. Proposals that fit their programme will get an invitation to submit a full manuscript for peer review.
See ISEAS Publishing author page →Armour Publishing
Publisher of Christian non-fiction, including devotional, leadership, and faith-in-practice titles. Clearly faith-focused list. Armour only replies to shortlisted proposals, so no response within a few months means the pitch has moved on.
See submission guidelines →Asiapac Books
Children's publisher with a strong non-fiction list in Asian culture, history, and educational content for young readers. Accepts pitches by email with a short proposal and sample chapters. Shortlisted proposals get a reply; everything else does not.
Visit Asiapac Books →Shing Lee Publishers
Long-established educational publisher for the Singapore school market. Proposals should align with MOE syllabi and aim at primary or secondary students.
Visit Shing Lee Publishers →Pan Asia Publishing
Focused on the Chinese-speaking market in Singapore. Strong Chinese-language non-fiction list covering educational and general-interest titles. Best reached by phone or website contact form.
Visit Pan Asia Publishing →Lingzi Media
Chinese-language publisher with a non-fiction catalogue covering lifestyle, health, and educational titles. Accepts enquiries by email or Facebook.
Visit Lingzi Media →Pustaka Nasional
Singapore's long-standing Malay-language publisher. Strong non-fiction list in Malay religious studies and educational content. Submissions by email or phone.
Visit Pustaka Nasional →How do you pitch a non-fiction book proposal to a Singapore publisher?
A Singapore non-fiction proposal has five parts: a short query letter that names the publisher and positions your book, an annotated chapter outline, two or three sample chapters, an author platform summary (your speaking, media, and audience), and two or three comparable titles. Send it through the channel the publisher specifies. You do not need a finished manuscript.
The query letter is where most first-time authors trip up. A generic "please find my proposal attached" gets deleted. A strong Singapore query names the publisher's recent list ("I noticed your 2025 list included X and Y, and my book sits alongside those"), states the genre and working word count in the first three lines, and summarises the book's core idea in two sentences. Keep the whole letter under 300 words.
The chapter outline is the heart of a non-fiction proposal. Each chapter gets two to four sentences describing what it covers and why that chapter matters to the reader. Commissioning editors use this to judge whether the book has a coherent argument and whether it is saleable. A sloppy chapter outline kills more proposals than a weak sample chapter.
For sample chapters, Marshall Cavendish asks for the opening three chapters of non-fiction (Marshall Cavendish, 2026). Penguin Random House SEA wants an annotated chapter list plus sample chapters and a clear intended-reader profile (Penguin SEA, 2026). Epigram's Submittable form sets its own file limits. Ethos is the outlier: it wants the full manuscript even for non-fiction.
The author platform section is where non-fiction wins or loses. Editors at Penguin SEA, Marshall Cavendish, and Rishita Books all look at your speaking history, media appearances, LinkedIn following, and existing audience before they decide whether to commission. A book with a mediocre proposal and a strong platform beats a brilliant proposal with no platform. That is the reality of non-fiction acquisition in this market.
Rejection triggers most Singapore editors flag
The fastest way to get a no is a proposal that does not name the publisher or their list. The second fastest is pitching outside their stated focus. I have seen authors pitch Christian devotionals to Epigram (no faith list), business books to Ethos (essays and memoir, not corporate non-fiction), and memoir to Shing Lee (school textbooks only). Read the last ten non-fiction titles a publisher put out before you pitch. If your book does not look like it belongs on the same shelf, do not send it.
What kinds of non-fiction do Singapore publishers actually want?
Singapore publishers cluster tightly around non-fiction sub-categories rather than acquiring broadly. Business and self-help go to Penguin Random House SEA, Marshall Cavendish, and Rishita Books. Singapore-interest biography and history go to Straits Times Press, Epigram, and Landmark. Academic work goes to World Scientific, NUS Press, and ISEAS. Illustrated and reference non-fiction goes to Talisman and EDM. Matching sub-category to publisher matters more than proposal polish in the first-pass filter.
Chinese-language non-fiction has its own ecosystem through Lingzi Media and Pan Asia, which sit entirely outside the English-language lists most authors look at first. Malay-language religious and educational non-fiction routes through Pustaka Nasional. Christian non-fiction has a dedicated home at Armour Publishing.
The strongest commercial non-fiction categories in Singapore right now are leadership and management, personal finance, entrepreneurship, memoir tied to a public figure, and Singapore history and culture. Self-help and spirituality sell well through Penguin SEA. Business books with a speaker-author behind them (keynote circuit, consulting practice, corporate audience) are the easiest to sell to Rishita Books, Marshall Cavendish, and Penguin SEA, because the publisher knows the author will move inventory.
Traditional, hybrid, or self-publish your non-fiction book?
Traditional non-fiction publishing in Singapore costs the author nothing upfront but pays 8 to 15 percent royalties and takes 12 to 24 months from signed contract to finished book. Hybrid models like Rishita Books sit in the middle, charging an upfront package fee with faster turnaround. Self-publishing runs S$500 to S$5,000 upfront, gets you to print in weeks, and keeps 35 to 70 percent of sales. For non-fiction, the right answer usually depends on whether you already have a speaking or consulting platform that can move books directly.
Running the numbers with a non-fiction lens clarifies the tradeoff. A speaker-author selling 500 copies back-of-room at S$30 each pockets roughly S$15,000 gross with self-publishing (after print costs at S$4 to S$6 per copy), or about S$1,500 in royalties on the same sales through a traditional deal. That is a 10x difference on the same sales volume. Traditional wins when the book needs the imprint on the spine for credibility, access to Kinokuniya, Times, and the National Library, or when the speaker-author does not want to run their own inventory.
The catch with self-publishing is distribution. Traditional publishers like Penguin SEA and Marshall Cavendish put your book into Kinokuniya, Times Bookstore, the National Library, and corporate bulk channels. Self-published authors have to negotiate each of those shelves individually or accept that most sales will come from Amazon, direct-to-reader, and back-of-room at events. If your book is tied to a speaking practice, that is fine. If you are writing for general readers who browse bookstore shelves, it is a real constraint.
When self-publishing or hybrid makes more sense for non-fiction
Self-publishing or a hybrid publisher like Rishita Books is the stronger play when you already have a speaking practice, your book serves a specific professional purpose (a speaker book, a corporate giveaway, a client-acquisition tool), or you need to publish fast to match a conference or product launch. I have self-published alongside my three-book Penguin Random House SEA deal because the speaking circuit rewards speed and margins, and those self-published books pay for themselves within a few quarters of back-of-room sales at keynotes.
Singapore-specific support is worth knowing about. The National Arts Council Creation Grant provides funding for writers developing non-fiction literary work, and the Singapore Book Publishers Association runs training and market development programmes that members access on behalf of their authors.
How long does a Singapore publisher take to respond?
Most Singapore publishers acknowledge a submission within 5 to 10 working days and give a full evaluation decision in 3 to 6 months. Ethos Books publicly states a 4-month benchmark (Ethos Books, 2026). Epigram says up to 6 months and asks writers to assume rejection if they do not hear back. Marshall Cavendish treats silence at 2 months as a decline.
Plan for this timeline rather than hoping to beat it. If you submit in April, you should not expect a substantive response before July at the earliest, and you may wait until October. This is not a sign that your manuscript has been lost. It is the standard pace of editorial reading queues at small and mid-size presses.
Simultaneous submissions are a grey area. Some publishers explicitly allow them if you flag the book has been sent elsewhere. Others ask for exclusives. Ethos allows simultaneous submissions and asks you to state so in the cover letter. Epigram does not explicitly forbid it. If you are unsure, ask in your query and respect the answer.
When to follow up: wait at least one week past the publisher's stated response window, then send a short polite email referencing your original submission date and title. One follow-up is appropriate. Two is pushy. Three gets your submission dropped.
What do SBPA and NAC actually do for authors?
The Singapore Book Publishers Association (SBPA) is the national trade body for publishers. It does not accept manuscripts directly, but it funds industry infrastructure like the Singapore Book Fair and training programmes that member publishers use. The National Arts Council (NAC) administers funding grants that support writers directly, including the Creation Grant for literary work in development.
SBPA is useful to authors as a verification tool. If a publisher claims to be Singapore-based but is not an SBPA member, that is a signal worth checking. You can confirm membership through the SBPA site at singaporebookpublishers.sg or contact the secretariat at info@singaporebookpublishers.sg. The annual Singapore Book Fair is also a practical venue for meeting commissioning editors in person.
NAC matters for a different reason. Its Creation Grant funds writers during the drafting phase, before a publisher is in the picture. Past recipients have gone on to publish with Epigram, Ethos, and Math Paper Press. If you are early in a project, the grant application is worth studying before you pitch any publisher.
What should you do before you hit submit?
Run through a six-step pre-pitch check: read a recent non-fiction title from the publisher, match your sub-category to their acquisitions list, tailor your query with the editor's name where guidelines allow, format per their specs, track every pitch in a spreadsheet, and keep a versioned proposal file so you can revise without losing the submitted draft.
- Read a recent non-fiction title from their list. Borrow or buy one book from the publisher's last twelve months and read it cover to cover. Your query should reference it specifically, not as flattery but to show you understand what they acquire.
- Match the sub-category exactly. Do not stretch your book to fit. A leadership book is not a memoir. A personal finance book is not self-help. Editors filter on sub-category before they read the proposal.
- Tailor the query. Address it to a named commissioning editor if the guidelines allow. If they ask for a generic address, use that. Personalisation beyond what is invited can backfire.
- Format per specs. PDF or DOCX, single or double spaced, attachment or inline, number of sample chapters requested. Every publisher is slightly different. Respect the spec rather than arguing with it.
- Track pitches. A simple spreadsheet with columns for publisher, date sent, expected response, and actual outcome will save you from re-pitching to a publisher who has already said no.
- Version your proposal. Keep a "pitched-v1.docx" file locked and a separate working draft for ongoing revisions. This matters when a publisher comes back with notes and asks whether the version they read is still the one you want to move forward with.
The single best predictor of a yes on a non-fiction proposal is not the writing. It is whether your book belongs on the shelf next to theirs, and whether your platform can help them sell it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a completed manuscript to pitch a non-fiction book to Singapore publishers?
No. For non-fiction, Singapore publishers want a proposal: query letter, annotated chapter outline, two or three sample chapters, author platform summary, and comparable titles. Penguin Random House SEA, Marshall Cavendish, Epigram, and Rishita Books all acquire from proposals. Ethos Books is the exception, asking for a full manuscript even for non-fiction.
Which Singapore publishers accept non-fiction proposals?
Penguin Random House SEA, Marshall Cavendish International Asia, Epigram Books, Straits Times Press, Rishita Books, Candid Creation, Armour Publishing, Asiapac Books, and the academic presses (World Scientific, NUS Press, ISEAS) all accept non-fiction proposals from authors. None require a literary agent.
How long does a Singapore publisher take to respond to a non-fiction proposal?
Most take 2 to 6 months for a full decision. Ethos Books allows 5 to 10 working days just for an initial review of the cover letter. Epigram states up to 6 months. Marshall Cavendish treats silence at 2 months as a decline. Academic presses typically respond in 2 to 4 months.
Can foreign authors pitch to Singapore publishers?
Yes. Penguin Random House SEA acquires regionally across Southeast Asia. Marshall Cavendish is a global house. Ethos Books reviews work from outside Singapore if it fits their Southeast Asian focus. The Epigram Books Fiction Prize is open to writers from Southeast Asia, but that fiction-only prize does not apply to general non-fiction proposals.
Do Singapore publishers require a literary agent for non-fiction?
No. Every major Singapore non-fiction publisher accepts direct author pitches. Penguin SEA, Marshall Cavendish, Epigram, Straits Times Press, and Rishita Books all take unagented proposals. Academic presses such as World Scientific and NUS Press work through commissioning editors rather than agents. Having an agent is not a barrier to entry here the way it is in New York or London.
What does it cost to publish a non-fiction book in Singapore?
Traditional publishing costs the author nothing upfront. The publisher pays for editing, design, print, and distribution in exchange for rights, and the author receives royalties of 8 to 15 percent on print and up to 25 percent on ebook sales. Hybrid publishing through a house like Rishita Books typically costs a few thousand SGD upfront with higher royalty retention. Self-publishing in Singapore runs S$500 to S$5,000, with one local service quoting S$3,900 paid across five months.
What non-fiction sub-categories are easiest to place with Singapore publishers right now?
Leadership and management, personal finance, entrepreneurship, Singapore history and biography, memoir, and faith-focused non-fiction all have active publisher interest in 2026. Self-help and spirituality sell well through Penguin Random House SEA. Business books backed by a speaker-author platform are the easiest to place across Penguin SEA, Marshall Cavendish, and Rishita Books, because the publisher knows the author can move inventory.
Final thoughts
Singapore has a small but functional non-fiction publishing ecosystem. The presses that matter for authors pitching non-fiction in 2026 are Penguin Random House SEA, Marshall Cavendish, Epigram, Straits Times Press, Rishita Books, Ethos Books, and the academic houses. Use this guide as a shortlist, not a bucket list. Pick the two or three publishers whose recent non-fiction catalogues look most like your book, read their guidelines carefully, and send a proposal that is tight, targeted, and platform-backed.
Bookmark this page. Submission windows shift every quarter, and this resource is refreshed every six months. When your proposal is ready to go out, you will want a page you can trust rather than a copy-pasted top 50 list from three years ago that misses Penguin Random House SEA entirely.
This directory was researched and verified in April 2026. Every submission URL was checked on the publish date. Submission windows and guidelines change, so open each publisher's own page before sending anything.
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