Updated March 2024
Founded in 1911 and located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company is an independent publisher of religious books. They have a large range, including academic books and reference works in theology, biblical studies, and religious history to popular titles in spirituality, social and cultural criticism, as well as literature. They are primarily a print publisher with excellent distribution. My local independent bookstore regularly carries a number of their titles.
They are very open about their philosophy, which I have quoted in full below.
William B. Eerdmans Sr., our founder, believed that responsible viewpoints from across the religious spectrum should be given opportunity for expression and that high literary and intellectual standards were of utmost importance. His publishing company continues to operate according to these beliefs. Thus, deeply rooted in the historic Christian tradition, ecumenical in spirit, open to emerging dialogue with other faiths, Eerdmans continues to commit itself to the life of the religious academy, to the church, and to the role of religion in culture.
They also have a popular imprint called Eerdmans Books for Young Readers which publishes a variety of books for children, including best-selling and award-winning titles. A book they published won the Caldecott, which was awarded to A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet. It is important to note that River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams is not overtly religious. They also publish books aimed at middle grade readers and young adults.
To read their complete submission guidelines for their imprint Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, please go here. They do not respond to submissions of books that they are not interested in, and only accept mailed submissions. They also accept submissions from illustrators.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2020 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.
She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish.
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