UPDATED January 10th, 2021, they rebranded as Union Square Press and are no longer open to general submissions
Sterling Publishing is owned by Barnes and Noble. They put it for sale a couple of years ago, but then after a period of time pulled it from the market. During this whole period Sterling has continued to publish books. They also have a large crafting imprint named Lark. Sterling has been publishing books for over 60 years.
Their website is currently under construction and focuses on authors, not on selling books, but given the fact that they have very good distribution that might not be as much of a priority for them.
The books they publish for adults cover current events, diet and health, parenting, pop culture, reference, history, art, artists, and music. They have a number of imprints with specific focuses on topics such as cooking. They do not publish fiction for adults
They also publish books for children and toddlers. This includes works of fiction and non-fiction.
Sterling only accepts submissions via the post. They try to respond to all submissions they receive. For children’s books they expect full manuscripts. For adult books they want a proposal and a first sample chapter.
When you submit, be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address. They will not return any materials submitted unless you specifically request that materials be returned and include, along with your submission, a self-addressed stamped envelope. Under no circumstance should you submit originals or the only copy. They cannot guarantee that they will return unsolicited material.
All submissions should be clearly addressed to the correct editor (for example the Parenting Editor).
To learn more visit their submission guidelines here. You have to scroll down to the submission guidelines which download as a PDF.