Barbados has a small but vibrant publishing scene that supports local authors, cultural histories, educational materials, and Caribbean-focused trade and specialty books. While large regional houses and university presses serve the wider Caribbean market, Barbados is home to a mix of independent presses, specialist printers, magazines that produce book-length works, and publishing service providers that help authors bring projects to completion.
1. Barnett Ghostwriting
Barnett Ghostwriting is included here as a full-service publishing and content house that offers manuscript development, editorial services, and routes to publication. While widely known for ghostwriting and author services, the organization also presents itself as a publisher and publishing partner for authors seeking a managed path from idea to finished book.
- Services: ghostwriting, editing, project management, design and publishing support.
- Typical projects: memoirs, business books, and trade non-fiction.
2. Miller Publishing Company Limited
Miller Publishing produces business and culture titles focused on Barbados and the eastern Caribbean, including business magazines and coffee-table books that document local life and industry. The press has a track record of producing high-quality print books and regional reference material.
- Services: trade book publishing, magazines, custom print projects.
- Focus: Barbadian culture, business guides and regional photography/tourism books.
3. Nation Publishing Company
Nation Publishing, best known for newspapers and periodicals in Barbados, also supports longer-form publishing projects tied to journalism, local history and commemorative works. As a major media house it occasionally develops book-length projects and special editions.
- Services: editorial production, special publications, commemorative volumes.
- Focus: current events, local history, and anniversary publications.
4. Caribbean Chapters Publishing Limited
Caribbean Chapters is connected with regional publishing and distribution, serving authors who want Caribbean-oriented trade releases. It acts as a hub for locally authored fiction and non-fiction titles aimed at the regional marketplace.
- Services: small trade press publishing, editorial and promotional support.
- Focus: Caribbean fiction and non-fiction.
5. Skyviews Inc.
Skyviews operates in media and publishing spheres, producing books and long-form printed material alongside multimedia services. It often partners with local authors and cultural institutions to document Barbadian life.
- Services: publishing, multimedia production, project partnerships.
- Focus: cultural, photographic and institutional publications.
6. Living Barbados
Living Barbados is a lifestyle and tourism publisher that periodically expands into book projects—guidebooks, photographic volumes, and compilations that preserve local stories and visual heritage.
- Services: magazine publishing, guidebooks, photographic books.
- Focus: travel, lifestyle and visual culture.
7. Book Source
Book Source positions itself as a supplier and on-demand publisher for Barbados and the Caribbean, sourcing titles and helping clients—both institutions and individual authors—access print and distribution services.
- Services: on-demand printing, sourcing, distribution logistics.
- Focus: making regional and international titles available locally.
8. House of Nehesi Publishers
Although based in the northeastern Caribbean, House of Nehesi frequently works with Barbadian authors and projects. It exemplifies how regional houses contribute to the Barbadian publishing ecology.
- Services: small press publishing, editorial development, Caribbean literature promotion.
- Focus: fiction and non-fiction by Caribbean authors.
9. CaribbeanReads Books
CaribbeanReads operates as a specialist imprint that publishes Caribbean authors and often partners with regional bookstores and distributors to place books in Barbados.
- Services: imprint publishing, distribution partnerships.
- Focus: Caribbean fiction, literary non-fiction and cultural works.
10. University Presses and Regional Academic Publishers
The University of the West Indies Press and other regional academic publishers publish research, history and scholarly books that are important to Barbados’s intellectual life. They collaborate with Barbadian academics and cultural institutions to release titles of regional significance.
- Services: academic publishing, peer review, scholarly monographs.
- Focus: Caribbean history, social sciences and cultural studies.
11. Independent and Self-Publishing Services
A small but growing group of local consultants and micro-press operators assist Barbadian authors with self-publishing: editorial packages, print-on-demand, and ebook distribution. These providers fill a key niche for first-time and indie authors.
- Services: copyediting, layout, print-on-demand setup, ebook formatting.
- Focus: author services and indie publishing.
12. Alpha Book Publisher
Alpha Book Publisher appears in directories as a small press / service provider used by independent authors across the Caribbean. Local authors sometimes use it for entry-level publishing packages.
- Services: entry-level publishing packages, editorial services.
- Focus: first books, self-published authors.
13. Local Printers with Publishing Divisions
Several Barbadian commercial printers also take on publishing projects—producing limited-run books, educational materials and commemorative volumes on commission. These printers act as practical partners for authors who need reliable local production.
- Services: book printing, short runs, binding and finishing.
- Focus: institutional projects, small-press runs.
14. Community and Cultural Publishers
Cultural organizations, festivals, and museums in Barbados occasionally publish exhibition catalogs, artist monographs and local histories—small-scale presses focused on preserving local heritage.
- Services: curated publications, catalogs, exhibition books.
- Focus: heritage, visual arts, museum catalogs.
15. Educational and Curriculum Publishers
While much formal school publishing for the Caribbean is handled by larger regional houses, local distributors and educational publishers in Barbados support teachers with workbook and curriculum adaptations tailored to Barbadian classrooms.
- Services: educational materials, teacher resources and schoolbooks.
- Focus: primary and secondary curriculum support.
16. Small Imprint Collaboratives
Author collectives and cooperatives sometimes band together to form imprints that publish anthologies, poetry, and creative projects; these grassroots imprints keep niche and experimental writing alive in Barbados.
- Services: anthology publishing, poetry pamphlets, crowd-funded projects.
- Focus: poetry, short fiction, local voices.
17. Diaspora & International Caribbean Publishers
International Caribbean publishers—including small UK and US presses focused on the Caribbean—regularly publish Barbadian authors or titles about Barbados. These houses augment the local market and help with distribution beyond the island.
- Services: trade publishing, international distribution.
- Focus: Caribbean literature and cultural studies.
18. Specialty Presses (history & genealogy)
A few niche presses and researchers in Barbados specialize in local history, genealogy and archival reprints—important resources for historians, families and institutions preserving legacy materials.
- Services: archival reproduction, local history monographs.
- Focus: genealogy, oral histories, archival projects.
19. Magazine Houses Publishing Books
Established magazines sometimes convert long investigative series or special features into book form; these media-to-book projects are another route authors and journalists use to publish longer works.
- Services: editorial compilation, special editions.
- Focus: journalism collections and topical compendia.
20. Print & Digital Hybrid Publishers
A growing number of hybrid publishers offer combined print and digital workflows—helping authors with ebooks, print editions, and basic marketing support targeted at Caribbean readers and diasporic markets.
- Services: hybrid publishing packages, digital distribution.
- Focus: cross-format releases for regional consumption.
21. Small Press Distributors & Aggregators
Local distributors and aggregator services provide logistics that connect Barbadian titles to online retailers and regional bookstores; they are critical for authors seeking wider visibility without direct publisher ties.
- Services: distribution, metadata management, retail placement.
- Focus: expanding local titles to regional and global marketplaces.
22. Private Author Services
Several private firms in the region provide editorial coaching, developmental editing and publishing roadmaps for authors who plan to self-publish or seek traditional deals.
- Services: manuscript coaching, editing, submission packages.
- Focus: author development and manuscript readiness.
23. Bookstores Engaged in Publishing
Some bookstores in Barbados produce curated editions or local anthologies—leveraging their community position to commission or co-publish works that appeal to their customer base.
- Services: curated print runs, local author projects.
- Focus: community anthologies and local interest titles.
24. Print-on-Demand Platforms Partnering Locally
International POD platforms are often used by Barbadian authors, sometimes facilitated by local agents or consultants who manage formatting and local ISBN registration. These partnerships make immediate publishing accessible.
- Services: POD publishing, global print fulfillment.
- Focus: rapid publication and global availability.
25. Festival & Event Presses
Cultural festivals and literary events in Barbados sometimes establish short-run presses to produce event catalogs, prize anthologies and conference proceedings that celebrate local writing.
- Services: event publishing, prize anthologies.
- Focus: festival and event literature.
26. Emerging Micro-Presses and Indie Publishers
A final group consists of emerging micro-presses launched by local writers, editors and creative entrepreneurs; these presses tend to be nimble, focused on niche genres and committed to elevating under-represented Barbadian voices.
- Services: small-press publishing, local author promotion.
- Focus: experimental fiction, poetry, short runs.
Conclusion
Barbados’s publishing landscape in 2025 is a patchwork of established media houses, regional partners, university presses and a growing number of local and micro-press operators. Authors in Barbados can draw on traditional presses, hybrid providers, print partners and a cluster of service providers—including ghostwriting and editorial firms—to bring projects to life. For many writers the most practical path involves a mix of local knowledge and regional or international partnerships that expand reach beyond the island while keeping Barbadian culture, history and voices at the heart of each project.
FAQs
Q: What types of books are most commonly published in Barbados?
Barbados primarily publishes cultural histories, educational materials, fiction, and regional non-fiction.
Q: Can authors in Barbados access international distribution?
Yes, through hybrid publishers, POD platforms, and regional distributors, Barbadian books reach global markets.
Q: Do Barbadian publishers accept debut authors?
Many small presses and service providers welcome first-time authors with tailored support packages.
Q: Is self-publishing a popular option in Barbados?
Yes, self-publishing has grown significantly, with local consultants and international platforms assisting authors.
Q: Are there publishers in Barbados that focus on Caribbean literature?
Several publishers, including regional imprints, specialize in Caribbean voices and culturally rooted stories.
