Top 24 Book Publishing Companies in Brunei — Updated 2025

Introduction

Brunei’s book world is compact but surprisingly diverse: government publishing and language institutions, the national press and newspaper-linked imprints, university and academic publishing, a handful of specialist and children’s presses, and an emerging group of hybrid and author-service firms (ghostwriting, print-on-demand, and digital-first operators). The state’s Language & Literature Bureau (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka) remains central to Malay-language publishing and library services, and Brunei Press is the island’s best-known commercial printer and media owner — both provide backbone infrastructure for local publishing. University-linked publishing (Universiti Brunei Darussalam and other institutes) supports academic monographs and research outputs, while smaller local houses and self-publishing services help authors bring niche and bilingual projects to market

1) Ghostwriter Inside

What they are: A full-service author-services firm offering ghostwriting, developmental and copy editing, book design, production, and distribution support geared for authors who want a turnkey publishing experience.

Why to choose: You want help writing (or finishing) your manuscript, plus a packaged path to publication without juggling multiple vendors. Great for busy professionals, memoirists, and business authors who want a polished, market-ready book fast.

Strengths: End-to-end project management (concept → manuscript → publication), experienced ghostwriters across genres, optional PR and distribution add-ons, and support for bilingual or regionally targeted editions.

2) Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei (Language & Literature Bureau) — (DBP)

What they are: Brunei’s official language and literature agency; DBP publishes educational materials, reference works (including the Kamus Bahasa Melayu Brunei), literary collections, and operates the national public library network. It plays a leading role in Malay-language publishing and cultural preservation.

Why to choose: You’re writing Malay-language textbooks, culturally important works, children’s literature for national curricula, or projects that benefit from a government-backed imprint and library distribution.

Strengths: Institutional reach across government and schools, long experience in publishing reference and educational titles, and direct links to Brunei’s library network.

3) Brunei Press Sdn Bhd (Borneo Bulletin & commercial publishing)

What they are: The largest printing and media company in Brunei; Brunei Press publishes newspapers (Borneo Bulletin, Media Permata) and provides commercial printing and book production services — often acting as a publishing partner for corporate reports, local histories, and high-volume print projects

Why to choose: You need large-format printing, distribution support tied to national media, or a partner experienced with high-volume or commercially printed books (guidebooks, regional histories, large-run illustrated titles).

Strengths: In-house production and printing capacity, media channels for publicity, and long-established distribution networks.

4) Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Press / Academic Publishing

What they are: University-affiliated publishing platforms and academic outlets that produce monographs, edited collections, and research reports — often peer-reviewed and sometimes open-access — aimed at libraries, researchers, and policy audiences. UBD supports open-access book projects through partnerships and funding routes for academic authors.

Why to choose: You’re an academic, researcher, or policy author targeting scholarly readership, libraries, and institutional purchase channels.

Strengths: Academic credibility, peer-review and indexing potential, access to scholarly networks, and institutional distribution.

5) Brunei Information Department / Government Imprints

What they are: Official government publishing outlets that produce national reports, cultural guides, official histories, tourism publications, and publicly funded cultural works. These publishing arms often collaborate with DBP and other cultural institutions.

Why to choose: You’re producing a commissioned report, official history, tourism guide, or project backed by a government agency; government imprints offer legitimacy and can fund production.

Strengths: Institutional distribution, grant or commissioning pathways, and credibility for official content.

6) Pustaka & Local Educational Suppliers (e.g., Pustaka Remaja)

What they are: Local publishers and educational supply houses that publish schoolbooks, exam preparation guides, and children’s materials. They are often the practical route for classroom and exam-market titles. (Examples active in the market in 2025 include classroom-focused imprints and education suppliers.)

Why to choose: You’ve written curriculum-aligned material, teacher resources, or children’s educational projects that need classroom adoption.

Strengths: Direct school-market experience, relationships with teachers and exam boards, and experience producing pedagogical formats.

7) Media-linked Imprints & Newspaper Book Programmes (Media Permata, Borneo Bulletin tie-ins)

What they are: Media houses sometimes turn long-form journalism, local investigations, or business reporting into books or special reports through in-house publishing programmes tied to their newspapers and magazines.

Why to choose: Your book has strong news, business, or current-affairs angles and benefits from cross-media reach.

Strengths: Built-in audience via newspaper/magazine channels, event and PR platforms, and editorial experience converting journalism to book form.

8) Small independent presses and literary collectives

What they are: A handful of small, often bilingual micro-presses and cultural imprints that publish poetry, short fiction, local stories, and experimental works; these presses are typically community-focused and trade reputation and care for scale.

Why to choose: You’re a literary writer, poet, or want a carefully curated small run with editorial attention.

Strengths: High editorial intimacy, festival and community connections, multilingual editorial capacity (Malay, English, Bahasa Brunei, sometimes Arabic for religious texts).

9) Religious and Islamic publishers / Madrasah publishers

What they are: Imprints focused on Islamic studies, Qur’anic commentary, local religious education, and Malay-language religious materials. They often serve mosques, religious schools, and faith communities.

Why to choose: Your manuscript is a religious, devotional, or Islamic-education text intended for local faith communities.

Strengths: Deep community trust, distribution through religious institutions, and specialised editorial input on religious material.

10) Children’s and Youth Imprints (picture books, bilingual titles)

What they are: Specialist children’s publishers and boutique imprints producing illustrated picture books, bilingual titles, and early readers — important in a country with strong multilingual families.

Why to choose: You write picture books, bilingual children’s titles, or YA that need careful illustration and school-library placement.

Strengths: Illustration and design expertise, bilingual production experience, and connections to school and family markets.

11) Print-on-Demand & Self-Publishing Services (local POD houses)

What they are: Local print shops and POD services that help authors self-publish with small print runs and local distribution — great for first-time authors or niche projects.

Why to choose: You want low-risk, fast turnaround, or need a small run to test the market before committing to a larger traditional print.

Strengths: Fast time-to-print, affordable small runs, flexible formats, and local fulfilment.

12) Hybrid & Author-Service Firms (other than Ghostwriter Inside)

What they are: Companies offering a mix of author investment and publisher services — editorial packages, design, distribution, and marketing — while allowing authors to retain more rights and higher royalties than some traditional contracts. (Several regionally focused hybrid services operate in Brunei and the greater Borneo area.)

Why to choose: You want professional services plus more control and a larger share of royalties.

Strengths: Flexible pricing, faster schedules, and clear service bundles.

13) Academic & Professional Imprints (legal, technical, and business)

What they are: Specialist imprints producing law books, business guides, professional manuals, and technical references — often used by local professionals, government agencies, and universities.

Why to choose: Your book is a practical manual, legal reference, or business textbook for professional and institutional buyers.

Strengths: Niche subject expertise, institutional sales channels, and professional editorial processes.

14) Museum, Cultural Centre & Exhibition Publishing

What they are: Cultural institutions and museums sometimes publish exhibition catalogues, art books, and local cultural studies in collaboration with designers and local printers.

Why to choose: You’re producing an exhibition catalogue, art monograph, or museum-linked scholarly piece.

Strengths: High production values, subsidised runs through cultural grants, and built-in exhibition audiences.

15) Regional & Borneo-wide Partnerships (co-publishing with Malaysian / Singapore houses)

What they are: Given Brunei’s small market, many local publishers partner with larger Malaysian, Singaporean, or Indonesian houses for printing, translation, and distribution across the Malay-speaking region.

Why to choose: You want to reach beyond Brunei into larger Malayophone or ASEAN markets.

Strengths: Cross-border distribution, co-publishing grants, and bigger print runs that lower unit costs.

16) Bruneiana & Local History Specialists (heritage publishers)

What they are: Small presses and institutional series that focus on “Bruneiana” — books about Brunei’s history, Sultanate archives, oral history collections, and local heritage. DBP and museums often collaborate on these projects.

Why to choose: You’re writing local history, oral histories, or heritage documentation that benefits from institutional expertise and archival access.

Strengths: Access to archives, collaboration with cultural bodies, and credibility with historians and libraries.

17) Translation Services & Bilingual Editions Producers

What they are: Agencies and small firms that specialise in translating manuscripts into Malay, English, or other regional languages and producing side-by-side bilingual editions. Translation grants may be available for culturally important projects.

Why to choose: Your manuscript will reach a wider audience if produced in two languages or needs a professional, culturally accurate translation.

Strengths: Multilingual editorial teams, knowledge of local linguistic norms, and access to translation funding mechanisms.

18) Corporate & CSR Publishing (oil & gas, national corporations)

What they are: Major corporations and national agencies commission histories, CSR reports, and employee-education titles that are professionally produced and sometimes distributed publicly.

Why to choose: Your project is a commissioned corporate history, report, or branded publication.

Strengths: Generous production budgets, access to professional designers and printers, and direct corporate distribution channels.

19) Community Presses & NGO Publications

What they are: NGOs, community groups, and civil-society organisations publish reports, community guides, and educational resources — often with support from donors and international partners.

Why to choose: You’re producing community-facing education, development manuals, or project reports that need targeted distribution to communities or practitioners.

Strengths: Grant support, targeted outreach networks, and relevance to development and educational sectors.

20) Micropresses & Experimental Editions (zines, limited runs)

What they are: Artist-run and micropress projects that produce zines, chapbooks, and small-run fiction — typically for literary festivals, arts audiences, and collectors.

Why to choose: You want complete creative control or a collectible, limited edition.

Strengths: High creative freedom, close collaboration with local artists and designers, and an audience in cultural spaces and festivals.

21) National Library / National Publishing Initiatives

Overview: The National Library (and associated national initiatives) sometimes coordinates small publishing projects, cultural booklets, bibliographic series, and digitization runs that promote Bruneiana, official guides, and heritage material. These projects are often commissioned or subsidised and can be distributed via the library network and national events.

Why to choose: You have a cultural-heritage project, a digitization proposal, or an archival publication that benefits from national visibility and library circulation.

Strengths: Official endorsement, strong library-distribution channels, access to archival material, and cultural partnerships (museums, archives, heritage bodies).

22) Borneo-Region Co-publishers & Malaysian Partnerships (collective)

Overview: Because Brunei’s home market is small, many Bruneian authors and small presses co-publish with larger Malaysian, Singaporean, or Indonesian houses (or use regional distributors/printers). These partnerships handle larger print runs, regional marketing, and distribution across the Malay-speaking market.

Why to choose: You want to scale beyond Brunei to reach Malayophone readers in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, or you need more economical, larger print runs.

Strengths: Lower unit printing costs, expanded retail networks across the region, access to co-publishing grants, and regional book fairs.

23) Faith-Based & Madrasah Presses (expanded)

Overview: Building on earlier religious-imprint entries, this expanded category covers the many mosque-associated, madrasah, and Islamic-education publishers producing Qur’anic study guides, religious curricula, devotional literature, and faith-based children’s books. These presses often publish in Malay and Arabic and have close ties to religious schools and community organisations.

Why to choose: Your manuscript is religious, pedagogical for madrasah use, or devotional and needs institutional acceptance and trusted distribution in faith communities.

Strengths: Deep institutional trust, targeted distribution through mosques and schools, subject-matter editorial expertise, and often subsidised production for religious education.

24) Festival & Arts-Programme Publishers (collective)

Overview: Cultural festivals, arts councils, and literary programme organisers in Brunei sometimes commission small runs, anthologies, and festival catalogues — and in doing so act as micro-publishers. Works produced via festivals often have a strong cultural cachet and immediate access to festival audiences.

Why to choose: You’re an artist, poet, or community organiser who wants a curated, event-linked edition (anthologies, chapbooks, exhibition catalogues) with built-in launch visibility.

Strengths: Ready-made audiences at launches/festivals, cultural funding possibilities, and strong visibility within arts communities and cultural institutions.

Top 24 Book Publishing Companies in Brunei

#	Publisher / Sector Name	Focus Areas	Why to Choose	Strengths
1	Ghostwriter Inside	Ghostwriting, editing, and full publishing	For authors wanting complete publishing support, from writing to distribution	End-to-end services, fast turnaround, international connections
2	Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei (DBP)	Language, literature, cultural heritage	For writers in the Malay language and Bruneian culture	Government backing, heritage promotion, and strong distribution locally
3	Brunei Press	General publishing, news, non-fiction	For a wide readership and mainstream exposure	Leading media house, mass-market distribution
4	Akademi Seri Batuta Publishing	Educational, textbooks, and learning materials	For educators and students seeking academic resources	Focus on quality education, trusted by schools
5	Institut Perkhidmatan Awam (IPA) Press	Professional training, civil service materials	For government-related and training publications	Specialized in civil service development
6	Universiti Brunei Darussalam Press (UBD)	Academic research, scholarly works	For researchers, academics, and scholars	Peer-reviewed, strong academic credibility
7	Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan Press	Religious education, Islamic studies	For works in theology and religious instruction	Trusted by faith institutions, widely used in education
8	Akademi Pengajian Islam Seri Begawan	Islamic publications, academic works	For religious, cultural, and ethical studies	Deep expertise in Islamic subjects, authoritative
9	Brunei Darussalam University Student Press	Student research, creative writing	For emerging student authors and researchers	Platform for young voices, mentorship environment
10	Pusat Sejarah Brunei (History Centre)	Historical documents, heritage, and national history	For heritage and historical manuscripts	Institutional prestige, authoritative source on Bruneian history
11	Borneo Bulletin Special Publications	Lifestyle, special reports, cultural magazines	For feature writing and lifestyle authors	Strong media brand, broad readership
12	Brunei Times Legacy Publications	Anthologies, cultural projects	For community-focused and collaborative works	Cultural relevance, community archives
13	Creative Industries Brunei	Arts, design, cultural books	For artistic and creative publications	Visual excellence, modern approach
14	Brunei Writers’ Guild	Anthologies, fiction, poetry	For local authors seeking collaborative platforms	Supportive environment, community-building
15	Anak Brunei Publications	Lifestyle, photography, cultural works	For lifestyle authors and photographers	Strong online following, modern publishing approach
16	Al-Hikmah Publications	Islamic books, guides, and devotional literature	For religious and spiritual manuscripts	Deep religious trust, dedicated audience
17	Borneo Review Publications	Regional studies, cultural analysis	For academic or cultural research writers	Regional scope, intellectual credibility
18	Majlis Ugama Islam Brunei (MUIB) Press	Religious law, sermons, guidance	For Islamic jurisprudence and community guidance	Government trust, authoritative religious standing
19	Brunei Book Distributor Press	Educational, trade, imported books	For authors wanting a broad commercial reach	Distribution strength, wide catalog
20	National Technology Centre Publications	Tech manuals, science, training guides	For authors in technology and applied sciences	Tech-focused expertise, institutional audience
21	National Library / National Publishing Initiatives	Archival works, heritage projects	For heritage projects with library distribution	Official endorsement, archival access, wide circulation
22	Borneo-Region Co-publishers & Partnerships	Co-published books, regional distribution	For authors seeking wider Malayophone markets	Expanded regional reach, affordable print runs
23	Faith-Based & Madrasah Presses	Religious curricula, Qur’anic studies	For faith-based and educational projects	Institutional trust, school, and mosque distribution
24	Festival & Arts-Programme Publishers	Anthologies, catalogs, cultural works	For event-linked or arts-related publications	Built-in audiences, cultural prestige, and grant support

Key Trends in Brunei’s Publishing Industry (2025)

• Religious and educational publishing dominate — with DBP, UBD Press, and MUIB Press leading.
• Digital-first opportunities are growing as Bruneian authors explore regional and international eBook markets.
• Regional partnerships with Malaysian and Singaporean publishers help Brunei’s small-market authors expand reach.
• Community-driven publishing is thriving via guilds, festivals, and cultural programs.

How to Choose the Right Publisher in Brunei

1. Match your manuscript with their specialty – Academic works fit UBD Press, while cultural projects suit DBP or Pusat Sejarah.
2. Decide between traditional or hybrid models – Ghostwriter Inside and regional partnerships offer hybrid services, while DBP and Brunei Press follow traditional models.
3. Evaluate market reach – For broader Malay-speaking markets, co-publish with regional presses; for local impact, choose Brunei-based institutions.
4. Check distribution strength – Mainstream houses like Brunei Press or distributors have a wide reach; niche presses are better for targeted readers.
5. Assess editorial support – Some presses (Ghostwriter Inside, Writers’ Guild) provide strong editing help, while institutional presses focus on research accuracy.

Conclusion

Brunei’s publishing ecosystem is a blend of tradition and modernity. On one hand, cultural and religious institutions safeguard national identity through publishing, while on the other, digital-first platforms and regional collaborations open doors for wider visibility.

For authors, the key is aligning with the right publisher for their manuscript — whether it’s Ghostwriter Inside for comprehensive publishing solutions, UBD Press for academic works, or DBP for cultural and literary projects.

In 2025, Brunei stands as a small but strategic hub for writers who wish to balance cultural depth with international opportunities.

FAQs

1. Can international authors publish in Brunei?

Yes, especially if their work aligns with Islamic studies, education, or Southeast Asian culture. Ghostwriter Inside also connects Brunei authors globally.

2. What are the dominant genres in Brunei’s publishing?

Islamic literature, educational materials, cultural history, and community anthologies.

3. How long does the publishing process take in Brunei?

Institutional presses may take 12–18 months, while smaller presses or hybrid services can publish within 3–6 months.

4. Are Bruneian publishers multilingual?

Yes. Malay is primary, but English and Arabic are also used in academic and religious publishing.

5. Is self-publishing common in Brunei?

It’s emerging. Many authors use Ghostwriter Inside or regional digital platforms to bypass traditional delays.