This page is targeted at visitors
interested in submitting manuscripts or artwork to Children's Book
Press. For more information about who we are and what we do, please see
About Us. Our editorial
guidelines for unsolicited submissions follows.
We accept unsolicited manuscripts/illustrations via snail mail ONLY. NO PHONE OR EMAIL INQUIRIES, please. We are also unable to accept any materials on a drop-in basis. Submissions outside of our specific focus areas will be returned without review. Reading these guidelines carefully can save you time and effort.
The mission of Children's Book
Press is to help broaden the base of children’s literature in the
United States by publishing multicultural and bilingual stories that
reflect the diversity and experiences of minority and/or new immigrant
communities in the United States today.
Our focus at Children’s Book
Press is very specific. We publish only picture books for
elementary school-aged children about contemporary life in the
Latino/Chicano, African American, Asian American, Native American,
multi-racial and other minority and new immigrant communities.
Folktales are not the focus of our current publishing program.
We like children in active roles
and stories told from the child's point of view. Adult characters are
fine as long as children can identify with them. Stories should
encourage critical thinking about social and/or personal issues. These
ideas must be expressed as an integral part of the story.
Think about writing your story in
15 scenes or sequences (to be illustrated later). Each scene should be
no
longer than 50—100 words, for a total of only
750—1500
words. Vocabulary level should be approximately third grade (8 years
old), but the story should appeal to a fairly wide age range. The
stories should be short; the language simple. We should see action,
excitement, humor, plot, and language that would inspire an artist to
create images for your words. We typically supply the artist for the
stories we publish.
IF YOUR MANUSCRIPT DOES NOT MEET THE ABOVE CRITERIA IT WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU WITHOUT REVIEW. If your manuscript does meet these guidelines, you may mail it to:
Children's Book Press
965 Mission St., Ste. 425
San Francisco, CA 94103
Attention: Submissions
We cannot return submissions that are not accompanied by an appropriately sized, stamped self-addressed envelope. While we make every effort to respond to submissions within 10-12 weeks, the volume of submissions we receive prevents us from being able to confirm the receipt of a particular manuscript. We do not accept phone or email inquiries into the status of unsolicited submissions.
We do not have separate artwork
guidelines. We accept color photocopies only; do not send slides,
original artwork, or work that cannot be replaced.
We are only able to publish a very small fraction of stories every year. However, local bookstores, libraries, and book fairs are good resources for finding suitable publishers for your manuscript. Read as many children’s books as you can find, make a note of publishers with books that have similar qualities as those of your manuscript, and research the editorial
guidelines of those publishers.
