This is the latest post in a series looking at publishers who will accept submissions from writers, even if they are not represented by an agent. Please note that Bloomsbury Kids may not be suitable for your work and I suggest you examine their website before submitting. They are based in the US.

Bloomsbury Kids

Bloomsbury Children’s Books USA, a division of Bloomsbury USA, was launched in 2002 as a general interest publisher of children’s books for readers of all ages. The imprint publishes such award-winning and bestselling authors and illustrators as Newbery Honor winner Shannon Hale, Julianne Moore, LeUyen Pham, Carrie Jones, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Alexander McCall Smith, Celia Rees, Leslie Margolis, Jennifer Sattler, Dr. Cuthbert Soup, and E. D. Baker. In the U.K., Bloomsbury is the publisher of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

Founded over fifty years ago, Walker Books for Young Readers publishes such acclaimed books as the Caldecott Honoree Gone Wild, written and illustrated by David McLimans, New York Times bestselling Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, The Drake Chronicles by Alyxandra Harvey, The Signers by Dennis Brindell Fradin and Michael McCurdy, Lincoln Through the Lens by Marty Sandler, the perennial favorite The Period Book by Karen Gravelle, and the ever-popular Miss Malarkey picture book series by Judy Finchler and New York Times bestseller Kevin O’Malley.

Submissions

Bloomsbury Children’s Books and Walker Books for Young Readers does not respond to unsolicited manuscripts or art submissions. Please include a telephone AND email address where we may contact you if we are interested in your work. Do NOT send a self-addressed stamped envelope.

We regret the inconvenience, but unfortunately, we are too understaffed to maintain a correspondence with prospective authors. We will continue to accept unsolicited manuscripts because we believe in the policy, but we can contact you ONLY if we are interested in acquiring your work.

If you haven’t heard from us within 6 months of the submission of your manuscript, you may assume that the manuscript wasn’t right for the imprint and is considered rejected.

We welcome picture book manuscripts and queries for longer works, whether fiction or nonfiction. We publish picture books, chapter books, easy readers, middle grade and YA novels, fiction, fantasy and some nonfiction.

There is no need to send art with a picture book manuscript—likely we wouldn’t use it. Artists should submit art samples separately to the attention of the Art Department. We do not return art samples. Please do not send us original art!

All submissions are considered on an individual basis. Please note that we do accept simultaneous submissions but please be courteous and inform us if another house has made an offer on your work.

DO NOT SEND ORIGINALS OR YOUR ONLY COPY OF ANYTHING.

We are not liable for artwork or manuscript submissions.

Do not send a SASE, as we are no longer responding to submissions.

Please address all submissions to the attention of Manuscript Submissions.

Please make sure that everything is stapled, paper clipped, or rubber-banded together.

We do not accept e-mail or CD-ROM submissions.

Be sure your work is appropriate for us.

Familiarize yourself with our list by going to bookstores or libraries.

We encourage you to look for general information at the following:

Children’s Writer’s Market

Information from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)

The Literary Market Place Directory

Your local bookstore

Thank you for your consideration, and good luck!

You can find out more at Bloomsbury Kids.