20 Best Children’s Picture Book Publishers (How to Submit)

Are you looking for publishers who specialize in children’s picture books?

Well, look no further. The children’s book market is vast, so I’ve put together a list of publishing houses that specialize in picture books, from small independent presses to the children’s divisions of the big groups. Many still read unagented manuscripts, but several have paused submissions or work only through agents, so for each one you’ll find what it publishes and exactly how it takes submissions right now. Picture book manuscripts are usually sent complete, and many publishers don’t need illustrations from the author. After this guide, delve into my collection of 2,000+ publishing companies.

Submission policies change without notice, so check the publisher’s own page before you send anything, and never pay a reading fee. Last verified: October 2, 2026.

Here’s a list of the top children’s picture book publishers:

1. Enchanted Lion Books

Enchanted Lion Books in Brooklyn publishes picture books from around the world, chosen for their art and emotional depth, and its Unruly imprint pushes the form further with picture books for adults and teens. Its books are distributed worldwide by ABRAMS. Enchanted Lion is currently closed to submissions while it works through the high volume it has received, and it hopes to reopen soon, so check its contact page before you send anything. Contact page.

2. Chronicle Books

Chronicle Books in San Francisco is an independent publisher known for richly designed picture books, gift books, and journals. It has an open submissions policy and accepts unagented submissions by email, with separate guidelines for children’s books (picture books, middle grade, and young adult), adult trade books, and illustrators’ portfolios. It replies only if it wants to pursue your project. Submission guidelines.

3. Flying Eye Books

Flying Eye Books, the children’s imprint of Nobrow, publishes beautifully illustrated picture books, comics, and nonfiction, with creators such as Luke Pearson, Emily Hughes, and Joe Todd Stanton. It is always looking for new talent, especially author-illustrators. Picture books should be for ages 3 to 5 and run 32 or 40 pages, sent as a PDF of the whole book in draft with at least three finished spreads, and it prefers narrative-led, non-rhyming stories. It accepts submissions by email only, and if you hear nothing within six weeks, it has passed. Submission guidelines.

4. Farshore Books

Farshore, which grew out of Egmont UK, is the children’s division of HarperCollins UK, with the Red Shed and Electric Monkey imprints and brands such as Winnie-the-Pooh, Mr. Men Little Miss, and Minecraft, plus picture books by authors including Julia Donaldson. Its mission is to make every child a proud reader. Its own site doesn’t post a submission policy for authors. Farshore.

5. Union Square & Co.

Union Square & Co., launched in New York in 2022, publishes books and gift products with a point of view, including Mo Willems’s Elephant & Piggie and Pigeon books. It is now an imprint of Hachette Book Group, and Union Square & Co. does not accept unsolicited manuscripts or queries, so you’ll need a literary agent. Hachette submission FAQ.

6. Tilbury House

Tilbury House began by publishing New England’s culture and history and is now a publisher of books for children: board books, beginning readers, picture books, and middle grade, fiction and nonfiction, with a commitment to diverse authors. It is part of Cherry Lake Publishing Group, and it accepts submissions electronically only. Email your manuscript as a Word document to the Sleeping Bear Press submissions address with “Tilbury House Submission,” your title, and the subject in the subject line. If Tilbury is interested, it replies within six months. Submission guidelines.

7. Candlewick Press

Candlewick Press, founded in 1992 and part of the Walker Books Group, publishes picture books, board books, and books for every age, from Maisy to Kate DiCamillo’s Newbery Medal winner The Tale of Despereaux. Candlewick is not accepting unsolicited manuscripts or art submissions at this time, so you’ll need an agent. It also warns that it never charges a fee to review a manuscript. Candlewick Press.

8. David Fickling Books

David Fickling Books is an independent storyhouse in Oxford, also behind the comic The Phoenix, publishing picture books, fiction, and comics such as Bunny vs Monkey, and it runs a Search for a Storyteller competition. David Fickling is not accepting unsolicited submissions right now and reads new work only through literary agents. Submission policy.

9. Page Street Publishing

Page Street Publishing built its list on young adult fiction and illustrated nonfiction. Its current guidelines cover YA fiction in all genres, horror, and nonfiction such as cooking, crafts, science, and parenting, and they don’t list picture books, board books, early readers, chapter books, or middle grade, so it isn’t a fit for a picture book right now. Page Street accepts queries for YA fiction by email, with a one-page query and the first three chapters. Submission guidelines.

10. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group)

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, founded in 1926, publishes picture books, graphic novels, and fiction and nonfiction for middle grade and teen readers, from Peter Brown and Grace Lin to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, with imprints including LB Kids for board books and novelty books, and Poppy. The Hachette group site tells writers to check each publisher’s own guidelines before submitting. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

11. Kids Can Press

Kids Can Press, the Canadian children’s publisher behind Franklin the Turtle and Scaredy Squirrel, is reading non-rhyming picture books for ages 3 to 8, along with nonfiction, fiction, and graphic novels for older children. Kids Can accepts submissions only from Canadian authors right now. Email your full picture book manuscript as a PDF with a cover letter; it aims to review submissions within three to six months and replies only if it’s interested. Submission guidelines.

12. Peachtree Publishers

Peachtree, founded in Atlanta in 1977 and now part of the same group as Candlewick and Holiday House, specializes in board books, picture books, and middle-grade books, fiction and nonfiction. Peachtree is closed to unsolicited submissions; its editors read only agented or requested material. Contact page.

13. Black & White Publishing

Black & White Publishing in Edinburgh, part of Bonnier Books UK, publishes nonfiction, picture books, and young adult novels, including Scots-language children’s books under its Itchy Coo imprint. Black & White accepts proposals for nonfiction by email as a one-page pitch. Unsolicited fiction, which includes picture books, is read only during submission windows it announces on its site and social media, while literary agents can send fiction at any time. Submission guidelines.

14. MB Publishing

MB Publishing, founded in 2003, publishes rhyming picture books about history, travel, and courage, such as Paris Hop, Rome Romp, and Bunny Romero’s White House Adventure. It accepts submissions by email to its publisher with “Submission” in the subject line, and if it wants to discuss publication, you’ll hear within two to four weeks. Submission guidelines.

15. Arbordale Publishing

Arbordale Publishing publishes picture books about animals, nature, science, and math, each with three to six pages of “For Creative Minds” activities at the back, plus bilingual read-along ebooks. Arbordale is not accepting submissions right now and has paused them until further notice, so watch its submissions page for news of a reopening. Submissions page.

16. August House

August House in Atlanta publishes folktales and stories from the oral tradition, and its LittleFolk line turns single traditional folktales into picture books for ages 4 to 8. It accepts proposals by mail only: send a picture-book manuscript of about 1,100 words or fewer with the folktale’s sources and variants. It is not looking for original stories written in fable or fairy-tale style, and it replies within six months only if it’s interested. Submission guidelines.

17. ABDO Publishing

ABDO, founded in Minnesota in 1985, is an educational publisher of Pre-K to 12 books and digital resources for school and public libraries, including Abdo Reference Online. Its site doesn’t post a submission policy for authors. ABDO.

18. Free Spirit Publishing

Free Spirit Publishing, now an imprint of Teacher Created Materials, publishes social-emotional learning and self-help books for kids, teens, and educators, including picture books that tackle tough topics. Its sister imprint Curiosity Unlocked publishes picture books that play with language, from realistic fiction and fantasy to biographies, wordless books, and rhyme. Teacher Created Materials accepts submissions from authors and agents through Submittable, so match your book to the right imprint first. Submission guidelines.

19. Holiday House

Holiday House, founded in 1935 as the first American publisher devoted only to children’s books, publishes picture books through young adult, including the I Like to Read series and the Neal Porter Books imprint. It accepts manuscripts by email, with your query in the message and the manuscript attached as Word or PDF, or by mail, and you don’t need to supply illustrations. If it’s interested, you’ll hear within four months. It also warns that scammers impersonate its staff. Submission guidelines.

20. Sleeping Bear Press

Sleeping Bear Press in Ann Arbor, Michigan, began in 1998 with The Legend of Sleeping Bear and publishes board books, beginning readers, picture books, and select middle grade, fiction and nonfiction. It accepts submissions by email only: attach your manuscript as a Word document (illustrations aren’t required) and put your cover letter in the body of the email. It replies within six months if it’s interested, and it also runs an Own Voices, Own Stories award for new BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors when that call opens. Submission guidelines.

Conclusion

Picture book publishing still has open doors. Right now Chronicle, Flying Eye, Tilbury House, Sleeping Bear, Holiday House, August House (for folktales), MB Publishing, Free Spirit and Curiosity Unlocked, and Kids Can Press (for Canadian authors) read unagented picture books. Enchanted Lion and Arbordale have paused submissions, while Candlewick, Peachtree, David Fickling, and Union Square & Co. work through agents. Send your complete manuscript, follow each house’s format exactly, and keep a list of where you sent it. Next up, you may want to explore a guide on flash fiction publishers.