Top 35 Children’s Book Publishers (Accepting Submissions)

Have you written a fantastic children’s book and looking for a suitable children’s book publisher?

Fantastic! But why submit your manuscript to any publishing house if you can reach out to companies that specialize in your genre? Below, you’ll discover over thirty such companies based in the U.S. (and a few from the UK and Canada). You can contact them directly and submit your manuscript by following specific guidelines that I conveniently linked up for you. You can also check the lists of children’s self-publishing companies, picture book publishers, and board book publishers.

These companies accept:

• Young adult novels
• Middle-grade fiction
• Picture books
• Graphic novels
• Chapter books
• Board books
• Children’s fiction
• And more!

I’m sure that with enough persistence, you’ll be able to get your work out into the world. And if you need some further guidance, I highly recommend checking my full list of over 3,000 publishing companies.

Here are the best children’s book publishers:

1. Kids Can Press

This is a Canadian-owned children’s book publisher, which belongs to Corus Entertainment. It’s one of the biggest publishing companies of its kind, with many widely known brands such as Franklin the Turtle or Citizen Kid under its roof. It started small, but now it has over 700 titles in its backlist, and it also has a young adult imprint called KCP Loft. They are especially interested in young adult novels and chapter books. They receive a lot of submissions, so you’ll have to wait for their feedback.

Contact:

• Phone: 416-479-7000
• Address: 25 Dockside Drive, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5A 0B5
• Submission guidelines

2. Barefoot Books

This company has been around for almost 30 years. It started as a small publishing house but later transformed into an international operation. Their goal has always been to create amazing books that celebrate diversity, awaken curiosity, and stir children’s imaginations. The company was named a Small Giant by Forbes in 2017. It’s high-tech and has a mobile app and a YouTube channel with over 140 million views. They are seeking picture books and nonfiction chapter books from children’s book authors who exude creativity.

Contact:

• Phone: +1.617.995.4628
• Address: 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA, 02140
• Submission guidelines

3. Immedium

This traditional publisher was founded in 2004 and now has lots of critically acclaimed children’s fiction books on its backlist (including the #1 nationwide bestseller). The digital transformation of the publishing world has influenced the company, which now focuses on stories with a multidimensional appeal. Immedium is based on the Pacific Rim and embraces cultural diversity by helping young readers on their path to self-discovery. The company values fresh ideas and dynamic perspectives and wants to reach an international audience. Right now, they are seeking submissions from both authors and picture book illustrators. Accepted genres are children’s picture books, Asian-America, as well as arts and culture. They’re waiting for your manuscript submission!

Contact:

• Phone: not provided
• Address: P.O. Box 31846, San Francisco, CA 94131
• Submission guidelines

4. Dial Books for Young Readers

Dial Books is an imprint of the Penguin Random House group. They publish beautifully illustrated children’s books with a focus on artistic excellence. Their works received many prestigious awards, including Newbery Honors for “Roller Girl” and the Printz Medal for “I’ll Give You The Sun”. The company was first established in 1961 and later acquired by Penguin. They want to publish books with a multicultural appeal for both children and young adults. Right now, they don’t accept unsolicited submissions, so you’ll need to go through a literary agent if you want to work with them.

Contact:

• Phone: not provided
• Address: 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014-3657, U.S.A.
• Submission guidelines

5. Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury is an international publishing house with offices in London, Oxford, New York, New Delhi, and Sydney. It was established in 1986 and now is a leading publisher of both adult and children’s books. They’re known for working with the best-selling author Sarah J. Maas, whose books such as “Throne of Glass” and “A Court of Thorns” inspired young readers across the world. They have at least a few #1 New York Times Best Sellers on their blacklist. They only work with literary agents unless you have a young adult book. Then you can get in touch with them directly.

Contact:

• Phone: (212) 419-5300
• Address: 1385 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10018
• Submission guidelines

6. HarperCollins Children’s Books

Even if you’re not familiar with the publishing industry, you must have heard about HarperCollins. It’s one of the biggest publishing houses in the world, with a catalog of over 200,000 titles which include a big children’s book category. These books are divided into age categories 0-6, 7-12, and 13+. The company is investing heavily in these categories and now even has a children’s book podcast. They currently accept unsolicited manuscripts, but only for the academic book category. Otherwise, contact them through a literary agency.

Contact:

• Phone: 212-207-7000
• Address: 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007
• Submission guidelines

7. Chronicle Books

Chronicle Books is a brilliant independent publisher from San Francisco, which has been around since 1967. They put a lot of emphasis on aesthetics and artwork to complement many authors’ wonderful storytelling. In their books, they consider every detail and make sure that the design is top-notch. They offer books with cute titles like “Tiny T. Rex Will Stomp Into Your Heart”. If that’s not enough to melt your heart, you don’t have a heart! Over the years, they’ve built a huge brand and now they receive over 1000 children’s book submissions every month. You need to come up with something unique to be considered as a new potential author.

Contact:

• Phone: 1.800.759.0190
• Address: 680 Second Street, San Francisco, California 94107
• Submission guidelines

8. Flash Light Press

This publisher mainly focuses on picture books that target very young readers. Flash Light Press is keen on maintaining its brand and market thrust, so the books that will be submitted by both established and aspiring authors must meet four major criteria. First, it should have a universal theme. Meaning it must be understood by kids of any race and cultural background. Next, it should be specifically written for children between 4 to 8 years old. Third, the story must be less than a thousand words, and finally, the central theme should be about relationships between people.

Contact:

• Phone: +1 718-288-8300
• Address: 527 Empire Blvd., Brooklyn, NY 11225 USA
• Submission guidelines

9. Anvil Publishing

Anvil Publishing is the only company listed here that’s from the Philippines. They belong to the National Book Store Inc. and publish books geared towards Filipino readers. It’s the biggest trade book publisher in the Philippines, which was founded in 1990. They publish an array of titles, including cookbooks, self-help titles, as well as children’s books. The young reader category includes coloring books, activity books, storybooks, etc. They are now open to submissions. If you want to try your luck, send them a hard copy of your complete manuscript.

Contact:

• Phone: not provided
• Address: 7th Floor, Quad Alpha Centrum, 125 Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong City 1550, Philippines
• Submission guidelines

10. Pants On Fire Press

This is a quirky boutique book publisher with titles in the middle-grade and young-adult categories. All of their works are fully digitalized and also available in an ebook form. They look for ideas full of action, adventure, fantasy, drama, mystery, romance, and suspense. They only work with a handful of authors, but they’re interested in growth and are open to receiving unsolicited manuscripts. Make sure you read submission guidelines carefully, as they’re quite restrictive.

Contact:

• Phone: 863-546-0760
• Address: Florida, USA
• Submission guidelines

11. Dutton Children’s Books

This is yet another publishing brand that belongs to Penguin. It’s one of the oldest children’s book publishers in the US that existed for over 160 years. It was first established by Edward Payson Dutton, who, from the very beginning, wanted to attract young readers. Now, still in operation, it’s publishing 10-15 hardcover titles a year, with middle-grade and young-adult books leading the way. Contact them if you have a picture book, a YA novel, or a non-fiction photographic book. Since they’re a part of Penguin, you’ll need to get in touch with them through a literary agent.

Contact:

• Phone: 212-414-3700
• Address: 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 USA
• Submission guidelines

12. Ladybird Books

Here’s another publishing house that’s now under the roof of Penguin. But this time it’s based in the UK. Ladybird specializes in some of the best bedtime stories you’ve ever seen, including “Ladybird Bedtime Tales” and “Stories for Three-Year-Olds”. They also have a few coloring books and games for young readers, with much focus on design and illustration. Please read their “how to get published” guide carefully, as it contains all the details of publishing with Penguin.

Contact:

• Phone: +44 (0)1206 256000
• Address: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
• Submission guidelines

13. Orion Books

Orion publishes books across all genres and for all age ranges. It’s one of the leading publishing companies in the UK, which is a part of Hachette UK. The company started in 1991 and since then developed six different imprints, one of which deals with books for young readers. Right now they’re not considering submissions from unknown authors, so you would need to go through an agent. However, they offer some submission guidelines to make the process easier.

Contact:

• Phone: 020 3122 6444
• Address: Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ
• Submission guidelines

14. Kane Miller

This tiny publishing house specializes in distributing some of the best children’s books from around the world. For Kane Miller, it’s all about sharing stories that will inspire the youngest readers and bring them together regardless of cultural differences. Despite the small size of the company, it boasts quite a large amount of titles specially designed for the educational market. Most of their books are available through Usborne Books and More. Feel free to submit your manuscript, but prepare to wait up to 14 weeks for a response.

Contact:

• Phone: 1-800-611-1655
• Address: 4901 Morena Blvd Ste 213, San Diego, CA 92117 USA
• Submission guidelines

15. Mighty Media Press

This small publishing house is all about releasing the best titles for kids. They have been around for over 30 years and their mission hasn’t changed since the very beginning. It is to ignite children’s curiosity and imagination and instill a sense of adventure. They want children to explore fantastic worlds that only exist in our collective minds. They fully adapted to the digital revolution and now their titles are also available as ebooks, audiobooks, animation, graphic novels, and even social media channels. They are proud of their hands-on approach when working with authors. If you’re lucky enough to be signed up as an author, you can count on close collaboration and lots of support from the editorial team.

Contact:

• Phone: 612.455.0252
• Address: 1201 Currie Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403
• Submission guidelines

16. Tulika Publishers

The publishing market in India is huge, so I had to include at least one Indian company in this list. The Tulika publishing house releases books in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, and Tamil languages. The idea behind their titles is to show both the traditional and contemporary culture and inspire young readers of the vast Indian subcontinent to embrace diversity and sensitivity to different customs. The company started in 1996 and remained independent while covering a range of genres in the children’s book market. They are open to receiving your manuscript, which you can simply send by email.

Contact:

• Phone: +91 (044) 2499 1639
• Address: 305, Manickam Avenue, TTK Road, Alwarpet, Chennai – 600018, Tamil Nadu, India
• Submission guidelines

17. Quirk Books

As the name suggests, this publishing house is all about quaint and quixotic titles. It’s based in the historical Centre of Philadelphia and it only publishes around 25 books a year. The main idea behind each book has to be completely unconventional and somewhat quirky. If you have something bold and unprecedented, you might get a chance to become one of their authors. Their books are geared toward a slightly older audience and they’re known for their great young adult book series such as “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”. They are open to unsolicited submissions, so email the editorial board and pitch your idea.

Contact:

• Phone: not provided
• Address: 215 Church Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
• Submission guidelines

18. Free Spirit Publishing

This publishing house has been around for over 30 years. They have a strong stance on diversity and embrace all creeds and ethnic backgrounds. Their mission is to teach teens how to think for themselves and overcome challenges while coming out of age. Their books give free-spirited advice about relevant issues, such as character building, school success, learning, and stress management. If you have a manuscript that will inspire teens to embrace positive values and become more successful, this might be the right publishing house for you.

Contact:

• Phone: 612.338.2068
• Address: 6325 Sandburg Road, Suite 100, Minneapolis, MN 55427-3674
• Submission guidelines

19. Miles Kelly Publishing

This is a small UK-based publishing house and they address children aged 3 to 12 years old. Their offices are situated in an amazing village house slash converted barn in Thaxted, Essex. They are independent and their ethos is to create children’s books to share. They aim to spread the joy of reading and inspire young readers from all around the world. After being founded in 1996, Miles Kelly grew substantially and now has over 400 frontline titles on its list (with 700+ titles overall). Their books are being translated worldwide and are now available in 48 languages across 79 countries. They are open to new types of collaboration, so send them your CV and manuscript by email.

Contact:

• Phone: +44 1371 832440
• Address: Harding’s Barn, Bardfield End Green, Thaxted, Essex, CM6 3PX, UK
• Submission guidelines

20. Capstone Publishing

Capstone is all about providing children with amazing learning experiences. They create learning materials for children, regardless of their ability level. They’re one of the most trustworthy companies that have supported libraries, classrooms, and consumers with educational materials for over 25 years. It’s not only about traditional books, either. The company offers board books, picture books, interactive books, mobile applications, and audiobooks. This is great because children are constantly embracing new book formats and the company is following this trend. Right now, they are closed for unsolicited submissions. But they might sign you up as one of the writers and provide you with some freelance assignments.

Contact:

• Phone: 800-747-4992
• Address: 1710 Roe Crest Drive, North Mankato, MN 56003
• Submission guidelines

21. August House Publishers

This is a traditional and well-established publishing house that specializes in picture books, story collections, and resource books drawing from the world’s great oral traditions. The company has been around for over 30 years and presents readers with stories grounded in diversity. Their mission is to spread tales from far corners of the world and inspire kids with a sense of adventure. They also offer a vast array of audio programs designed for children in kindergarten through the second grade. If you have something folksy coming from an age-old tradition, and a remote region of the globe, you just might become one of their authors. They accept unsolicited submissions, and you would have to send yours by email.

Contact:

• Phone: 1-800-284-8784
• Address: 3500 Piedmont Road, NE, Suite 310, Atlanta, GA 30305
• Submission guidelines

22. Penny Candy Books

Here’s another independent children’s book publisher, this time based in Oklahoma City and Savannah Georgia. It’s probably the youngest company on this list since it was founded in 2015 by two poets – Alexis Orgera and Chad Reynolds. They released their first title only in January 2017, and in their work, they emphasized diversity and the breadth of human experience. Since they opened their doors, they received dozens of submissions from aspiring authors. Because of this overwhelming flood of emails, they limited their submission opening to February and March of each year. You have to submit your work via Submittable.

Contact:

• Phone: 866-400.5351
• Address: IPS Jackson, 193 Edwards Drive, Jackson, TN 38301
• Submission guidelines

23. Nosy Crow Books

Nosy Crow is a quirky little children’s book publishing company. They began in January 2011, but since then, their titles have won multiple awards. Their focus is on producing books that parents can read to their children in the evening (which is arguably one of the greatest pleasures of parenthood). The other part of their mission is to inspire kids to read for pleasure and segue into other literary avenues as they grow up. The company is growing fast and now it’s the 12 biggest publishers of its kind in the UK. They’re interested in publishing anything for children aged 0 to 12 embellished with great illustrations.

Contact:

• Phone: +44 (0)207 089 7575
• Address: The Crow’s Nest, 14 Baden Place, Crosby Row, London, SE1 1YW
• Submission guidelines

24. Arthur A. Levine Books

This is an imprint of a larger company called Scholastic Inc. It was founded in 1996 and published its first book in the fall of 1997 (“When She Was Good “by Norma Fox Mazer). Sooner after, they produced over 300 works of hardcover fiction and non-fiction for children and teenagers. They work with a wide variety of American authors and illustrators in various stages of their careers. It doesn’t matter if you’re a newbie or a battle-scarred veteran – if you have it in you, you might as well become one of their authors. Due to a large number of submissions, they do not currently accept unsolicited full-length manuscripts. But you can send them a query letter and a few chapters of your work and perhaps you’ll be accepted by the company.

Contact:

• Phone: not provided
• Address: 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012
• Submission guidelines

25. Peachtree Publishing Company

Here’s a trade book publisher based in Atlanta, Georgia. Their specialty is children’s literature, including board books, and picture books, and middle-grade and young-adult fiction and non-fiction. The focus here is on education and inspiration. It’s all about showing young readers that they can do more and be more. The company has a long tradition as it started in 1977, originally emphasizing works by Southern writers. But since then, they signed up promising scribblers from all around the country. They are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts in the category of fiction and non-fiction for children, early readers, middle graders, and young adults.

Contact:

• Phone: 404-876-8761
• Address: 1700 Chattahoochee Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30318
• Submission guidelines

26. Workman Publishing

This is a large, yet independent publishing house that comprises a family of imprints including Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Algonquin Young Readers, Artisan, Storey Publishing, and Timber Press. The scope of their work is broad as they deal not only with kids’ books but parenting guides, cookbooks, gardening, country living, and humor. They’re located in Greenwich Village, NY, and work in an amazing modern office brimming with energy. If you want to become involved with Workman Publishing, you can do it by sending your submission by email. But familiarize yourself with different imprints and respect their guidelines.

Contact:

• Phone: 212-254-5900
• Address: 225 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014
• Submission guidelines

27. Annick Press

This is an old Canadian publishing house founded in 1975 by Rick Wilks and Anne Millyard. Since the very beginning, the company has been committed to producing some of the best titles for children and teens. They publish around 25 new titles every year, which are distributed in the United States and Canada. Their books are translated into ebook formats and uploaded to major digital platforms such as Barnes and Noble and Kobo. The mission of the company is to produce works that encourage critical thinking and develop reasoning faculties (while being entertaining at the same time). They are currently open to new submissions.

Contact:

• Phone: not provided
• Address: 15 Patricia Avenue, Toronto, ON, M2M 1H9
• Submission guidelines

28. Bendon Publishing International

As the name suggests this is an international publishing house specializing in children’s books. It went through many transformations and was acquired by a couple of larger organizations, but it’s thriving to this day. Right now they offer over 1000 titles in multiple formats. These include color books, activity books, paint-with-water books, board books, storybooks, learning cards, workbooks, reward stickers, jigsaw puzzles, and much more. If you want to work with them, you need something creative and groundbreaking.

Contact:

• Phone: 419-207-3600
• Address: 1840 Baney Road, Ashland, OH 44805
• Submission guidelines

29. Sleeping Bear Press

The company started in 1998, with the release of the widely acclaimed title “The Legend of Sleeping Bear”. Since then, the company has continued to thrive by publishing some of the most beautiful illustrated picture books of all time. Their titles won multiple awards and gained trust nationwide. Their goal is to enrich the lives of children and young adults with inspirational stories and educational content. They are open to both fiction and nonfiction submissions. You just need to browse their website, see what types of books they publish, and come up with something similar. Then you can send your pitch through email.

Contact:

• Phone: 1-800-487-2323
• Address: 2395 S Huron Parkway, Suite 200, Ann Arbor MI 48104
• Submission guidelines

30. Lee & Low Books

This company is all about publishing books for ages 0 to 12 with an emphasis on cultural diversity. This ethos is reflected even in their staff who come from all ethnic backgrounds and walks of life. This is one of the few minority-owned publishing companies in the US. They have an independent spirit, publish only what they deem appropriate, and take personal pride in their work. They shy away from old folk tales and embrace the richness of contemporary culture instead. If you’re a writer or illustrator of color or you come from a minority background, this is a company for you.

Contact:

• Phone: (888) 320-3190
• Address: 95 Madison Avenue, Suite #1205, New York, NY 10016
• Submission guidelines

31. Arbordale Publishing

This is a small publishing house that inspires young readers to read for pleasure. The mission of the company is to get children inspired by math and science by providing them with fun-to-read picture books. Familiarizing yourself with scientific concepts is much easier if you can devour them in easy-on-the-eye stories and illustrations. The main theme here is narrative non-fiction – a marriage between logic and emotion, story and fact. If you have a manuscript with an educational twist, that’s less than 1000 words long, submit it for review.

Contact:

• Phone: 843-971-6722
• Address: 612 Johnnie Dodds., Suite A2, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
• Submission guidelines

32. Little Tiger Press

Here’s another British publishing house which is a group of four different imprints. These include Little Tiger Press, Stripes Publishing, Caterpillar Books, and 360 Degrees. Fortunately for you, all of them are about creating inspiring books for children and young adults. Each of the imprints deals with books of a different flavor. Little Tiger is all about illustrating books filled with heartwarming stories that will inspire both the child and the parent. Other imprints are less about creativity and more about learning and education. Each imprint has a different submission policy so make sure you read the guidelines carefully.

Contact:

• Phone: +44 (0)20 7385 6333
• Address: 1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road, London SW6 6AW
• Submission guidelines

33. Hot Key Books

If you’re working on a book for teens and young adults, this is your publisher. Hot Key Books’ focus is on publishing thought-provoking, unique novels that spread through word of mouth and social media channels. The keyword here seems to be “unconventional”. They are always open to contact not only with authors but also with the readers and you can email them freely with your questions and inquiries. If you want to work with them, you’ll need a full manuscript and a synopsis and you can send it by email in a PDF or Word form.

Contact:

• Phone: +44 (0)20 7490 3875
• Address: 80-81 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 9RE, UNITED KINGDOM
• Submission guidelines

34. Candlewick Press

This company opened up in 1992 and remains an independent children’s book publisher. They have offices in the US, UK, and Australia and work with over 150 authors and illustrators. Their success lies in their ability to produce some of the highest-quality picture books in the market. However, they now deal with many formats, including ebooks and novelty books. Their attention to detail and diligence brought them over 2000 prizes and accolades over the years. At this time, they aren’t accepting unsolicited manuscripts so you’ll need to work with a literary agent.

Contact:

• Phone: (617) 661-3330
• Address: 99 Dover Street, Somerville, MA 02144
• Submission guidelines

35. Holiday House Publishing

Holiday House is a well-established American publishing house founded in 1935. From its inception, its main mission was to publish only children’s books that would educate, enlighten and inspire. They hold a great backlist of bestsellers and award-winning titles like the “I Like to Read” series of picture books. By browsing their extensive book database, you’ll find they offer titles touching on almost any theme. They accept submissions, but cannot guarantee a response if they decide not to select your manuscript for publication.

Contact:

• Phone: 212-688-0085
• Address: 425 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017 USA
• Submission guidelines

Bottom Line

There are dozens of children’s book publishers eager to look at your manuscript. Of course, going through a traditional publishing route takes a lot of persistence, but after a couple of tries, you will establish a relationship with these companies without the need for literary agents. Of course, the quality of your entire manuscript and respecting the submission guidelines is the key to your success. Always make sure your application is sparkly clean, you have a creative cover letter, and you’re familiar with the specific requirements of each publishing house. You can also consider working with a literary agent who, for a modest fee, will help you out. Good luck! Next up, you may want to explore a guide to romance novel publishers.