EK is a global publisher of award-winning children’s books. Our motto is ‘books with heart on issues that matter’ and our books are aimed primarily at children aged 4 to 8.
We welcome submissions from literary agents, as well as new and established authors. Before submitting, please check out our Published Titles to get a feel for our current list, and take advantage of the resources we make available through the Children’s Publishing Academy.
EK Books Submissions Are Open
Please note that submissions will close on August 1, 2026. The limited submission window is essential for allowing our team to manage the increasingly high volume of submissions and give due consideration to all eligible manuscripts. There will be future opportunities.
Please carefully review the guidance below to ensure your book is a good fit for EK.
As a reminder, we publish children’s picture books aimed at readers 4-8 years old. We prefer a 32-page format, with manuscripts arranged into 14 two-page spreads, of a maximum of 550 words.
We expect to receive professional-quality submissions, and strongly recommend new authors begin by taking advantage of the training programs we offer with the Children’s Publishing Academy before sending in their work.
We are particularly interested in titles that tackle themes of neurodiversity, belonging, and being yourself in fun, creative, and empowering ways. We publish globally and vigorously sell translation rights for our books worldwide, therefore books with a strong local association are often not appropriate for us. For this reason, we generally prefer books in prose, not rhyme.
When you feel confident and ready to submit, please carefully review the following:
Manuscript Submission Instructions:
- Subject line in this format: Picture Book Manuscript: Title
- A brief two-paragraph introduction
- Paragraph #1: Outline your book and call out the themes/topics it addresses
- Paragraph #2: Introduce yourself and include links to your author website and Instagram/social media page. We expect authors to have a strong platform in place to promote their work.
- Your manuscript attached as a Word doc. Please ensure it meets the criteria above.
Please email the above to: [email protected]
Important note: While we understand the temptation to use an AI tool such as ChatGPT or Claude to tighten your pitch, reviewing hundreds of pitches a month that all use the same structure and vocabulary is not what our editors love. Please see the brief pitch email as an opportunity for you to show off your unique written voice. Be yourself; personal and authentic is better than polished and generic!
At present, we are only accepting submissions for children’s picture books as well as illustrator portfolios. We expect to open up to middle-grade and YA submissions in the near future.
Illustrators, please email to the same address as below:
- Subject line: Illustrator portfolio: [Your name]
- A two-paragraph intro to yourself, including links to your previously published works and social media platforms/website.
- Samples attached in one consolidated PDF or linked to your platform
Not sure if your book is ready? Take the free quiz and find out.