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.
Important Update [April 2026]: Most of our submission pathways are temporarily closed to allow our editors to catch up on material received so far this year. We intend to reopen submissions with a new & improved process from May 2026. Meanwhile, we highly recommend that eligible creators participate in the Your Marvellous Mind pitching competition.
Free Author and Illustrator Submissions [Temporarily Closed – Reopening May 2026]
Please follow the instructions below to submit your work to EK Books through our standard, free process. Due to the high volume of submissions received, you will only hear back if we are interested in publishing your book in its current format. Submissions are assessed within 8-12 weeks. Please only send professional, correctly formatted submissions. If you are not 100% confident your book is ready, please select one of the other options
Assessed Submissions [Temporarily Closed – Reopening May or June 2026]
Before submitting or resubmitting your book, get actionable feedback directly from the EK Books editorial team. Learn how to build on your strengths and fix any impediments that may have been holding you back from publication until now. Receive a guaranteed response with one page of actionable feedback within 7-21 days of submission. After receiving feedback, you may improve your book and take advantage of priority, year-round submission to EK Books.
Earn the Certificate [April Cohort Open Now!]
To stand out in the competitive world of children’s publishing, you need to learn what publishers today expect from children’s authors. Our Children’s Author Certificate course is a comprehensive program covering both the craft and business of children’s authorship. Places are limited.
Important Advice
EK Books is a global publisher of children’s picture books that support children around the world going through common yet specific issues.
This means your book is NOT for EK Books if it is not…
- A standard, 32-page book of approximately 400 words in length
- Written with a global audience in mind (i.e not too local in flavor)
- Targeted to a specific and clearly defined readership
- Too broad: “This book is for everybody.”
- Too specific: A niche so narrow as to only include a few thousand readers
We strongly prefer:
- Books in prose (i.e, not rhyming)
- Submissions professionally mapped to the 32-page format
- Authors and illustrators to submit seperately (authors, if you illustrate your own work, or have already an illustrator you have selected who has not worked with EK Books before, this is a disadvantage as it limits our ability to assign an illustrator whose work fits our house style)
Not sure if your book is ready? Take the free quiz and find out.