Step 2 of 2 · Submission guidelines
Submitting to EK Books
EK Books 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 are reading now
Our submission window is open. Read the guidance below, make sure your book is a good fit, then choose how you would like to submit.
Before you begin
We welcome submissions from literary agents, as well as new and established authors. Before submitting, please look through 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.
We expect to receive professional-quality submissions, and strongly recommend new authors begin with the training programs we offer through the Academy before sending in their work.
What we publish
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, so books with a strong local association are often not appropriate for us. For the same reason, we generally prefer books in prose, not rhyme.
At present we are accepting children’s picture books and illustrator portfolios only. We expect to open to middle-grade and YA submissions in the near future.
Manuscript submissions
- Subject line, in this format: Submission: [Title]
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A brief two-paragraph introduction
- Outline your book, and call out the themes and topics it addresses.
- Introduce yourself, with links to your author website and social media. We expect authors to have a strong platform in place to promote their work.
- Your manuscript attached as a Word document, meeting the criteria above.
A note on AI-written pitches
We understand the temptation to use a tool like ChatGPT or Claude to tighten your pitch. But reading hundreds of pitches a month that all share the same structure and vocabulary is not what our editors love.
Treat the pitch email as your chance to show off your own written voice. Be yourself — personal and authentic beats polished and generic, every time.
Illustrator portfolios
Send to the same address.
- Subject line: Illustrator portfolio: [Your name]
- A two-paragraph introduction to yourself, including links to your previously published works and your website or social platforms.
- Samples attached as one consolidated PDF, or linked on your platform.
Ready to submit?
Two ways to send us your work.
Free submission
No cost
Send us your manuscript and it will be read and considered.
- You hear back only if we are interested in exploring publication
- Read by our editorial team
- Follow the guidelines above exactly
[email protected]
Subject: Submission: [Title]
Opens your email app with the address and subject line ready.
Assessed submission
From $290 USD
Clear feedback from an EK publisher to help you advance to publication.
- A guaranteed response, with detailed constructive feedback
- A senior publisher from the EK Books team gives you their honest reaction
- A concise written report with clear guidance on how to make your manuscript more appealing to publishers like EK
- Priority consideration — skip the queue and get considered before other manuscripts
- Normally 21–30 days
A review is not a promise of publication. It is a read by the people who decide, and a straight answer about where your book stands.
Not sure if your book is ready?
Take the free quiz and find out where it stands before you send.
Take the free quiz