A publication for children's book writers
Long-form articles, expert interviews, and live sessions - all focused on writing and publishing children's books.
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Interviews
On the illustration process, collaboration, and the age of AI Emily House is a British author-illustrator based in Cape Town, South Africa, represented by Hen & Ink Literary. Her author-illustrated picture books include Treemergency!, Bonbon & Blanket, Earth Takes a Break, and Ode to the River, all published by Imagnary House. She also illustrates for […]
Interviews
On storytime, didacticism, and the books that make a restless room go quiet Rachel Bachman writes about children’s books with refreshing candour. On her Substack Excuse My Whimsy, she draws on her daily experience as a librarian in Nebraska, and discusses how great books work their magic with kids – and how others fall flat. […]
Opinion
On the gap between what children want and what adults choose for them – By Marleen Lammers Children’s literature has a strange disconnect at its centre. There are the children the books are written for, and there are the adults who decide whether children ever get to meet them: writers, agents, publishers, parents, librarians. What […]
Interviews
On doodles, development, and knowing when something is right Ian Smith is a children’s book illustrator and author-illustrator represented by The Plum Agency. His illustrated titles include Wanna See a Penguin?, The King’s Runaway Crown, and The Day the Jungle-Net Broke. He also writes and illustrates his own books, among them The Very Polite Knight […]
Getting Published
How to write a query letter for a children’s book – and what agents actually want to see A query letter is one page with a simple purpose, but it stops plenty of talented writers from getting published. Not because the writing isn’t good enough, but because writing a winning query letter is a different […]
International Markets
On publishing in a multilingual market, local stories, and the books children actually want Shawna-Leze Meiring is Managing Editor of children’s books at Penguin Random House South Africa, one of the country’s leading publishers. Based in Cape Town, she oversees a children’s list spanning Afrikaans and English titles across picture books, chapter books, and young […]
Hone your craft
Webinar
A live webinar with a working UK literary agent. Bring your questions about picture book submissions, what's selling, and what to avoid.
Reviews
Get honest and constructive feedback on your picture book manuscript by an experienced literary agent in the UK. It'll get you a step closer to getting the end result you're after.
Retreat
A small-group residential writing retreat for children's book writers. Sun-filled days with structured craft sessions, manuscript time, and honest conversation in Paphos, Cyprus.
Author voices
Author & Illustrator
"I love the sense of limitless possibility when you write for children – nothing is too crazy or silly."
Author
"I think it’s very easy to see only the happy, successful side of a writing life on social media, and just like every side of life shown on there, this isn’t always the reality."
Author
"Dyslexia has heightened my storytelling skills, and I’m grateful for that."