Thank you for your interest in Blue Dot Kids Press!

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We are open for submissions at this time. 

 

​We are a small, boutique press and publish ten titles each year: thoughtful and purposeful books that speak to our mission and values.

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We welcome agented and unagented submissions from illustrators and writers from all over the world. We are open to both debut and experienced creators.  

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We offer our authors and illustrators an advance and royalties, extensive publicity, and an active role in the creation of beautiful books they are proud of. We have worldwide distribution and foreign rights representation.

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Please read these guidelines carefully before sending us your submission. We are grateful that you are considering our press as a home for your work.

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Writers

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We publish books for children ages zero to twelve. We are looking for the following:

 

• Middle-grade fiction, as well as nonfiction books, for kids ages eight to twelve

• Fiction chapter books, as well as nonfiction books, for kids ages six to ten

• Fiction and narrative nonfiction picture books for kids ages three to eight

• Board books for kids ages zero to three

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To support our mission, we only look for stories that fall into one or more of these categories:

 

1. Appreciation of nature, conservation, environmental stewardship, science 

2. Social/Emotional learning:  empathy, resilience, emotional intelligence, creative problem solving

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In addition:

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• We are open to various forms of storytelling, including graphic novels.

• If you are submitting a nonfiction picture book manuscript, note that we are only looking for narrative nonfiction manuscripts. Nonfiction material must be suited to supplement a school curriculum in some way and must include informative back matter.

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We are not looking for:

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• Fantasy stories or religious-themed stories

• YA manuscripts

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How to submit:

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• Email your manuscript to hello@BlueDotKidsPress.com. Include the title of your story in the subject line.  

• Your submission email should consist of an introduction that includes a summary of your story, a brief biography of yourself, and contact information.

• Attach documents in Word or PDF format only or simply paste your manuscript into the body of the email.

• Please do not submit a story with doodles or personal photographs. 

• Please do not send your “idea” for a story. Please send your complete story in manuscript form.

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Illustrators

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We are building a portfolio of illustrators with whom we can collaborate.​ We are interested in human characters that showcase the diversity of our world. For animal illustrations, we are not looking for cartoons or anthropomorphic art. 

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How to submit:

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• Email hello@BlueDotKidsPress.com. In the subject line, put “Illustrations by [your name].”

• Include in your email a brief biography and contact information.

• Illustrators are encouraged to send a portfolio of your work with no more than two digital illustration samples. If you have a website, please send just the URL.

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Additional Notes​

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It is increasingly important that authors and illustrators be active participants in promoting titles once they are published. This includes visiting schools, attending author events at bookstores and libraries, maintaining your own online social media promotion, and so on.  

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Given the volume of manuscripts Blue Dot Kids Press receives, please allow three months for us to review your submission. We take the time to look at each and every email. If we are interested in your story, you can expect to hear from us within three months. If you don’t hear from us, please assume that your manuscript is not a fit for our current needs. We receive many submissions and can only publish a few books each year.

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​Thank you for your interest! We look forward to hearing from you.