Submissions

Sleeping Bear Press is a publisher of quality children’s books. We publish a wide range of books, including board books, beginning readers, picture books, and select middle grade titles. We accept both fiction and nonfiction submissions. We are committed to the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion and welcome stories from diverse authors. Please browse our website or catalog for examples of the types of books we publish.

In addition to our standard submission process, we offer a publishing award for new authors who identify as BIPOC and/or LGTBQ+. Please see the Own Voices, Own Stories Award section for more information.

For standard submissions, at this time, we are only considering email submissions. Please attach your manuscript (illustrations not required) as a Word document and send to the following email address: submissions@sleepingbearpress.com

The subject line of your email should include “New Submission,” the title of your work, fiction/nonfiction, and the subject (science, nature, humor, etc.). The body of your email should be your cover letter and include: your full name, your postal address, any previous publishing experience, word count, and a brief summary of your manuscript (please do not send cover letters as an additional attachment).

Unfortunately, due to the volume of manuscripts we receive, we are unable to personally respond to every submission. We do, however, make every effort to carefully consider each submission we receive. If we are interested in your manuscript, we will respond within six months of receiving it. Additionally, when receiving a submission, we assume no obligation not to publish a book based on a similar concept. Please understand that we are unable to respond to follow-up emails or phone calls.