Submissions
Please note: Submissions are currently closed.
Hello everyone,
At Tiny Tree Books we are dedicated to championing new talent and underrepresented voices in the children’s publishing industry. Whilst our smaller size makes it more difficult for us to compete with the largest publishers, our dedication to you and your work is unparalleled.
Our process is all about collaboration; working with an author to ensure that their book matches their vision whilst preparing it for release to readers and bookshops. Should your manuscript submission be successful we will do everything in our power to ensure it reaches readers across the UK and, thanks to Andrews UK’s global reach, the rest of the world.
Our focus is now on greatness from small beginnings — growing our reach alongside our authors (and illustrators) whilst continuing to provide a wonderful, collaborative, publishing experience to everyone that we work with. By focusing on what we do best, we’ll do the best by our talented partners and their work.
Whilst this means we only publish a small selection of books per year, we’re given the time to ensure that the quality is high, that the marketing is good, and that each new title is as good as it can be.
What are we looking for?
Whilst we’re open to receiving any and all submissions, the submission guidelines below highlight some of the key things we’re looking for in new books right now. We would love submissions from a wide variety of backgrounds, but are really looking to support working class, underrepresented or debut authors.
(Updated August 2023).
Picture Books (Fully-Illustrated)
We are interested in fully-illustrated picture books from an author / illustrator team or individual. The below notes are not requirements but help meet the criteria that we are looking for.
- Diverse (race, gender, sexuality, religion) characters
- Focus on important topics. For example: mental health and wellbeing, gender and sexuality, the environment.
- Reinforces positivity
- Inspirational stories
- Working class stories
Middle-Grade / YA
We are interested in higher middle-grade and YA titles across a variety of genres. The below notes are not requirements but meet the criteria that we are looking for.
- Diverse (race, gender, sexuality, religion) characters
- Strong female or LGBTQIA+ leads.
- Plots/subplots with important messaging: For example: mental health and wellbeing, gender and sexuality, the environment.
- Working class stories
- We are not looking for titles that need extensive internal illustration.
Submission Requirements
Your submission should be emailed to us in a Word or PDF file. No physical manuscripts will be accepted. Returns of physical manuscripts are not guaranteed. Please only submit one manuscript per email.
Please include the following alongside your manuscript:
Query Letter
This includes:
- Full contact information (address, email, telephone number)
- A short author biography (200 words max)
- Title and word count of manuscript
- A short (2-3 pages) synopsis, including the ending*
- A short outline (200 words max) on further books planned in the series (if applicable)*
*Middle-Grade and Young Adult titles only.
Full Synopsis
For middle-grade and young adult manuscripts, please try and send a full synopsis of the book including key characters and their arcs, key themes, details of significant plot points, and the ending (500-1000 words approx). Please include the manuscript’s full word count and any details of work(s) referenced.
For picture books, a short synopsis (200 words max) should highlight any key themes and characters.
Complete Manuscript
A complete manuscript of the proposed title. Please include a cover page including the title, author’s name, contact details, and full word count, and a header and footer with the book’s title and the author’s name on each page.
Complete manuscript should be provided by email in Word or PDF format.
Please send all submissions to submissions@tinytreebooks.com
Please allow 8 – 12 weeks for a response.
Unfortunately, we no longer have the capacity to get back to every single submission. If you have not heard from us after 12 weeks then please take that as confirmation that we will not be taking your title.
PERMISSIONS
We do not gather permissions for third party materials. It is the author’s responsibility to gather all necessary permission for material that falls outside the remit of ‘fair dealing’ or ‘fair use’. For information on the interpretation of fair dealing in UK law, please consult the Society of Authors website. Quotations of any length from poems, letters, lyrics and recipes, artwork and images [including photographs] maps and line drawings all require written permission. Copies of permissions granted must be submitted to us before we will consider publication.
If you have any ideas, or specific images in mind for the cover of your book, or any internal pages then please note that a high proportion of images found on internet searches are unlicensed and cannot be used.
We require high-resolution images, licensed for commercial use (as opposed to editorial use), with model releases where appropriate. Your best bet is to gather material from stock photo websites such as iStock, Shutterstock, Corbis and Getty images. There is no need for you to purchase an image for your book before submitting it to us, simply download a ‘comping image’ for illustration purposes or send us a link to the file you think will be appropriate.
If you are looking to use a quote or an image from one of our titles then please contact us through submissions or our general enquiries email.