Submissions
Creative Education
Nonfiction children’s books published under the Creative Education imprint are published in series andencompass a variety of subjects, including science, zoology, biography, history, English Language Arts, fine arts, and sports. Nonfiction series proposals or submissions should include 4, 6, or 8 titles per series. Each title for a higher-elementary audience should feature approximately 3,000 to 5,000 words (body text plus side material) written at a grade 4 level on average. Each title for a lower-elementary audience should feature approximately 300 words written at a grade 1 or 2 level. Include a description or outline of the series as a whole as well as a few sample manuscript pages. There are no subject restrictions, although subject matter should, of course, be appropriate for the reading level. Nonfiction series submissions can be e-mailed to: info@thecreativecompany.us
Include Creative Education Series Proposal in your subject line. If you would like to be considered for work-for-hire writing for Creative Education, please send a cover letter, résumé, and two or three writing samples to: info@thecreativecompany.us
Creative Editions
We publish 8 picture books per year under the Creative Editions imprint. We will review unsolicited picture book submissions, although be advised that competition is extremely keen and very few submissions will be taken for publication. Word counts may vary, depending on the nature of the manuscript, but should not exceed 2,500 for the highest level of picture books.
Manuscripts may be stories, nonfiction, or poetry. Our primary categories are:
- Board books for ages 2–5
- Picture books for ages 4–6
- Illustrated nonfiction for middle school
Mail Creative Editions submissions to:
The Creative Company Attn: Manuscript Submissions P.O. Box 227 Mankato, MN 56002
To receive a reply, include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). If you want the manuscript returned, include a mailer with sufficient postage. We do not reply to submissions that lack an SASE. We do not accept or reply to submissions sent by e-mail. Response time is usually 3–6 months.
Please submit all unsolicited projects to info@thecreativecompany.us.
General Guidelines
- We currently accept submissions by email only, which can be sent to info@thecreativecompany.us
- Please attach your proposal to your email as a single Word file or PDF, and keep the file under 5MB or less to ensure delivery. Outside links and downloads may not be opened due to security risks.
- If your proposal is a simultaneous submission, please indicate this in your cover letter or email.
- Please allow six months for the editors to review a proposal.
- Given the volume of proposals we receive, we cannot ensure that we will be able to personally respond to each submission unless we are interested in pursuing the project.
- Because we currently only accept digital submissions, we are not responsible for any materials that are mailed to our physical location.
- We receive many children's book submissions every month. For this reason, we are not able to track receipt of or answer queries about individual submissions.
Portfolio Submissions
We often hire freelance illustrators, artists, and photographers to develop commissioned artwork for books and products.
If you are interested in being considered for contract design, illustration, or photography work on our projects, please send your website address or PDF portfolio to info@thecreativecompany.us.
