The New Monster List of Picture Book Publishers!

I know that a lot of you use my Monster List of Picture Book Agents. It's a good resource for when you're on the hunt for an agent, if I do say so myself. I go through the same process to create the posts as I would if I were researching an agent to query. I search to find information about the agent, what they're looking for when it comes to picture books, what they want in submissions, who they represent... all of those things we try to figure out so we can make an educated guess as to if we might want to work with someone. All that research can help you find a way to personalize your query letter too.

I started the list because when I was looking for an agent I spent so much time slogging through submission guidelines trying to figure out if an agent actually took on picture book writers who didn't illustrate, that I got pretty fast at it. Plus I had a big list of agents and I wanted to share it. I still do. Putting together Monster List posts takes some time. But it's fun and I'm going to try to step it up this year and get a lot more posts done. There are lots of agents out there looking for picture books!

Created by Dana Carey.

There's another Monster List I have been wanting to create for some time. As I was putting together my new Picture Book Query Letter Workshop (I announced it yesterday!) I knew that I finally needed to get the list together for people to use.

Sometimes you want to submit your work straight to a publisher, and that is what this list is all about. I am really happy to give you the Monster List of Picture Book Publishers! So far there are over 60 publishers on the list, most of whom are open to unagented submissions right now.

I'm not going to be doing individual posts for this Monster List. Instead I have created a page and linked directly to the publisher's submission guidelines. Those can be so hard to find sometimes! Then you can click through to their website and see what picture books they publish and do your research to decide if they might be a good publisher for your manuscript.

I'm going to add to the list as I come across more picture book publishers. I'll keep track and do an update post on the blog every so often and will be sending out the info in my newsletter as well. (You can sign up in the sidebar.)

A huge THANK YOU! you to my partner in Sub It Club, Dana Carey, for changing up the fabulous Monster List of Picture Book Agents logo she created for me so that I can use it with the Monster List of Picture Book Publishers as well. I just love love that logo!

Whether you are thinking you might like to submit your book directly to publishers, or are well underway with submitting your work, open the door and take a peek at the new Monster List of Picture Book Publishers! Maybe some good places to submit your manuscript will jump out at you.

And if you're feeling like you need help with your query letter, please check out my Picture Book Query Letter Workshop. I'd be happy to help you get that query letter written so you can put your best pitch forward and submit that picture book!

Something New!

I have some exciting things coming up! I have a new Monster List I'm creating to help you find places to submit your work. Soon I'll be opening up a new class I'm creating for picture book writers submitting their work. In February there are great opportunities coming up at Sub It Club. And maybe sometime soonish, I'll even have some good news to share.

Since I split myself between here and the Sub It Club blog I don't always get all of the information out in one place. So, a newsletter will be a good one stop place to capture it all. My plan is to only send out a newsletter 3 to 4 times a year. I'll include the news on who I've added to the Monster Lists, links to tips on submitting and writing, and whatever else I find that I think is helpful to children's book writers. If you're interested I'd love for you to sign up!

Subscribe to my Writers of Childish Things Newsletter!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html
• text

View previous campaigns.

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - Carrie Hannigan of HSG Agency

Carrie Hannigan of HSG Agency

Today's Monster List of Picture Books Agents feature is on agent Carrie Hannigan of HSG Agency (Hannigan, Salky, Getzler Agency). You won't find a bunch of interviews with Carrie online or much social media. But that doesn't mean she's not an agent to consider by any means!

According to Carrie's bio on the agency website she worked with esteemed agent Timothy Seldes of Russell & Volkening for 14 years before moving on to form HSG agency. HSG Agency opened in 2011. Carrie has many successful clients.

Be sure to read Carrie's full bio on the agency website.

While you will mostly have to rely on the HSG Agency website, there are a few other places online where you can learn about Carrie and her agency:

Hannigan, Salky, Getzler Agency has a Facebook page where they post about client releases and more.

Read Carrie's Publisher's Marketplace page to learn about the genres she represents, clients, forthcoming books, and more.

You can get a feel for Carrie's response times by reading the comments and response times reports on her Querytracker listing.

Carrie's picture book author clients include Erica S. Pearl

and Ann McCallum 


Carrie has some amazing clients. She represents author/illustrators as well. Be sure to check out the HSG Agency Clients page.

If you think your work might be a fit for Carrie Hannigan, read over the HSG Agency Submission Guidelines for details on how to submit your work. They ask for electronic submissions only. Yay!

*Please do note that Carrie is not looking for picture books written in rhyme.

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have an additions or changes you think should be made to this listing please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

Enjoy the Little Things

Hey there. As you probably know, the road to publication can be a long one. When you are writing and polishing, submitting and waiting, not a whole lot of tangible things happen. Yes, you have put words on the page. Lots of words! But if you're like me, you aren't showing them to anyone. If you're not careful it can make you feel like you are not doing anything because there is nothing for anyone to see! Or worse, you can feel like you are failing and that is not good for writing great things.

Here's the thing, a published book is but one of the positive things that can happen for you as a writer. Sure, a published book or agent can feel like the golden prize that we're all trying to reach. But there are lots of positives along the way that you need to recognize. They are the things that will keep you going along the long road!

Here are some things that you should pat yourself on the back for:

• Coming up with something great: a title, character, sentence, etc. Yes!
• Finding the perfect word you needed. Uh-huh!
• Finishing a draft. Sweet!
• Completing a revision. Even sweeter!
• Positive things your critique partners say about your work. Woohoo!
• Figuring out a problem you had in your writing. Phew!
• Submitting your polished work. Yay!
• Getting to go have fun at a conference. Yippee!
• Great writer friends. The bomb! 

And of course these are things to hold onto that should tell you that yes, you are doing things right:

• Personalized rejections. They don't send these to everyone!
• Invitations to send more work. They like your style!
• Revision requests. They believe you created a piece that might work in their publishing program!
• Agent interest. An agent thinks they may be able to sell your work! 

Nope, you can't control these last things but if you get something of this nature, don't forget it. Pull it out and reread it when you are wondering why you are spending so much time on this writing thing. 

Either way, remember the positives! Go write some more great sentences. Find that perfect word. And chat it up with your writer friends. You can usually find me blabbing away at Sub It Club or on twitter. ;)

Monster List of Picture Book Agents - Heather Alexander of Pippin Properties

Heather Alexander became an agent at Pippin Properties in 2014. Prior to that she was a children's book editor at Dial Books for Young Readers. She is looking for quirky, subversive picture books. It seems to go without saying that Heather is an editorial agent. There is lots of great info about Heather online to help you decide whether or not she might be the right agent for you:

In this May 2015 interview Heather talks about picture book renaissance and commonly occurring themes in picture book submissions.

Heather did an insightful Query Questions interview where she talk about how many queries she gets vs. how many requests she makes among other interesting tidbits.

The Kidlit 411 Agent Spotlight with Heather is one you won't want to miss!

See some specifics of what Heather is interested in acquiring in her Manuscript Wish List feed. This is updated with Heather's #MSWL tweets so be sure to check back.

Heather talks about her ideal client and more in her interview at Valerie Cole Reads.

You can get some good tips from Heather's First Five Frenzy interview.

In this SCBWI Insight interview Heather talks about working with illustrators and more about what intrigues her.

You can read a couple quick thoughts on character and marketability from Heather at Adventures in YA Publishing.

Heather is looking for diversity.

Check out these critiques Heather did!

Follow Heather Alexander on Twitter @heatheralexand to learn more about her. You can also find her on Facebook. Pippin Properties also has Facebook and Twitter accounts.

And you are in luck! Heather just started her very own blog. Here's looking forward to lots of great info there.

Check out the Pippin Property submission guidelines if you are interested in querying. Pippin has a great website. Be sure to look at their clients page and the books they represent too!

This post is part of the Monster List of Picture Book Agents. If you have an additions or changes you think should be made to this listing please contact me or leave them in the comments. Thanks!

A Post!

Oh my gosh it has been a while! I have had a lot going on. Some things that I can tell you about and some that I can't (but hopefully will be able to soon!)

You know, sometimes I think I choose the hardest things there are to do. Write picture books. Check. Farm garlic organically. Check. Live on a mountaintop. Check.

As you might have noticed I pretty much took the summer off from my blog. But I still managed to do quite a bit of blogging at Sub It Club. I have actually been doing a series on Submissions that you might want to check out if you're new to submitting your work or if you just want to see if there's any new tips you may not have thought of. Or if you're like me and like to review information that you already know. (I say this because I am doing another round of reading books on writing. Once you've read as many as I have it REALLY starts to sink in. Ha!) Also, I've been updating lots of great contest opportunities so you might want to check those out.

This year (I count the months of March to early November as a year. I do more work in that time than I can even comprehend. Hooray for freezing weather to give us a farm break!) was a lot different at the farm. We decided to participate in WWOOF - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms for our first time. We had a bunch of great kids (they were in their 20's. I'm old.) stay with us over the summer. They came to learn about organic farming and rural living. It took a bit of getting used to at first having so many extra people around (more cooking and cleaning!). It was fun though and they helped us so much. It was great for my kids to get to know such wonderful young adults that they could look up to. We had super smart kids from prestigious colleges, athletes, musicians, and even a professional photographer stay with us. I think that the ruralness might have been a shock to some of them but everyone seemed to have a great time and we miss them all. You can see some of the fun we had at our Great Northern Garlic Facebook page. I wish I would have had time to post more but yeah--working. And we planted even more garlic this year. Next year should be interesting!

As for our ruralness. Technology has suddenly brought us closer. The "regular" internet has finally reached way up here in the mountains. (Yes, my technological words are lacking.) This means no more slow satellite internet with limited access! This also means that we can have a telephone. Gulp. I have lived for 20 years without a telephone in my house so this idea is taking a little getting used to for me. I did make my first phone call and it was just so weird to be talking on the phone in my house instead of in my parked car in town, which is where I usually (used to?) make all my phone calls. Having a phone at home will be super convenient, of course. Now if technology could just make the dirt road less bumpy.

On the writing front, super cool things are happening. My agent is the best and I know I am very lucky to have his help. Being a picture book writer is a huge challenge.You have to set the stage for a great story that includes pictures. And it has to stand out in a super competitive market. Even if you have a great story there is still revision and rethinking that can need to be done. So, my picture book writing friends, don't be discouraged. Keep at it. Celebrate the little accomplishments on your journey. And check in for new Monster List posts. Now that I have time I am planning to do more updates!

Kidlit Summer School!

Have you heard about Kidlit Summer School? If not you should head on over! This summer they're focusing on plot. You need to register to join. But it's free! The faculty is amazing you'll definitely want to check out what they're offering.

Besides some amazing authors and illustrators, editors and agents are participating. I know it's short notice but my fabulous agent, Sean McCarthy will be doing a pitch critique session on Monday. You have to register by tomorrow morning to participate live (sorry for the short notice!) but by it looks like you can still listen in if you register later. Sean gives the best advice and you can learn a lot by listening to pitch critiques so I highly recommend taking part if you at all can!