Advice for Authors and Illustrators

Authors

People ask us frequently how to go about getting published and our policy on accepting work. Unfortunately we do not accept unsolicited manuscripts here at Ladybird, but offer below some suggestions and advice before sending your work to any publisher:

Target your work specifically:
Different publishers publish different types of books, so you must study individual publishers' requirements carefully to ensure that you send your work to the right place.

The Writers and Artists’ Yearbook, published annually by A&C Black, is a good source of general information for all aspiring writers. It contains listings of all UK publishers and what each one covers, as well as a section on writing for children

How to present your work:
Your manuscript should be typed if possible on one side of A4 paper and pages should be numbered.  Use a folder to keep a manuscript together and ensure that it is accompanied by a brief covering letter and a stamped addressed envelope.

It’s not necessary to send illustrations to accompany manuscripts for picture books unless you are a professional illustrator yourself. 

If you have read this advice and still think your work is suitable for Ladybird, please send your manuscript to the attention of:

Editorial Submissions
Ladybird Books
Penguin Group UK
80 Strand
London WC2R 0RL

Please note that very few manuscripts are accepted for publication due to the high level we receive and our restricted publishing programme.  For this reason, we will take some time to get back to you and we also ask that you do not contact us for comments or feedback. It may be that we do not actually provide constructive comments about your work if we are unable to publish it, as we do not offer this service to prospective authors.

Illustrators

Please send your work to: ladybird@uk.penguingroup.com