Find your audience

Submissions

Illustrators who wish to share a portfolio with our Art Director may send links or attachments via email to info@pajamapress.ca at any time. Please note that manuscripts sent to this address will not be considered unless otherwise stated below.

Pajama Press is no longer accepting unsolicited manuscript submissions. Please check again to see when our submissions open!

What we are looking for

Pajama Press is a small literary press with high editorial and production standards.

We produce many formats popular in children’s publishing across a fairly broad range of genres: picture books, our new sturdy books for the very young, early chapter books for new readers, middle grade novels, young adult novels, and literary non-fiction.

Picture books:

700 words or less. Character-driven stories. Or stories that emphasize word play, vocabulary building, and rhythm.

Primary stories:

150 words or less. High concept, simple ideas, word play. Suitable for ages 1–3 or 2–5.

Early chapter books:

7,000-14,000 words. Stories divided into approximately 10 chapters. School-aged protagonists, single point of view. Vocabulary building, lots of dialogue. Stories about character development, overcoming challenges.

Middle-grade novels:

24,000-40,000 words. More complex, character-driven stories that feature a single or dual point of view. Currently seeking fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction with a focus on universal appeal and diverse casts.

Young adult novels:

70,000-90,000 words. More complex, character-driven stories that feature a single or dual point of view. Currently seeking fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction with a focus on universal appeal and diverse casts.

Learn about Pajama Press

Submitting a manuscript

Please write us an email that gives the following information:

  • A brief summary of your book. Remember that this is a summary, not marketing material—please don’t leave us in suspense about how the story’s conflict is resolved.
  • An excerpt. The first three chapters of your middle grade or YA manuscript.
  • Information about your writing background.

Other things to know:

  • It takes time for our small team to work through the large volume of submissions we receive, as a result, we are only able to respond to proposals that we determine are a good fit for our publishing program.
  • We aim to review submissions within four to six months. If you haven’t received a reply within six months, it is safe to assume that we are no longer considering your manuscript.

We can’t wait to read your stories!

Read the Submission FAQ before submitting
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