Hardie Grant Publishing

We are currently accepting submissions for the following categories ONLY:

• Picture book manuscripts for our Bright Light imprint (stories that shine a light on important conversations, topics or experiences)
• Graphic novels (for all ages)
• Submissions from writers and illustrators from marginalised backgrounds and communities (NB: We welcome submissions about any subject matter and in any genre intended for young readers.)

Please note that currently we are not accepting submissions from unagented writers outside of these categories. 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Submissions should be from citizens or residents of Australia and/or New Zealand. We do not accept submissions from outside Australia, New Zealand or Oceania unless via an agent, or the author has citizenship or residency within the region. 
• We can only consider one manuscript per person at a time. 
• For writers and illustrators from marginalised backgrounds and communities: We welcome submissions about any subject matter and in any genre intended for young readers.
• We are not considering play scripts, screenplays, activity or poster books, individual short stories, technical manuals, cookbooks, how-to guides, travel guides or educational textbooks for the children's and YA lists. 
• Due to the large volume of submissions, we are unable to provide individual editorial advice.
• If you do not meet these guidelines, your manuscript will not be considered.

A note on word lengths:

• Junior fiction manuscripts, for readers aged approximately 4–8 years, should be between 2000 and 20,000 words; 
• middle-grade manuscripts, for readers aged approximately 8–12, should be between 20,000 and 50,000 words; 
• and young adult manuscripts, for readers aged approximately 12+, should be between 40,000 and 80,000 words. 
• There is no word count specification for graphic novels.

Note: The Ampersand Prize for debut children's and YA manuscripts runs every two years, and will next run in July 2024. More information can be found here.