Unlike Non-fiction submissions where we can submit to publishers with an outline and sample chapters, Fiction is almost always submitted as a full manuscript with an accompanying synopsis.
For your Children’s & YA Fiction submission to us you will need your pitch, sample chapters, and synopsis. We have broken down each of these elements below with guidelines and our tips on what it is we hope to see in them.
You will find our Children’s & YA Fiction submission form at the bottom of this page.
If you have any questions relating to making a Children’s & YA Fiction submission to us, please visit our FAQ page.
Genre Spotlight
We accept and consider Children’s & YA Fiction submissions across all genres for readers aged eight and above. Our agents have a current and particular interest in seeing more…
Contemporary Fantasy and YA Romance
The Pitch
The ideal pitch won’t be too long, preferably less than 500 words. It will start with an elevator pitch – a line or two that covers exactly what your book is about – and then a slightly longer pitch, along the lines of what the blurb of your book might look like. This is not your synopsis – that comes later. Do include a little about yourself. We don’t need to know your life history, just what will help us understand where you and the book intersect.
The Sample Chapters
While we require that you have finished your manuscript to submit, your sample chapters should be your first three chapters (not exceeding 10,000 words). If we are excited about your novel, we will contact you over email to ask for your full manuscript.
The Synopsis
Your synopsis is an important part of your submission because it provides us with a cheat-sheet to your novel – in a clear and concise way it relays your main plot, tells us who your protagonists are and provides an overview of your characters’ journey. It should reveal any relevant secrets or twists, including the ending. It is important that you only include information and elements of plot that are key to your core characters and story. As agents, we know that there will be more subplots, characters, and even nuance in your manuscript than your synopsis will allow you to convey. That’s to be expected. Don’t get too bogged down in trying to relay absolutely every detail of your novel. The industry standard for a synopsis is one side of A4, single spaced, font size 12. For us, we allow up to 2-pages which will be roughly 700-1,000 words.
Formatting your Children’s & YA submission
- Files saved as Word Documents (.doc or .docx) or as PDFs only.
- Sample chapters saved as ‘Sample, Title, Name’.
- Synopsis saved as ‘Synopsis, Title, Name’.
- Arial, 12 point font, double spaced with numbered pages.
- Please do not include headers, footers, clip art, word art or coloured pages and letters. (These can do horrible things to our e-readers!)
Preparing for your Children’s & YA Fiction Submission
Before making your submission we recommend downloading this template version of our form as a way for you to pre-prepare your answers and material. Doing this should make filling in our form quicker and easier for you.
Making your Children’s & YA Fiction Submission
Please use the button below to make your Children’s & YA Fiction submission to our team.