New guidelines from Kids Can Press
They're looking for fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels for ages 3–14
Kids Can Press
25 Dockside Drive
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5A 0B5
Kids Can Press publishes picture books and fiction and nonfiction manuscripts for young readers. It’s been around since 1973 and is the home of beloved, best-selling series such as Franklin the Turtle, Scaredy Squirrel and CitizenKid.
Kids Can has recently updated their guidelines:
They are “committed to developing and promoting literary and artistic talent in all its diversity by amplifying underrepresented voices from across Canada, and by inviting kids into books that capture different experiences and open their minds to new ideas and perspectives.”
Kids Can Press is currently accepting the following:
Non-rhyming picture books for ages 3–5 / 3–7 / 4–8
Nonfiction for ages 5–8 / 7–10 / 8–12 / 10–14
Fiction for ages 6–9 / 7–10 / 8–12 / 10–14
Graphic novels (fiction and nonfiction) for ages 5-8 / 6-9 / 7-10 / 8-12
Authors are encouraged to check out their current catalogs to get a sense of the kinds of books they publish. Kids Can likes funny, genuine, thoughtful, heartfelt and clever (in any combination!) approaches to all sorts of stories and subjects – fiction and nonfiction – with particular interest in the areas of social-emotional development and mental health, historically underrepresented groups, global citizenship and awareness, and the environment.
Right now Kids Can is especially looking for early graphic novels (ages 6–9). For examples, see Willa and Wade (fiction for ages 5–7) by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Sara Sahangpour here and Burt the Beetle (nonfiction for ages 6–9) by Ashley Spires here.
Both writers and author/illustrators are welcome.
Other children’s publishers in Canada are also interested in developing early graphic novels!
Note: If you’re interested in writing for young people, register for one of the “Intensive” or “Extreme” creative writing courses starting soon. Details here.
And don’t miss “How to Get Published” with Bridgette Kam, a literary agent who specializes in kid lit and upmarket fiction and nonfiction for adults. Details here.
For all submissions, include a cover letter that tells us what you’re submitting, for what age range, and a bit about yourself, including expertise in the subject area (as applicable) and any writing experience.
Email a typewritten, double-spaced copy of your submission saved as a PDF or Word document to: submissions@kidscan.com
For picture books, please send the entire manuscript
For nonfiction, please send an outline + 2–3 sample chapters/sections
For fiction, please send a synopsis + 3 sample chapters
For graphic novels (whether fiction or nonfiction), please send a synopsis and/or outline + 3 sample chapters
· Mailed manuscripts not accepted.
Other things to know
· They accept only Canadian-authored submissions at this time.
· Submitting your work to other publishers, too? No problem! Just note that in your cover letter.
· They do not accept manuscripts written by children. You must be 18 years old to submit.
· Due to the very high volume of submissions, they respond only to proposals that they determine are a good fit for their publishing program.
· They aim to review submissions within three to six months of receipt. If you haven’t received a reply within six months, it’s (usually) safe to assume that they’re no longer considering your manuscript. Note: right now, as of March 2025, Kids Can is behind in getting to submissions, so it’s actually taking longer than six months. To address this, they may switch to being open to submissions for only a couple months a year, like Orca and Groundwood.
Full submission guidelines here. Illustrator guidelines here.
See all my upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and four-day writing retreats here. ~Brian
Navigation tips: Always check out the Labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. See information about other publishers looking for manuscripts here (and scroll down). If you’re looking specifically for publishers of children’s and young adult books or short pieces, see here (and scroll down).