SUBMISSIONS

We will happily read children's book manuscripts from authors and illustrators from the UK/Europe about wildlife, nature, animals, and the environment – if the guidelines below are followed. Any submissions that do not follow the guidelines will be deleted unread. We will respond to ALL submissions that do follow the guidelines, however. 

Unfortunately we are unable to provide the support required for authors/illustrators who are not based in the UK/Europe at this time.

We are accepting submissions of non-fiction and fiction, and are especially interested in narrative and creative non-fiction. 

Must-haves for authors:

Familiarity with books published by Catch a Leaf Publishing.

The manuscript should have been professionally edited (Reedsy is a good place to look for an editor). 

NO generative AI should have been used – in the query letter or in the story itself. 

The author must have a visible network relating to the subject matter of the book and/or children's books/education in general. This means a large social media following (50K +) or a professional position with in an organisation relating to the subject matter, for example. 

The manuscript/storyline and characters should be funny and/or witty or clever (we're not looking for lyrical or thoughtful stories at this time). 

Please put the words 'guiding potato' as your email subject title – this allows us to be sure you read these instructions to the end!

Must-haves for illustrators:

Familiarity with books published by Catch a Leaf Publishing.

NO generative AI should have been used at any stage of the process of creating the artwork. 

An online portfolio showing experience/understanding of picture book layout, characters in a variety of scenes, animals, wildlife and children. 

Please put the words 'guiding potato' as your email subject title – this allows us to be sure you read these instructions to the end!