We are committed to finding and developing new talent, whether you are a writer or an illustrator.

What sort of books are we looking for?

At Wacky Bee we’re concentrating on books for 3–12 year olds with our list falling into three sections – picture books for 3–6 year olds, early readers for 4–7 year olds and middle grade fiction for 8–12 year olds.

We will look at all types of subject matter but we’re particularly keen to bridge the gap between picture books and longer general fiction. We also want to make our readers laugh so we are looking for a strong element of humour, even if the story has sad bits as well.

What don’t we publish?

We are not looking for young adult fiction, poetry or non-fiction.

We prefer picture books to be fully illustrated and sent as low res pdfs.

And no rhyming texts please.

How to submit

Because Wacky Bee is the publishing arm of The Writers’ Advice Centre our submissions process is slightly different from that of other publishers.

We are a small, fledgling company and, as such, can only publish a limited number of titles every year. In order to be considered for Wacky Bee we prefer that authors first use one of The Writers’ Advice Centre’s manuscript appraisal services. That way, we have the time and resources to steer potential authors in the right direction, increasing their chances of acceptance on submission.

We are looking for authors who are serious enough about their writing that they would probably want to use The Writers’ Advice Centre’s services anyway, regardless of the Centre’s connection with Wacky Bee. However, if you feel that The Writers’ Advice Centre isn’t for you, then Wacky Bee is also open to unsolicited submissions.

Please submit your manuscript – as a Word attachment – to submissions@wackybeebooks.com

Note that we cannot respond to postal submissions.

Payment

Authors will be paid on a royalty only basis, no advance. Illustrators will be paid a flat fee, no royalties. Whilst we are happy to deal directly with writers and illustrators, we are also keen to hear from agents. However it’s important to remember that as a new and small company we are restricted as to how far we can negotiate when it comes to contracts.