How to submit a book to Abrams Books
Only through an agent
Abrams takes no unsolicited manuscripts, proposals, art or queries and tells writers to work with a literary agent. Its Amplify Award is open only to unagented writers. It signed Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Read off Abrams Books's own pages on
What it says
“ABRAMS does not accept unsolicited submissions, proposals, manuscripts, illustrations, artwork, or submission queries.”
“If you would like to have your work or manuscript considered for publication by a publisher, we recommend that you work with an established literary agent.”
“In fact, this award is only open to manuscripts from unagented writers.”
What it says it looks for
“Submissions can be in any genre—fantasy, contemporary, science fiction, mystery, humor, etc.—as long as they center a child character and the kid point of view.”
“The ABRAMS Amplify Award is our contribution to the effort in publishing to share and uplift—in a word, amplify—those whose voices have traditionally been excluded.”
What it has bought from outside
- 2006
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, first released online on Funbrain, signed as a multi-book series from Jeff Kinney
“In February 2006, during the New York Comic Con, Kinney signed a multi-book deal with publisher Abrams Books to turn Diary of a Wimpy Kid into a printed book series. [ 4 ] The first installment was released in April 2007 [ 5 ] and received immediate success.” en.wikipedia.org
- 2018
The Overlook Press; then Cameron + Company (2020) and Taunton Press (2024)
“In 2018, Abrams acquired The Overlook Press. [ 8 ] In 2020, Abrams acquired Cameron + Company. [ 9 ] Abrams acquired Taunton Press from Active Interest Media in May 2024. [ 10 ]” en.wikipedia.org
Other companies that take a book
- Albert Whitman & CompanyReads unsolicited workAlbert Whitman reads unagented picture books, middle-grade and young adult novels sent to submissions@albertwhitman.com, and answers only…
- Andrews McMeelReads unsolicited workAndrews McMeel Publishing considers proposals from creators and agents by email or mail: an outline and one or two sample chapters.
- Baen BooksReads unsolicited workBaen takes manuscripts through the submission form on its site, baen.com/slush, and prefers the complete manuscript with a synopsis.
- Carina PressReads unsolicited workCarina Press takes agented and unagented novels through Submittable: a query letter, the full manuscript and a synopsis.
- Chronicle BooksReads unsolicited workChronicle Books has an open submissions policy and takes unagented proposals for anything suited to its list, from books to gift products.
- Entangled PublishingReads unsolicited workEntangled takes agented and unagented novels through its Submittable page, starting with a one-page query letter.
- HarlequinReads unsolicited workHarlequin’s series lines take unagented manuscripts through harlequin.submittable.com: the full manuscript or first three chapters, with a…
- Holiday HouseReads unsolicited workHoliday House reads children’s book manuscripts sent to submissions@holidayhouse.com or by mail, and answers only if interested.