Here’s how you can help get books into the hands of the children who need them but whose families don’t have the resources to get them, AND get your children’s book published.
Southwest Human Development is Arizona’s largest non-profit dedicated to early childhood development in children ages birth through five. One of their core concentrations is early childhood literacy; in fact, they are a nationally recognized leader in the promotion of early literacy and give away over 100,000 books to young children through forty programs that support young children in Arizona and their families.
Since the people at Southwest Human Development are experts in what a good book for young children should be, they decided to publish their own book for young children (and at the same time raise the profile of authors who write books for this young audience) through their fundraising program Books For Babies & Toddlers Too!.
Announcing Southwest Human Development’s First Edition competition.
Southwest Human Development is seeking submissions of children’s book manuscripts in their first annual First Edition Call for Children’s Book Manuscripts. The author of the winning manuscript will have his or her book professionally designed and illustrated (by 1106 Design), and published and promoted by Southwest Human Development.
Submitted manuscripts should be 600 words or less, original works, and appropriate for children ages birth through three. Each submitted manuscript will go through two rounds of review, the first by staff who will check that it meets the contest’s requirements, and the second by a selection panel of early literacy experts from Southwest Human Development and members of the community with expertise in child development, early childhood education, early literacy, and children’s book sales and publishing.
The winning author will receive a contract for the publication of his or her book, including professional editing, illustrations, and graphic design. The author will also receive distribution of at least two thousand, 32-page hardbound copies of the book to children through Southwest Human Development’s programs, such as Raising a Reader and Reach Out And Read—in addition to professional promotion of the book to spur book sales through a “one for one” model on the Southwest Human Development website, established online retailers, and retail book stores. The author will also receive royalties on sales and more.
The First Edition contest is a terrific opportunity for authors of children’s books (particularly unpublished authors who have a great manuscript but are not sure what to do next), where an author can realize the dream of a published book knowing that the first two thousand copies will be distributed to children who might not otherwise have access to the book.
Click here for submission guidelines, award details, the fine print, and more.
The deadline for submissions is August 31, 2015.
Good luck!
