Happy Birthday to The Little Press!

The Little Press is celebrating our fabulous fifth anniversary this March with you! Join us for a #PitchParty

Submit your picture books, chapter books, middle grade, young adult and graphic novels to our editors. Be sure to check out their wishlists!

DATE: March 20, 2025

TIME: 8 AM - 11 PM EST

WHERE: X www.twitter.com

HASH TAGS (Mandatory and Optional):

MANDATORY:

#TLPPitch

MANDATORY - PICK WHICH BEST FITS YOUR STORY:

#PB = Picture Book

#CB = Chapter Book

#MG = Middle Grade

#GN = Graphic Novel

OPTIONAL

#SEL = Social and Emotional Learning

#HUM = Humorous

#HF = Historical Fiction

#CONT = Contemporary

#AI = Author/illustrator

#REL = Religious

#HOLIDAY = Holiday

#Series = Series Potential

#Rom = Romance

#LGBTQ = LGBTQ+ story

#BIPOC = BIPOC story

How to be a part of the party:

Read our editor interviews to check their wishlists. You will find all of them posted on our The Little Press Blog (https://littlepresspublishing.com/blog) prior to the event, starting March 1st.

If you have something that fits, post your well-crafted pitch on X (Twitter) on Thursday March 20, 2025 between 8am - 11pm (Eastern time). Our editors will review the pitch submissions (either in real time or after the event) and “heart” those they would like to review. If they “heart” your pitch, please follow our submission guidelines at www.littlepresspublishing.com/submissions

Good luck and enjoy!

HERE'S MORE ABOUT LYNNE MARIE, Our Seasonal and Special Projects Acquisitions Editor

Tell us about the book that ignited your love for children’s literature (in your submission genre).

HA! Ironically (given my first book with the Little Press is BROOMMATES: A Brewing Boundary Battle) the first picture book that really ignited my love for kid-lit was THE WITCH NEXT DOOR by Norman Bridwell. I was in the First Grade. So fun to think that many years later I still love picture books and holiday/seasonal tie-ins and have my own witch book!

And, I am (along with Brenda and Nico) over-the-broom excited to share that BROOMMATES is a finalist for the Anna Dewdney Read-Together Award (you can vote at https://everychildareader.net/anna/ until March 21st) which is just taking my love and appreciation for the inspiration I received from Norman Bridwell and his THE WITCH NEXT DOOR to a new height!

Tell us about a recent acquisition and what drew you to it.

GOOD LUCK, PUCK! By Donna J. Marx was my very first acquisition for The Little Press. What drew me to it was a fresh idea, an underrepresented topic (the Winter Games / Olympics), wonderful writing, and an important takeaway. I loved that it was active and engaging and introduced interesting winter sports and their cultures. It truly stood out.

Another pending acquisition is more seasonal in nature. But it definitely caught my attention (as well as Michele’s) right away with its unique voice, structure, humor and strong holiday tie-in. I am very active on Social Media, host a weekly book chat called Mentor Text Talk, and am a Co-Host and Celebration Connoisseur over at #SeasonsOfKidlit.com, so there are many ways to get a sense of what books and topics I am drawn to.

What’s your favorite part of being an editor/ publishing a book?

I love being a fairy godmother to stories and helping writers’ dreams of “going to the ball / being published” come true in the best way possible. Also, editing picture books is one of my favorite things!

As to publishing a book, it’s the whole process of bringing it from a promising manuscript to a bound, published book. Sometimes, revision is like a puzzle – taking a story apart and putting it back together in a way that the pieces all fit together. It’s so rewarding when it all comes together! And then the book deal, art and book are the icing and decorations on the cake!

However, as far as submissions – I do hope that the manuscript (writing and story) are in fairly good shape before I acquire them. Don’t send something that isn’t as ready as you can get it, or it may be a no, when a manuscript that is ripe for the picking may be a YES!

What’s your favorite Little Press book and why?

Although it’s not a picture book but a chapter book, I would say WILLA THE WEREWOLF! It combines several of the things I love – fractured fairy tales, monsters, world travel, and fashion, and specifically, the three little pigs and a werewolf! A winning combination! I am a huge fan of tales and studied fairy tales, fables, myths and legends in college, so it was right up my alley!

Tell us your Wishlist.

My wish is to find a book that incorporates the qualities that I outlined about GOOD LUCK PUCK in Question 2. But specifically, since I am the Seasonal Acquisitions Editor, I would like to see holidays and seasonal material that stands out. The best way to see what we may need to flesh out our list is to check out the books that we’ve done (and what we haven’t done). We may repeat a holiday if it is something stellar, as well as new and different from books we have on our list, and books we have read.

As for special projects, there would need to be some tie-in to an event or important occurrence, or an overall big hook. The sky’s the limit, actually! Because I love puns and puzzles, that’s a clue for everyone.

I would love to see what you interpret the needs as! While it’s not always the answer writers want to hear, I hate to pigeon hole submissions and feel like I will know it when I see it. Surprise me! If it’s well written (and is funny and/or has heart) and ties in with an anniversary or event or holiday, pitch me in our event.

And while you won’t be composing a cover letter, if I do like your pitch and message you, be aware that the kind of cover letters I like to see incorporate BOOK - HOOK - COOK. So show me how the subject matter is important and relevant in the hook section.

Ask and answer a question that you wish we had asked you: Lightning Round of 20 things you love?

Animals. Bakery Items. Books. Broadway Plays. Cats. Celebrations. Cheese. Culture. Dogs. Extinct Creatures. Fairy Tales. Folk Tales. Friends. Holidays. Humor. Kids. Legends. Magical Realism. Monsters. Movies. Mysteries. Myths. Oceans. Outer Space. Pizza. Sharks. Spaghetti. Travel Abroad. Vegetarian Food. Weather. Woodland Creatures. (That’s not 20 but I never said I liked Math or was good at it LOL)

BIO: Lynne Marie is the award-winning author of Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten -- art by Anne Kennedy (Scholastic 2011), Hedgehog's 100th Day of School -- art by Lorna Hussey (Scholastic 2017), The Star of the Christmas Play -- art by Lorna Hussey (Beaming Books 2018), Moldilocks and the 3 Scares -- art by David Rodriguez Lorenzo (Sterling / Scholastic 2019) and Let’s Eat! Mealtime Around the World -- art by Parwinder Singh (Beaming Books 2019), The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project and The Three Little Pigs and the Rocket Project Coloring Book -- art by Wendy Fedan (Mac and Cheese Press 2022), The Palace Rat -- art by Eva Santana (Yeehoo Press 2023), BroomMates: A Brewing Boundary Battle co-written with Brenda Reeves Sturgis – art by Nico Ecenarro (The Little Press 2024, an Anna Dewdney Reading-Together Award Finalist 2025) and Henny Penny’s Weather Worries and more, forthcoming.