Hachette Children’s Group announces open day for Northern, Scottish and Irish picture book creators

Hachette Children’s Group has announced it will hold its third virtual open day to find new picture book writers and illustrators from the North of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Taking place on 8th June 2023 and open to fiction and non-fiction picture book creatives, the day is aimed at giving talent from the outlined areas the opportunity to engage directly with a publishing team from Hachette Children’s Group and receive industry feedback and direction on their work.

Submissions open on 5th January 2023 and close on the 30th March 2023, and appointments at the virtual open day are limited to up to 30 spaces. Writers and illustrators will be selected for appointments based on the strength of their submission and meeting the criteria. All appointments will be assigned in advance.

Attending the day will be picture book development director, North, Emma Layfield (based in Hachette’s Manchester office) along with other picture book editors and designers from Hachette Children’s Group.

Layfield said: “There is so much talent in the North, Scotland and Ireland still to be discovered and we are committed to pioneering innovative ways to find it. This initiative opens the doors to budding picture book creatives and is a great way for us to forge even closer links to writers and illustrators outside the ‘London bubble’. We can’t wait to look at this year’s submissions!”

Applicants must be over 18 and currently living in the North of England (North West, North East and Yorkshire), Scotland and Ireland only. They must be previously unpublished in picture books, so not have had any book previously published by a publisher or self-published in any format or be under a contract to have their work published. Only one project is to be submitted and, if successful, only the same project will be discussed at the meetings.

The entries will be reviewed on the basis of the following criteria: “We’re looking for a well-written piece of writing (in rhyme or prose) with a strong hook or theme. It should introduce a memorable character or characters and have a strong plot. The text must (in HCG’s opinion) sit firmly in the picture book genre for 3 to 5-year-olds and be a work of fiction or non-fiction.”

Entries must be text or artwork for children, not for adults; writers should submit one complete picture book text in rhyme or prose (maximum 700 words) to be reviewed by an editor; writer-illustrators should submit one complete picture book text in rhyme or prose (maximum 700 words) plus three pieces of their artwork (in colour) to be reviewed by an editor or designer.

Illustrators are invited to submit three pieces of their picture book portfolio (in colour) to be reviewed by a designer, the entries must be in English and must be in a legible font and font size and all submissions must be emailed as a PDF or Word document to: picturebookopenday@hachettechildrens.co.uk. The creator’s name must be included in the file name and the region they live in and whether they are a writer, illustrator or writer-illustrator in the body of the email.