Blue Whale Press

Welcome from Blue Whale Press Editor Roseanne Frank!

Howdie, Authors & Illustrators!

We strive to publish books that will encourage young readers and instill a life-long love of reading.

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We are closed to submissions at this time.
Please check back again & follow us on Instagram @BlueWhalePress

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We are open to unsolicited manuscripts from both represented and unrepresented authors and author-illustrators. We are also looking for illustrators willing to work on commission.

At Blue Whale Press, we hope to find well-written fiction and informational STEAM Chapter and Middle Grade books within a fiction narrative. And, perhaps, a picture book or two each year.

Hi-Lo (High Interest-Low Reading Level) Books cater to those struggling readers, and we want to include them too. We are looking for stories that are high-interest topics for older readers (7-12) but written with shorter sentences, basic vocabulary, and new vocabulary in context to move them along their reading journey.

Why STEAM?

Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math are fun! We don’t underestimate how smart our audience is, and we want to encourage that sense of wonder, investigation, research, making conclusions, and enhance general knowledge – skills that create a well-rounded child, and will help them throughout their life and in whatever future they pursue.

We want to find lyrical, fun stories with STEAM elements within an engaging narrative. We want to see memorable, inclusive characters. Representation from underrepresented populations, differently-abled, and neurodivergent characters are welcomed, and would love to see them within the narrative and not just the focus. Let the reader see the world through their eyes. Make the reader care. Make the reader laugh. Children’s books should transport a child to another time/place/space and have them take away fascinating information. Above all, books should elicit the visual, either for great illustrations or for the reader’s imagination.

Manuscripts should include, and focus on, at least one of the STEAM elements.

Curriculum extension possibilities a plus!

Stories should be fun, fast-paced and if you can make us laugh, that’s a plus! We are also on the look-out for series, so if your manuscript has that potential, send it in!

We’re a bit nerdy here at Blue Whale, and we have wide interests.

We always think about what we would have liked to have read as a kid. So here it goes:

A mini-Indiana Jones, Archeology/Paleontology series.

A pint-sized, crime solving, mathematician as in NUMB3RS.

Cryptozoology & Lost Worlds.

Anything astronomy/space related.

Art theft detectives, stories that tackle art, art history, art theory.

Imagination/Creativity to solve problems.

Time Travel.

If you think it’s too weird to send to anyone, send it anyway.

If you've read this far, you're ready to submit!

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Submission Requirements

Make sure your manuscript is proofread for errors. It would be well advised for your story to have gone through revisions with feedback and critique from fellow authors or editors in the children’s writing field.

Please adhere to these Word Count guidelines.

Chapter Books (ages 6-9) – 5,000 – 10,000

Middle Grade (ages 8-12; Upper MG 9-15)– 20,000 – 50,000

Hi-Lo – 15,000 – 25,000

If you have a series, or a potential series, send one story and in the body of your query include a description of the evolution of the stories and how each story will be related.​

Format your manuscript as follows:

Times Roman 12 Point

Double Space

One-inch margins all around

Include your name and title in the header.

Include your name and contact information, word count, genre,

and age level at the top of the first page.

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No AI accepted in any form.

In your bio, please include any prior publications (including self-published books) and any organizations you are a member of or writing groups (ie. SCBWI, 12 x 12, Highlights Foundation workshops), and any information you think is relevant to your writing.​

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