Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing is the young readers’ division of one of Australia’s largest independent publishers. We are the home of bestselling, award-winning and ground-breaking stories for young people, and people young at heart.
We publish picture books, fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults. We are currently accepting submissions for the following categories:
Submissions for any Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing imprint from writers and illustrators from marginalised backgrounds and communities.
Picture books from author-illustrators ONLY.
Graphic novels for all ages: 30 pages of storyboard, including at least 4 pages of finished art, and full synopsis.
Little Hare Illustration Prize
Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing is delighted to announce that the Little Hare Illustration Prize is returning in May 2025. Awarded biennially, the prize is open to aspiring picture-book artists across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Entrants are invited to create two full-bleed illustrations for an upcoming Little Hare picture-book manuscript. The winner will receive a publishing contract, an advance against royalties, a mentorship with a published children’s illustrator, and comprehensive art direction and editorial support to bring the picture book to publication.
Submissions for the 2025 Little Hare Illustration Prize will be open from 1 May 2025 to 31 July 2025 with more details to come.
Note: The winner of the 2024 Ampersand Prize has been announced, and the award is now on hiatus.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
All submissions must be made through the Submittable portal. Emailed submissions will not be considered.
Submissions should be from citizens or residents of Australia and/or New Zealand. We do not accept submissions from outside Australia, New Zealand or Oceania unless via an agent, or the author has citizenship or residency within the region.
We can only consider one manuscript per person at a time.
For writers and illustrators from marginalised backgrounds and communities: We welcome submissions about any subject matter and in any genre intended for young readers.
A note on word lengths:
Junior fiction manuscripts, for readers aged approximately 4–8 years, should be between 2000 and 20,000 words;
middle-grade manuscripts, for readers aged approximately 8–12, should be between 20,000 and 50,000 words;
and young adult manuscripts, for readers aged approximately 12+, should be between 40,000 and 80,000 words.
There is no word count requirement for graphic novels.
We are not considering play scripts, screenplays, activity or poster books, individual short stories, technical manuals, cookbooks, how-to guides, travel guides or educational textbooks.
Due to the large volume of submissions, we are unable to provide individual editorial advice.
If you do not meet these guidelines, your manuscript will not be considered.
