Want to get your picture book manuscript published?!

Picture Book Publication Opportunity - Deadline to Apply is June 30, 2025

Want to get your picture book manuscript published?!

Here is your opportunity to get published with Lee and Low. Established in 2000, the New Voices Award is given biennially to an unpublished writer of color or Native/Indigenous writer for a picture book manuscript.

Manuscripts may be FICTION, NON-FICTION, or POETRY for children ages 5 to 12. Manuscripts should address the needs of children of color or Native/Indigenous children by providing stories with which they can identify and relate, and which promote a greater understanding of one another. Themes relating to different family structures, gender identity, LGBTQ+ communities, or disabilities are also of interest.

The deadline to apply is June 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

New Voices Award winners receive a standard publication contract, including Lee & Low Books’s basic royalties and an advance in the amount of $5,000.

Winners are also given close publishing mentorship as they work to develop their first book for publication. Nurturing manuscripts takes time, and Lee & Low’s commitment to this contest represents over two decades of dedication. We ask for the same commitment and courtesy from applicants. Please make sure you are able to abide by the eligibility and manuscript submission guidelines before entering. After you have read the guidelines you can apply here: https://www.leeandlow.com/authors-illustrators/writing-contests/new-voices-award/

📢 Subscriber-Only Discount!

20% Discount on my manuscript critique services. Let me help you prepare your picture book for the Lee & Low New Voices publishing opportunity.

Become a subscriber and get 20% off my manuscript critique services.

How to get this discount?

Step 1: Subscribe

Step 2: Comment “DISCOUNT” below and I will send you the discount code you can use to get 20% off this service.

Note - I am an award-winning, best-selling, traditionally published author. I have also critiqued hundreds of manuscripts.

Here are some testimonials from past clients:

Last fall, [Alyssa] helped me with a story I was working on about hiking (TITLE REMOVED FOR PRIVACY REASONS). Her suggestions to add in more sensory language and onomatopoeia were spot-on...Things always seem so obvious when someone else points them out! I had been feeling like my ending was too preachy too - your confirmation gives me the confidence to shorten and change it a bit! Thanks again for taking the time to give me such a detailed critique.

— Katie Brandyberry, Children’s Literature Writer

Thank you so much! I appreciate ALL of your feedback and insights. They were clearly incredibly helpful. I look forward to working with you more in the future! I will certainly pass on your name to fellow writers. I'm excited to query/submit this :D Thank you so much for your help. Can't wait till your book comes out....congratulations to you, again, and thank you for everything!

— Carly E.S., Children’s Literature Writer

GOOD LUCK!!!