Updated March 21st: Arthur Levine is leaving Scholastic and while his backlist will probably continue to be published by them, it seems unlikely that they will continue to publish new books. Levine will start a new publishing company in the next year. To learn more go here.
An imprint of Scholastic Inc. Arthur A. Levine Books was founded in 1996. They publish hardcover literary fiction and nonfiction for children and teenagers (and discerning adults). They have published many award winning and nominated books, as well as a number of very well known and respected authors (including J.K. Rowling).
They are open to submissions of picture books as long as the full text accompanies a query letter. For novels they want you to submit a query letter, the first two chapters, and a synopsis.
If you are not already familiar with Arthur A. Levine Books it is very important to review the catalog, and perhaps check one or two of their books out of your local library.
This is very important to note – if you are met with the message “There are presently no open calls for submissions,” they have reached their monthly limit on queries. Please wait until the first day of the next month to submit your query. In that way they are able to stay open to submissions year round. Expect a response from them within six months.
They accept all submissions through the submission manager Submittable. They respond to all queries, even if it is just with a form rejection letter. They used to have a reliable quick response time, but they have not been reported as responding to submissions since early this year. So please take that into consideration.
To read all of their submission guidelines, visit their website here.
