Updated January 2019 – They do not seem to be open to direct submissions any longer. They also don’t really have a website. They have a stub of one that links to Amazon.
Most people who have studied for a test like the SAT or the GRE own a book published by Barron’s, if only because they bought one of their many test prep books. That is what Barron’s Educational Services is best known for and the reason it was founded in 1939. However, in recent years they have expanded and they also publish a wide variety of other genres including fiction.
They are currently interested in children and young adult fiction and nonfiction books, foreign language learning books, New Age books, cookbooks, business and financial advice books, parenting advice books, art instruction books, sports, fashion, crafts, and study guides.
Manuscript submissions must be made through mail, but if you query first with a letter you can do that through email. They accept simultaneous submissions. They are not interested in books that have been previously published.
Their complete submission guidelines are available online here.
When submitting a proposal for a children’s fiction book:
Please include an outline summary
You may include sample pages (Please DO NOT include the manuscript in its entirety).
Artwork is not necessary, but is helpful if author is also the illustrator. Please only include a sample.
Author’s credentials must be included.When submitting a work of adult or Juvenile Nonfiction:
Include a Table of Contents, along with two sample chapters.
A brief description of the work should be included in the cover letter, as well as an overview citing the market being targeted (e.g., children, ages 2–4; secondary school teachers, etc.)
Please include sample illustrations if the book is to be illustrated.
Author’s credentials must also be included.
All submissions should include a query letter. Do not send additional information beyond that. If they require additional information they will request it.
Browsing through their catalog will give you a good feel for what they have published in the past.
