Updated January 2019 – Clarion Books seems to have permanently closed to direct submissions.
Clarion Books is an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books, a publisher you have almost certainly heard of, as they are established, and have published many classics. None of Houghton Mifflin’s other imprints are open to unsolicited submissions, just Clarion.
Clarion publishes books for children. They have published many classic children’s books, both in terms of picture books and novels. To get a better feel for what authors they have previously published, you can visit this page. They publish about 50 books a year.
They are accepting unsolicited novels, non-fiction, and picture books. However, they are not responding to submissions they are not interested in. If you have not heard from them after 12 weeks assume rejection. In the past they have published a number of previously unpublished authors who submitted via the slush pile.
They are asking for submissions of complete manuscripts for both picture books and novels. For non-fiction submit a synopsis and some sample chapters. All submissions must be made through the mail. It is also worth noting that they accept submissions from illustrators, and not just for the Clarion imprint but others as well.
To learn more, visit their submission guidelines here.
