Tilbury House is a press based out of Maine that publishes children’s and adult non-fiction books. Their focus since the early 90’s has been primarily on children’s books with a message about the environment, social justice, nature, and cultural diversity. They are often published along with teacher’s guides. Most of their books are aimed at children between the ages of 7-12. They are not interested in regional children’s books.

They have published some very successful children’s books, including Talking Walls, Sheila Says We’re Weird, and Playing War. Each have a focused message involving a social issue.

Tilbury House still publishes books aimed at adults, primarily regional non-fiction about Maine or the northeast. They tend to publish books that you could easily find in local regional museums.

They accept submissions via post, their mailing address is on their website, and via email (but they do not open attachments). When you submit, make sure to include a query letter, and/or a partial manuscript and an outline. For children’s books they prefer to see a complete manuscript. If you are submitting a complete manuscript, it is probably best to send it in the mail as they do not open attachments.

Work sent through the mail must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you want a reply. If you are making simultaneous submissions to other publishers, state that information in your query letter. It takes over a month for them to respond to most queries, so take that into consideration.

It seems like they have a very clear marketing plan for most books, which is a good thing. This is one reason why they are only interested in such a narrow range of publications. Tilbury House was recently bought by new owners, but they seem to be committed to continuing the vision of the previous owners and very little has changed.  If you are interested in learning more or submitting, please visit their website here.