Levine Querido

Thank you for your interest in submitting to Levine Querido! Founded in April 2019 by Arthur A. Levine, we are an independent publisher of the finest children’s books in the world. We consider the following materials: 

Picture Books: Query letter + the full text 

Novels: Query letter + the first two chapters + synopsis 

Illustration: Three sample illustrations and/or links to online portfolios

Levine Querido is born of a fervent mission to give voice to a uniquely talented, exceptionally diverse group of authors and artists whose books will inspire a true LOVE of reading in young people while offering them a sense of their (and others’) rightful place in the world. Our company has a focus on publishing the writing and artwork of authors and creators from underrepresented backgrounds, including people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, Latinx creators, indigenous artists and writers, creators with disabilities, members of minority religions, and more. 

The books we are in search of will be characterized by great storytelling, undeniably powerful and beautiful artwork, and a fearless commitment to telling deep truths. We look for authentic emotion and ideas or perspectives we haven't seen before, and we greatly enjoy working with debut authors and illustrators.

If you believe your work and our publishing mission are a match, then we hope you'll write us a query letter. 

We aim to respond to all queries within six months; we appreciate your patience!

A few more guidelines:

• We ask that each author send only one query at a time. Once you have received a response from us, you may send another query if you wish. We ask this only so that we may give as many authors as possible the chance to have their work reviewed. If one person sends in five queries at once, it delays the process for others. Choose the one you feel is your best work, and most likely to fit our list.
• All manuscripts should be double-spaced with standard formatting. (i.e. no wacky fonts, or giant margins, etc.) Please limit your synopsis to one page.
• At this time, we are only able to evaluate manuscripts written in English. If your book has been published in a foreign language and you would like it to be considered at Levine Querido, please speak with your foreign publisher; they will know how to reach us.
• While we wish we could respond personally to all queries, time constraints necessitate a standard response letter if we choose not to pursue your manuscript. However, please be assured that we do read and carefully consider all queries we receive. We will send you a response unless you’ve indicated in your query letter that a response is only necessary if we’re interested.