Leila Sales
Kar-Ben Publishing
My Manuscript Wish List®
Hello! I’m Editorial Director-at-Large at Kar-Ben Publishing, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group. I acquire and edit Kar-Ben’s list of Jewish-themed books for young readers. We publish about a dozen books a year, primarily picture books, but also some board books, graphic novels, chapter books, and middle grade.
Here are some of the things I’m looking for:
—Fresh, fun, surprising takes on the Jewish holidays, especially Hanukkah, Passover, Purim, and Rosh Hashanah.
—Books depicting the diversity of the Jewish experience, including interfaith families, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, non-white characters, and LGBTQIA+ characters.
—Chapter books and graphic novels for the 6-8-year-old readers who are in between picture books and middle grade.
—Picture book biographies of Jewish icons who don’t already have a million books about them.
—Humor and whimsy! Silly, imaginative premises with surprising resolutions.
—Strong narrative arcs that keep readers turning pages.
—Main characters with agency: They have goals, and they go after them.
Here are some of the things I’m NOT looking for:
—Stories where a wise Bubbe or Zayde knows everything and the child main character is a passive recipient of their authority.
—Picture books that are set entirely in the kitchen. (It’s challenging to illustrate these in a way that makes every spread feel fresh and interesting.)
—Stories written in awkward or forced rhyme.
—Additionally, I would note that Holocaust books are not a non-starter, but our bar for them is very high. I’m not looking for books that are just about people suffering.
A bit more about me:
Before joining Kar-Ben, I spent a decade as an acquiring editor at Viking Children’s Books, where I edited fiction and nonfiction for children and teens of all ages, including Viola Davis’s CORDUROY TAKES A BOW, Max Brallier’s THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH, Gayle Forman’s I WAS HERE, Sally Green’s HALF BAD, Greg Pizzol’s TRICKY VIC, Betsy Bird’s FUNNY GIRL, Josh Funk’s HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE… and tons of other books. You can see most books that I’ve edited here: https://www.pinterest.com/LeilaSalesBooks/books-i-edited/
At various points in my career, I’ve also worked in children’s book marketing at Penguin Random House and as a children’s bookseller at BookPeople and B&N. I am myself the author of many middle-grade and young adult novels.
Fun facts about me:
- When I was a kid I did gymnastics for a long time, even though I was never very good at it.
- I submitted the first book I wrote to publishers when I was 11.
- I used to write a humor column for my college newspaper.
- In high school and college, I was a competitive debater, and I debated at tournaments in the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, and one time Malaysia.
- I am one of the judges for the world’s largest annual scavenger hunt.
- I have two adorable cats.
- My favorite place is summer camp.
- I eat chocolate every single day.
Submission Guidelines
Submissions should be emailed to lsales@lernerbooks.com
Email submissions as Word docs or PDFs to lsales@lernerbooks.com. I will consider only one manuscript from an author at a time. In the body of your email, please briefly explain who you are and why your manuscript is a fit for Kar-Ben’s list. I endeavor to respond to all submissions within six months of receipt.
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Vital Info
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