Deidra Purvis

I’m the acquiring editor for children and teen books at Free Spirit Publishing, an imprint dedicated to providing children and teens with the tools they need to think for themselves, overcome challenges, and make a difference in the world. I acquire board books, picture books, and nonfiction strategy books for older kids and teens. I want to see picture books and social emotional learning (SEL) books that are new, exciting, and relevant. I’m most interested in picture books that are lyrically written, engaging, and about a topics that are deeply relatable and different from what we’ve seen before. I’m also seeking more SEL, self-help, and strategy books for older kids and teens, written by experts in the field, on topics that are personally relevant to the reader.

Follow me on Bluesky: @fspacquisitions.bsky.social.

Submission Guidelines

Free Spirit Publishing is committed to uplifting diverse voices with books that are relevant and inclusive for the youth we serve. We are especially seeking manuscripts from authors of diverse representation; including race, ethnicity, culture, religion, social class, LGBTQ identities, ability, and physical differences.

We Are Looking for Strong Proposals for Ages Birth through Eighteen in the Following Categories

PICTURE BOOKS WITH ALIGNMENT TO AN SEL TRAIT OR STRATEGY

Authentic, high-interest, and lyrically written picture books reflecting contemporary experiences of children from diverse cultures, backgrounds, religions, and identities; and that also align with coping with and/or overcoming challenges faced by children today, aspects of identity, celebration of self, or culture.

BOARD BOOKS AND PICTURE BOOKS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

Board book series for infants to age 4 and picture books for ages 3 to 8 that focus on social skills and getting along, early learning, character education, self-esteem, and other topics related to positive early childhood development. We will also consider fiction that relates directly to these areas of focus.

BOOKS FOR OLDER KIDS AND TEENS

Long-form nonfiction strategy books to support the needs and interests of older kids and teens. We seek books about tough topics that help older kids (ages 8-12) and teens (ages 12-18) cope with and manage challenges, questions, and circumstances relevant to their lives.

Note: Due to the large volume of submissions we receive, we are unable to respond personally to each query. Please review our publishing categories carefully. If you think your work may be a fit for Free Spirit, you may submit a proposal according to our guidelines.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS

• Books with animals or mythical creatures as the primary characters
• Poetry
• General self-help for adults
• Nonfiction material with religious or New Age content, or books with religious messages outside of the representation of religious practices

If your proposal is in any of the above formats, it is not right for us—even if content themes overlap with those we publish.

Submitting a Proposal

Agents may submit proposals to me directly at ac**********@fr********.com. Unagented authors should submit to me by uploading submissions on Submittable:

https://freespiritpublishing.submittable.com/submit

Guidelines & Details