Submission Guidelines

At Starfish Bay Publishing, our focus is dedicated solely to children’s books. We believe books for younger readers should be both meaningful and magical—offering reliable information, inspiring a sense of wonder, and encouraging a bright, hopeful outlook on the world. We’re always on the lookout for bold ideas and original voices and work closely with our passionate authors and illustrators to craft memorable stories that resonate with children.

Starfish Bay is comprised of two imprints: Starfish Bay Children’s Books and Tiny Seed Publishing. Traditional publishing is Starfish Bay’s main focus. All books that were published by Starfish Bay Children’s Books and Tiny Seed Publishing before December 2023 followed the traditional publishing model.

Due to the severe impact of Covid-19 our business between 2020-2022, we introduced two additional publishing programmes alongside our Traditional Publishing Programme: the Author Supported Traditional Publishing Programme and the Secondary Publishing Programme.

We are pleased to announce that our Starfish Bay Children’s Books imprint has fully recovered. As of January 2025, it has resumed exclusive focus on our Traditional Publishing Programme and now only considers submissions for children’s picture books from solicited authors.

Our two additional publishing programmes continue under our Tiny Seed imprint, which is managed by the same dedicated publishing team, and follows the same high standards and processes as our Traditional Publishing Programme. Tiny Seed only accepts submissions for children’s picture books and currently runs both the Author Supported Traditional Publishing Programme and the Secondary Publishing Programme. These programmes remain open to both unsolicited and solicited authors.

In addition, Starfish Bay has recently launched a new publishing programme: the Author Advance Programme. This programme is open to both unsolicited and solicited authors and is currently accepting submissions of longer-form children’s books and young adult fiction.

We deeply appreciate all authors who have participated in the Author Supported Traditional Publishing Programme and Secondary Publishing Programme—and to those whose work will be included in these programmes and through our Author Advance Programme. To show our gratitude, all authors accepted into these programmes will now be considered solicited authors for future submissions.

Making Your Submission

We’re looking for unique and imaginative stories that captivate young readers. Strong, well-developed characters, vibrant language, and a genuine, relatable voice are key elements we seek in submissions.

For picture book submissions, please include your full manuscript.
For chapter books, please include either a complete manuscript or sample chapter(s) with a story outline. If you are pitching a series, please consider including subsequent story ideas in your submission.
For middle grade and young adult fiction, please submit your first chapter, a full one-page synopsis and a cover letter with details about the book and yourself.
For non-fiction books for children and young adults, we are looking for captivating real-life stories that connect with young readers, particularly those in primary school. Stories that are both relatable and inspiring are especially welcomed.

Submission Policy

We currently accept submissions by email only. Please note that we do not accept hard copy submissions and cannot take responsibility for any lost or damaged materials submitted by post.

All submissions should be sent to:
starfishbaypublishing@outlook.com

Please use one of the following subject lines, depending on the publishing programme you are submitting to:

Author Advance Programme:
Subject line: “Author Advance Programme: [Manuscript Title]”
Author Supported Traditional Publishing Programme:
Subject line: “Author Supported Traditional Publishing Programme: [Manuscript Title]”
Secondary Publishing Programme:
Subject line: “Secondary Publishing Programme: [Manuscript Title]”

Please ensure your email (including attachments) is less than 15MB. If any files exceed this size, please send them to us via WeTransfer at the following link:
https://starfishbay.wetransfer.com.

We receive a high volume of submissions and aim to review each one with care. If you do not hear from us within two months, unfortunately, we will be unable to proceed with your project. Please note that we are not always able to confirm receipt of submissions and are unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful submissions.

Publishing Programmes Available to All Authors

Starfish Bay offers three publishing programs that are open to both unsolicited and solicited authors:

Author Advance Programme
Author-Supported Traditional Publishing Programme
Secondary Publishing Programme

Please note: A willingness or ability to contribute funding to any of these programmes does not guarantee acceptance for publication. As a traditional publisher, we uphold high editorial standards and prioritise the quality and integrity of each book we produce. All submissions are thoroughly reviewed by our editorial team, and publishing offers are made only to manuscripts that meet our selection criteria.

Author Advance Programme

The Author Advance Programme is our newest initiative and is currently open to both unsolicited and solicited authors in the following categories:

Chapter books (ages 6-9)
Middle grade fiction (ages 8-12)
Young adult fiction (ages 12+)
Graphic novels
Non-fiction for children of all ages.

Here is a summary of the requirements and benefits of this programme:

Authors are asked to contribute a temporary loan of $6,600, which will be returned in full after two years, with no conditions.
Each participating author will receive an additional payment of $1,000 interest within two years of making the $6,600 transfer, without any conditions.
Participating authors are guaranteed at least AU$1,100 in royalties for each of their books within five years of publication.
One Traditional Publishing contract.
20 complimentary paperback copies of their book.
Unsolicited Authors will gain solicited status, meaning their next submission(s) will be eligible for our Traditional Publishing Programme.
Authors will receive professional editing, illustrating, design, printing, and binding.
Books published will be available to order and sell from online and retail bookstores.
Once published, the book will be exhibited at our stand at Bologna Children’s Book Fair at no additional charge.
With the exception of the temporary loan, the Author Advance Programme follows a standard Starfish Bay Traditional Publishing offer, and all costs related to publishing a book are covered by Starfish Bay.

Author Supported Traditional Publishing Programme

Our Author-Supported Traditional Publishing Programme requires authors to provide a temporary loan of $6,000, which is repaid in full within 2.5 years, without any conditions.

With the exception of this temporary loan, this programme follows our standard Traditional Publishing model, with all costs are covered by Starfish Bay. As a token of appreciation, participating authors will receive:

A traditional Publishing contract
60 complimentary hardback copies of their book
Full editorial and illustration support
Retail and online distribution

Secondary Publishing Programme

Our Secondary Publishing Programme requires authors to contribute by purchasing 200 hardback copies of their picture book at a 20% discount. The standard retail price for one of our hardback picture books is 24.99 Australian dollars.

This publishing programme remains very similar to our Traditional Publishing Programme, with the only difference being the purchase of 200 copies. All costs involved with publishing a picture book under this programme are covered by Starfish Bay.

If you are interested in learning more about our Author-Supported Traditional Publishing and Secondary Publishing programmes, please visit the Tiny Seed website:

https://tinyseedpublishing.com/submission-guidelines/

Publishing Programmes Available for Solicited Authors Only

Starfish Bay offer three exclusive publishing programs available only to authors who have achieved solicited author status.

Traditional Publishing Programme

Since 1st January 2025, our Starfish Bay Children’s Books imprint has exclusively reviewed, selected, and published picture books submitted by solicited authors.

Under this programme, Starfish Bay covers all production and publishing costs, including:

Professional editing and illustration
Design and typesetting
Printing and binding
Sales, marketing, and distribution

Authors receive royalties from book sales without needing to contribute any financial investment.

We have reserved 50 spaces for solicited authors in our 2025 Traditional Publishing Programme, with additional places available for Signed Authors.

We are very pleased to announce that the following solicited authors have joined our Traditional Publishing Programme since 1st January 2025:

Tata’s Shoes by Ester Reato
Silver’s Pirate by Katie Aaron
Where Have These Jeans Been? by Adele Hunter
Too Loud Cicada by Audrey Crowfoot
Learning to Fly by Andrew Dittmer
Finding Kharm after the Storm by Kelly-Anne Norman
Emus Don’t Fly by Sue Bormann
There’s room for just one in my tree…and that’s me! by Kylie Tull
If I Were A… by Lorna Stallman
Please, Not the Alphabet Book! by Anna Brotherson
Ant’s Don’t Dance by Bethea Todhunter
Grampires by Emma Fraser
Dog by Joanne Vernon
From Grandad, With Love by Karyn Miller
Chubby Cheeks by Robert Marrone
Can You Speak Ballet? by Rhonda Ooi
Acorn‘s Away by Sarah Tonkin
Prickly Pete by Jennifer Seal
Muffin McFluff: Catnap Catastrophe by Millie Lewis
The Dog of Awning Dell by Harison Butler
Tremendous Trevor’s Spooky Adventure by Ben J. Melen
Our Bushwalk by Teagan Bouma
Hannah’s Hat by Cheryl Polonski
Selena’s Spooktacular Specs by Millie Lewis
A World Full of Woofs by Penny O’Loughlin
It Started as a Box by Claire Peters
The Pea and Princess Bee by Jayne Toman
The Queen of the Sea by Amy Garuccio
What Do Mermaids Have For Tea? by Fiona Winward
My Alien Bob (and his Outrageous Ideas) by Penny O’Loughlin

Author Website Support Programme

This programme offers solicited authors a professionally designed website at no cost, to showcase their work. To support this programme, participating authors provides a temporary loan of $8,000, which is fully repaid within two years, with no conditions. In addition to the website, participating authors will also receive a Traditional Publishing contract and be provided with 200 complimentary hardback copies of any book they have published (or will have published) by Starfish Bay. These copies can also be assigned to different titles.

Author Testimonials

We love hearing from our authors about their experiences publishing with us.

Karen Hendriks, author of Vesper Jones and Marshmallow, shared the following after attending the 2025 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, where she met her book’s illustrator, Francesca Corso, and our Deputy Publisher, Matthew Long:

“I am beyond excited. I was lucky enough to meet Francesca at the Starfish Bay stand. I am so excited about Vesper. Lots is happening but I am so pumped for my books with Starfish. I love how you get me and my writing. It is awesome seeing our world in action. You are my book family. All my interactions have been great, and I have really enjoyed everything so far.”

Karen is the author of the following picture books published by Starfish Bay:

Vesper Jones and Marshmallow, illustrated by Francesca Corso —publication date: 5th August 2025
A Christmas Beetle Wish, currently in the editorial process
Mirabel Shines, currently in the editorial process
Spud’s Mars Mission, currently in the editorial process
Summer Fun Fair, currently in the editorial process
Saving Pearl and Reef, illustrated by Leanne Argent, currently in the illustration process —established publication date: 6th April 2026
Enid Thinks Outside the Shell, illustrated by Jason Hart, currently in the illustration process — established publication date: 6th July 2026

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