Submissions - Tale to Tell?

Call for submissions - Children's Books

Are you an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander writer or illustrator with a tale to tell?

Aboriginal Studies Press (ASP) are interested in publishing works that connect with young readers and capture their imaginations through stories about the rich culture and diversity of Australia’s First Peoples.

ASP are accepting manuscripts and illustrations from a range of media and Indigenous languages from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers or illustrators.

What are we looking for?

• Stories that connect with young readers, capturing their imaginations with rich cultural stories and illustrations, fiction and non-fiction.
• Stories written in English, Indigenous language or both.
• Stories supported by the author/illustrator/artist's community or where appropriate permissions have been secured.
• Illustrations can use a range of media, from watercolour, acrylic and coloured pencils to collage, photography and digital.

What do we mean by children’s books?

We are looking for two different types of children’s books: board books and picture books.

Board books: Age 0-3 Years

Board book stories are very simple with basic plots or learning concepts like the alphabet or colours or sometimes wordless with only illustrations. Each page may have a single word or a very simple sentence.

The illustrations in board books are usually bright, colourful images to capture the early reader. 

Board books are designed for very young children and are made of thick paperboard to take wear and tear. Board books are generally 12 pages and 300 words or less.

Picture books: Age 3–8 Years

Children in this stage are entering the emergent reader and early reader stages. Their attention spans are a little longer.

Illustrations dominate the text or the illustrations share the role of telling the story. It is not uncommon for every single page of a picture book to be illustrated.

Picture books can be written in different styles with simple plots. Picture books are normally 32 pages long and around 500-700 words (often advised to aim for 500).

Submit your work

We accept manuscripts and illustrations from a range of media and Indigenous languages, with or without an agent. Whether you are a new author/artist or have been previously published, our team would like to hear from you. The review process may take up to six weeks. We will contact you once a decision has been reached.

All you need to do is complete the online form and send across the full manuscript of your work or portfolio.  

If you haven’t yet finished the work but would like to know if it would be something we are interested in before completing then you are also welcome to send samples of the manuscript or design work to us.

Please always try to submit a digital copy of your work, preferably as one single document in Microsoft Word or PDF format.

Submit now

Who are we?

Aboriginal Studies Press (ASP) is the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies’ (AIATSIS) publishing arm and Australia’s leading publisher of Australian Indigenous studies.

We have an eye for identifying compelling and award-winning narratives that capture the unique heritage and diverse lives of Australia’s First Peoples.

We pride ourselves on our ethical publishing which provides readers with a rich understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ histories and cultures.

All books submitted are assessed for publication with ASP.

Feel free to contact the ASP team at asp@aiatsis.gov.au or on (02) 6246 1192.