Adam Blackman

Adam is Acquisitions Editor at Cardinal Rule Press. A former bookstore manager, nonprofit director, and youth writing instructor, his journey to kidlit began when his son came home from school feeling ashamed of his beloved bejeweled pink sparkly light up shoes. Seeing the need for more acceptance inspired a story and led him to reshape his writing and editing practice. Cardinal Rule Press and he are fully mission-aligned in their goal to publish stories that represent our diverse world (though in his reading and writing life he reads unrealistic fiction, nonfiction, unrealistic nonfiction, nonrealismofictionish, etc.). He also offers freelance editorial services at www.adamdblackman.com.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to editor@cardinalrulepress.com

We accept unagented submissions during select times of the year through our website. Check our website and sign up for our newsletter for notifications. We exclusively publish Realistic Fiction Picture Books (word count up to 750) Realistic Fiction is a genre made up of stories that could happen in our world and society. A quick way to determine whether or not your story is realistic fiction:

• Characters live in places that could be or are real
• Characters are human beings
• Characters are not animals
• There is no magic in realistic fiction

We love a range of styles, from lyrical to funny to funny lyrics. “Heavy topics told with refreshing lightness” is one of our favorites, but earnest stories also work. Read our catalog to see the range (The Law of Birthdays = silly, Camouflage Mom = earnest). A non-comprehensive list of topics we are currently keen to see in our “inbox” (if rendered in fresh, kid-friendly ways):

• Fake news
• Playing fair

Guidelines & Details