Become a PJ Library Author or Illustrator

Are you an author, author-illustrator, graphic novelist, agent, or publisher who has a Jewish children's story to share? If so, we want to read it! Here's your guide to working with PJ Library and PJ Our Way including exciting new opportunities below!

What are PJ Library and PJ Our Way?

PJ Library and PJ Our Way, initiatives of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, are Jewish family engagement programs made possible through partnerships with philanthropists and local Jewish organizations. Each month, both programs mail free Jewish children’s books to their participants.

PJ Library and PJ Our Way are available to families who are raising Jewish children from birth through age 12 across North America. They come from many backgrounds – some are intermarried, some have little or no formal Jewish learning, some attend a synagogue and celebrate Jewish holidays, and others may be unfamiliar with Jewish practice alltogether. We love that about our families.

PJ Library chooses 88 titles each year for its North American program, which includes board books, picture books, and easy chapter books aimed at children from birth through nine years. PJ Our Way, the next chapter of PJ Library for older kids, chooses 48 middle-grade books a year aimed at kids ages nine through twelve. That’s a whopping 136 books a year! And that means we need your creative endeavors to keep our program growing.

How can I submit to each program?

Both published books and unpublished manuscripts that meet our criteria may be submitted for review. PJ Library and PJ Our Way accept submissions via Submittable only – see our guide for more information. PJ Library and PJ Our Way have similar submission guidelines, but there are a few important differences. See the chart below to understand each program’s process:

	PJ Library	PJ Our Way
Age range	0 – 8 years	9 – 12 years
Accepts resubmission	By invitation only	By invitation only
Accepts book proposals	No – full manuscripts only	Yes – outline & 3 chapters
Accepts illustrations only	No	No
Illustrations required	No	For graphic novel proposals
Submissions reviewed anonymously	Yes	Yes
Average review time	3 months	3-6 months

Due to the high volume of submissions, we can provide feedback only to those authors whose work will be discussed further. We encourage authors to submit to publishers, agents, and other opportunities while their work is under review. We regret that we are unable to answer queries regarding the status of a submission.

Submit Here!

We invite trade publishers to submit via this form.

What is PJ Library looking for?

PJ Library and PJ Our Way seeks to represent the diversity of North American Jewish communities through books that share Jewish narratives, values, holidays, and life events. For more about PJ Library and PJ Our Way's educational approach to books, please see the PJ Library Framework and the PJ Our Way Framework.

PJ Library is actively soliciting manuscripts that show and celebrate:

Greater racial representation, particularly Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Jews of color
Broader ethnic and cultural traditions, particularly those of Mizrahi and Sephardic communities
Representation of all Jewish families, including interfaith families and a full spectrum of family structures and compositions
Representation of LGBTQIA+ people and families
Inclusion of people with disabilities
Various Jewish practices
Contemporary immigration stories

PJ Library especially encourages stories written from #ownvoices perspectives and with #livedexperiences.

Additionally, PJ Library is actively seeking visually-stimulating board books (for ages 0-2) with engaging concepts and plots, and playful prose that introduce children to the diversity of Jewish people, practices, and values.

What are the criteria for submission?

PJ Library

As PJ Library’s book selection committee reviews books and manuscripts for children from birth through 8 years, it asks:

Is this story suited for children from zero to nine years old?
Is the text (and illustrations, if available) engaging for young children and their parents?
Is the content appropriate to the PJ Library mission? Does the book contain a message of strong Jewish values?
Will children want to return to this book again and again?
Does the book reflect historical Jewish life, contemporary Jewish life, or some valuable aspect of the Jewish experience?
Will this book prompt family discussions about Jewish topics and lead families to consider making Jewish choices?

PJ Library does not accept manuscripts or books that focus on the Holocaust or the death or decline of family members; those stories that make passing mention of these subjects in text and/or illustration are considered on a case-by-case basis. PJ Library does maintain a list of books about death and dying for families and educators. PJ Library also does not send out workbooks or activity books as part of its regular monthly mailings.

PJ Our Way

PJ Our Way’s book selection committee assesses submissions using the following guidelines:

The submission should reflect historical Jewish life, contemporary Jewish life, or some valuable aspect of Jewish experience.
The submission should contain strong Jewish characters and content, where Jewish identity plays a positive role, but we want the Jewish content to be natural – we don’t want to be all message and no story!
The content needs to be age-appropriate. We avoid content that might make tweens or their parents uncomfortable, which means no alcohol or drugs, no bad language, and any romance needs to be very innocent.
Holocaust content is generally avoided. We do occasionally include a book that touches on aspects of the subject, like Now and Black Radishes. Please do not submit a book with any graphic material or one that is set in the camps or ghettos. We are more likely to consider second generation or refugee stories with a hopeful message.

PJ Our Way’s high-interest areas include humor, graphic novels, fantasy and magic (with a Jewish twist), series, historical fiction, fun non-fiction, and simple biographies (such as the Who Is/Who Was series from Penguin Random House).

What is the Author Incentive Award?

Beginning January 1, 2020, all new, unpublished submissions to PJ Library or PJ Our Way are eligible for our new and continuing Author Incentive Awards. These awards are truly awards – they are separate from and in addition to any monies received by the author from a publisher.

Stories may be submitted by anyone, including authors, author-illustrators, agents, and publishers. Multiple stories by one author are eligible. The only disqualifying factor is if the story is already available in the trade market or has previously been considered by PJ Library’s or PJ Our Way’s book selection committee – that is to say, it must be new.

In addition to our existing awards, see below for NEW details about each program’s award:

As our programs have grown, PJ Library will soon be offering books to children from birth through age 8, which means we are looking for more engaging board books as well as early chapter books and graphic novels for developing readers. PJ Our Way will now be offering books for kids ages 9 through 12, which means the need for graphic novels, our most requested genre, has grown as well!

We are proud to offer new incentives for author-illustrators to help us meet these needs. Each option allows for author-illustrators to submit proposals and illustrations for a partial incentive and an opportunity to hear feedback from our committees prior to completing the project.

Program	Type of book	Full Incentive	Partial Incentive
PJ Library	Board book	$4,000 (Complete board book including illustrations)	$2,000 (3-5 illustrated pages with complete text)
PJ Library	Picture book	$6,000 (Complete picture book generally 32 or fewer pages including illustrations)	$2,000 (3-5 illustrated pages with text)
PJ Library	Graphic novel	$6,000 (Complete graphic novel generally 60 or fewer pages including illustrations)	$2,000 (Proposal and outline with 3 illustrated frames)
PJ Our Way	Graphic novel	$10,000 (Complete graphic novel generally longer than 60 pages with illustrations)	$2,000 (Proposal and outline with partial text and 3 illustrated frames)

Our incentives for text-only submissions will remain the same:

PJ Library: For each text manuscript for a new board book, picture book, and early chapter reader accepted for use in the program, PJ Library will present the author with $2,000.

PJ Our Way: For each new complete middle-grade manuscript accepted for use in the program, PJ Our Way will present the author with $5,000. PJ Our Way will also accept three complete chapters and an outline as an initial submission. If the Committee decides that this initial submission has potential to be a PJ Our Way selection, the author will receive $2,000. Once the completed manuscript is accepted for use in the program, the author will be awarded the remaining $3,000.

When a partial incentive award is given, for either authors or author-illustrators, the chair of the selection committee will be in touch to discuss the direction of the work.

Questions? Please contact submissions@pjourway.org.

PJ Library and PJ Our Way reserve the right, at their sole discretion, at any time, to change, limit, terminate, modify, or make exceptions to any part of the Author Incentive Award.

What opportunities do you provide for authors and illustrators?

Open Applications:

There are currently no open applications. Please sign up for our Author Newsletter to be the first to know about future opportunities!

Current Initiatives:

Sephardic Stories Initiative

The Sephardic Stories Initiative is part of PJ Library’s mission to represent the diversity of North American Jewish communities through the books we send to families. With generous support and guidance from the Seattle-based Samis Foundation, and following extensive research and recommendations from a specially formed advisory committee, the Author Stewardship Team invited seven experienced and published authors of Sephardic and Mizrahi backgrounds to create stories inspired by their own experiences over a two year period.

These authors will be granted the opportunity to dig deeper into stories with the support of experts in the field, customized virtual meet-ups, and an Israel experience. They will also act as mentors to emerging Sephardic and Mizrahi authors from spring 2024 through winter 2025.

Illustrator and Visual Storyteller Fellowship 2023-2024

In order to support talented illustrators and creators in developing books with Jewish content, PJ Library was excited to introduce the first international Illustrator and Visual Storyteller Fellowship in 2023. The fellowship offers artists and illustrators the opportunity to create, connect, and explore together through a half-year joint program with the Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) in Vermont.

This hybrid virtual and in-person model will bring together a cohort of 14 artists for five days at CCS (June 2024) and five days in Jerusalem (November 2024). The remainder of the year will be centered around online sessions that deepen and extend the in-person experience while illustrators work individually and collectively on projects of their choice and inspiration.

PJ Library Picture Book Summer Camp at the Highlights Foundation

Picture Book Summer Camp offers emerging authors a week of inspiration, mentorship, fun, and creativity on the beautiful campus of the Highlights Foundation. PJ Library selected 22 writers to attend the 3rd annual retreat in summer 2024 with the goal of bringing more Jewish voices and authentic Jewish stories to children and their families. Stay tuned for announcements about the 2025 program!

Highlights Foundation Scholarship

PJ Library is pleased to announce an annual scholarship program to nurture and develop authors and illustrators of Jewish-themed books for children. Applicants may apply for full and partial scholarships to attend a Highlights Foundation workshop or Personal Retreat.

Applicants should be working on or pursuing a writing or illustrating career with a focus on Jewish themes. A description of your project(s) and interest in Jewish children's literature, as well as a writing or illustration sample should accompany your application. PJ Library is especially interested in supporting new and diverse voices with these scholarships.

Get more information about the scholarship process and apply here.

Previous Initiatives:

Author Israel Adventure

The PJ Library Author Israel Adventure offers experienced and published children's book authors and illustrators an all-expense-paid experience designed to inspire them to bring Israel, Jewish ideas, and diverse Jewish stories to their board, picture, and middle grade books.

These 20 children's book authors and illustrators joined the third cohort of the program in 2022, and embarked on a yearlong creative experience including online meetups, customized sessions, and an eight-day trip to Israel and a writers' retreat in the US in 2023.

During the trip to Israel, authors and illustrators explore the historical and modern country, meet with diverse groups of Israelis, and journey from the barren desert to the Mediterranean Sea. They experience the unique vibrancy of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and take time for reflection, discussion, and writing, often facilitated by well-known local authors. Thanks to generous support from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the 2023 trip was central to a cohort year spanning from October 2022 through October 2023.

Look out for news of our next Author Israel Adventure!

Children's Book Workshop for Visual Storytellers: Exploring Jewish Themes and Content

In the summer of 2020, PJ Library sponsored a week-long intensive workshop to help eight visual storytellers create a draft of a children’s book or graphic novel. The workshop was held at The Center for Cartoon Studies in beautiful downtown White River Junction, Vermont and taught by CCS cofounder James Sturm and other CCS faculty. For more information about other opportunities, please visit the CCS website.

Tent: Children’s Literature

PJ Library proudly sponsored Tent: Children's Literature, a weeklong retreat for emerging and midcareer writers and illustrators of Jewish picture books, early chapter books, and middle-grade fiction. Creators spent a week at the Yiddish Book Center reading and writing, workshopping new projects, and talking about craft and the history of Jewish storytelling. The program offered intensive, multi-day workshops led by prominent critics and editors, as well as seminars on Jewish history, literature, and cultural materials. For more information about other learning opportunities, please visit the Yiddish Book Center's website.

How can I get more information?

We invite you to sign up for our monthly Author Newsletter to stay up to date with the latest PJ Library news for authors, illustrators, publishers, and agents. Below you’ll find some additional documents and resources regarding each program.

Have a question that isn’t answered here? Email us!

PJ LIBRARY
Submissions-related questions – submissions@pjlibrary.org
General questions about the program – pjlibrary@hgf.org

PJ OUR WAY
Submissions-related questions – submissions@pjourway.org
General questions about the program – info@pjourway.org