publishers sought out

[noone]

I've written (and probably need edited) a short childrens story. It is called Cinderallan (yeah, it's a gay sort of Cinderella)

I'm not expecting much, but I'd like to find a publisher that will at least look at it.

I know it needs a lot of work, and I have a friend who's doing some art for it, (not like, every page, but enough.)

Is there anyone out there that knows where I could find something?

[AnaKhouri]

I don't usually deal with children's publishers, but The Writer's Digest puts out an edition of The Writer's Market that is specifically for Children's Writers and Illustrators.

[noone]

I'm not even entirely sure it's childrens. I wrote it as such, but generally homosexuality bumps the rating up to young adult.

[Taboo]

I know it needs a lot of work, and I have a friend who's doing some art for it, (not like, every page, but enough.)

Protip from someone who's done work as a children's book illustrator: publishers really want to get the story separate of any art, especially for a first time author, because not only do they know what sort of art is popular right now but they also would want to pair you with a more established illustrator who already has a following. Unless your friend is someone who has had several books published already, then regardless of how good they are, a publisher is not going to want to see pictures along with your script.

If you want your friend to do more art for it just because you both think it's fun, go for it, but just be aware that it's not going to help get it published and if anything would be a detriment to send in. Just how they work, honestly. If they were to publish it and they had someone illustrate it, you would probably never meet that person let alone have a say in what the art looked like.

As far as the rating goes, there is a picture book out there about two male penguins raising a baby together, so I'm pretty sure that depends on your publisher, how explicit the content is, etc. If you're dealing with more details of a romantic gay relationship rather than a family relationship then that might bump it up, yes, but who knows.

For contacts in the industry and general advice, I would recommend the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. They have some good, free info and advice up on their website. They also have various conferences, talks, and events, some paid and some free, and if you're serious about trying to get some children's writing published you might want to pay for a year's membership - they have newsletters, I think quarterly, that include good info and tips as well as some contact numbers etc to various publishers and editors.

Do some research about which companies publish the sort of content that's similar to your book, and see who might be a good fit.

I know much more about the illustration side of it than the writing side, as far as who to get in touch with etc. I'm not going to be too specific about my own experiences though as my stuff is a little niche market and would make me much less anonymous on here - but if you have more general questions feel free to ask me.

Edit: Also, love the icon. The Zombie Hunters, right? (I dressed up as Jenny for Halloween!)