The people behind the books

Our authors and illustrators.

A small, deliberate bench of writers and artists whose work we publish — and whose work we pay properly for.

Houston, TX

Mira Halverson

Illustrator and author of The Lantern Keeper and Halfway to the Sea. Trained at the Rhode Island School of Design. Works primarily in watercolor and gouache.

Austin, TX

Theo Albright

Naturalist, illustrator, and author of two Bobwhite & Bramble titles. Spent eight years as an interpretive ranger at Big Bend before turning to picture books full-time.

Brooklyn, NY

Lou Pemberton

Writer and the creator of Bramble, our most-loved recurring character. Lou was a children's librarian for twelve years before writing her first book.

San Antonio, TX

Ines Cortez

Bilingual author and illustrator working in English and Spanish. A Map for Small Travelers is her debut.

Portland, OR

Jonah Pell

Cartoonist and picture-book author. The Bread That Walked is his first hardcover.

Submitting your work

We open for unsolicited manuscripts twice a year — the month of March and the month of September. During those windows we accept picture-book manuscripts of up to 1,000 words from authors located anywhere in the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom. Full guidelines are posted on the Contact page when submissions open.

We read every submission ourselves. Response times are slow but honest: usually four to six months. If you do not hear from us within seven months, please feel free to follow up.