For the second year in a row, our Ethicool Author Compeition was HUGE (like, it got on TV, radio and in print huge!), and while it was extremely close, we were overjoyed to announce that the winner was: Laura Wippell's Feeling Hopeful.  Of course, while it was exciting to announce a winner, it was also heartbreaking to not be able to publish the books of the other two finalists ... as well as the 5000 + aspiring authors who submitted absolutely delightful stories.  We've been asked numerous times for feedback and for tips on how aspiring authors could better their chances f ..read more

We're not going to lie, "A Way with Words" is so good, it literally takes our breath away every time we read it. The combination of Stacy Burch's beautiful words and Lucy McLoughlin's stunning illustrations really make this book one of a kind. The creative concept behind it is TRULY incredible, and the message is even more special.  In order to understand how Stacy created SUCH an incredible book (and it's her first one ever, can you believe it?!?), we sat down with her to learn more about her background, her life, and what "A Way with Words" truly means to her.  So Stacy, you’re no ..read more

'Magical', 'evocative' and a 'masterclass in children's writing and illustrating' are just a few words that have been used to describe Jeanne Balsam's stunning book, "Where Do Butterflies Go at Night?". And yes, you should believe the hype.  We wanted to understand the genius behind this absolutely gorgeous new release, so we sat down with Jeanne to learn all about her life, her inspiration, and just why Butterflies is so meaningful to her.  World, meet Jeanne Balsam. Here's what she had to say:  So Jeanne, you’re now a published children’s book author! Can you tell us a bit mo ..read more

Here are Ethicool, we receive a LOT of manuscripts every day, but you'd be surprised to learn that a lot of them are very similar! Why is this, you ask? Well, one of the reasons is that a lot of aspiring authors try to replicate in some way, shape or form older classics, but often fall down in the process.  And while rehashing what's been done a million times before might be what other publishers are looking for, that sure isn't Ethicool's way! We pride ourselves on publishing inspiring, progressive and beautiful NEW stories that capture little one's hearts and minds, and become new class ..read more

Anyone in the publishing industry will tell you that creating beautiful children's books is something you very much do for the love, as opposed to for the money. Yet of course, many first-time authors, and also published authors, have questions about how much money they can make from their children's book, and whether, indeed, it's possible to make a living from writing children's books. Here at Ethicool, we hate how little information the publishing industry provides, so we aspired to answer all of your money questions here.  Yet naturally, the topic of royalties is a gnarly question. It ..read more

Have you ever heard of the serial-position effect? It's ok if you haven't, but interesting, this phenomenon is something that would affect you every day, or at least, every time you read. In a nutshell, the serial-position effect says that us mere mortals have a tendency to remember the start of something ... and the end of it. And it's for this very reason that the ending of your children's book is very, very important.  Even without fancy psychological terms, we all know that in any children's book, an ending is what gets us. It's what makes us jump up and down with excitement; it's wha ..read more

Remember the first time you rode a bike? Or perhaps the first time you wrote an essay? Doing anything for the first time is challenging, and you're bound to make mistakes. Children's authors, ahoy! We wrote this post to try to prevent the most common ones.  After a hugely successful first few months of manuscript assessments (did you know that one of the authors we worked with for the assessments is now getting published!? woohoo), we're LOVING all of the beautiful stories that we get to examine in detail. But after seeing many hundreds of stories, our editor Leanne is starting to notice ..read more

Okay, so this is an entirely subjective exploration of my own experiences with writer’s block. Whilst the five thoughts below are formed exclusively from my personal challenges navigating a course through this strange phenomenon, I really hope they can help others too. There was a time when I used to find the concept of writer’s block amusing. Words and phrases, verses, and even entire books, would wander through me like a current at all hours. I would produce pages of poetry in an evening, pen a novel with few pauses to search for creativity, and repeatedly fill my Evernote pad during painful ..read more

The secret is out! Ethicool is on the hunt for their next brilliant manuscripts and equally incredible authors, and are currently knee-deep in reviewing everything in our *ahem* slightly overflowing inbox. In great news for a few authors, we've already found some absolute gems and will be announcing some new acquisitions in the next few weeks! But as for the rest of the manuscripts... There are hundreds of *nearly there* ones, but a lot that we feel need tweaking in some way, shape or form (this is one of the reasons that Ethicool has introduced their manuscript assessments, book your spot now ..read more

When we here at Ethicool tell people that we've created a children's book on depression, most people's response is Why? Children don't need to know about that!  But we completely disagree.  Depression is no laughing matter. At any one time, 7% of the population is depressed, and one in every four people will experience this crippling issue at some point throughout their lives. It's something that many children will see and experience, but often may not understand. And we wanted to change that.  So when Riley M. Rodger's poignant and heartwarming manuscript for My ..read more