A bite of the (sweet) cherry for children’s writers

Sweet Cherry is an award-winning children’s publisher.

‘We aim to make reading fun for readers, from their toddler years all the way to their teens,’ said Divia Kainth, head of sales and marketing. ‘We publish fun illustrated fiction series for school-age children that keep children hooked into a story world – especially reluctant readers in KS2 who might not enjoy reading or struggle with reading at school. We also publish a range of Easy Classics – adapted and illustrated editions of literary classics for younger readers – including Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and more. We partner with popular children’s brands to publish officially licensed books, such as annuals and early learning books for CBeebies’ Numberblocks and Alphablocks.’

Sweet Cherry was founded in 2011 by Abdul Thadha. ‘Abdul had seven years of online bookselling experience, working with London-based publishers to sell their bestselling children’s books in box sets and collections online at Books2Door.com.’ said Divia. ‘Abdul was then inspired to create his own publishing company – one that makes books affordable and accessible to the children in his own Leicester community. ‘

From fun illustration fiction to popular TV brands, Sweet Cherry aims to make reading fun, easy and accessible for children of all backgrounds and abilities, and publishes between 75 and 100 titles each year. ‘A good book for Sweet Cherry is one that makes reading fun, imaginative and appealing to a modern generation of children,’ said Divia.

Now ten years old, Sweet Cherry is expanding its activities. ‘To celebrate our tenth anniversary, we are launching two new imprints: Clock Tower will champion stories from new and marginalised voices and Cherry Stone will publish value-for-money classic box sets,’ said Divia. ‘This is only the beginning for Sweet Cherry. You can expect to see more fun fiction and formats from Sweet Cherry, a whole new list of quality trade fiction from inspiring authors from Clock Tower, and great value gift sets for literature lovers from Cherry Stone.’

Submissions are welcomed for Sweet Cherry and Clock Tower. ‘For Sweet Cherry, we’re looking for children’s stories that are fun to read but also have an educational takeaway,’ said Divia. ‘They also need to have series potential, as we like to hook reluctant readers and children who speak English as a second language into a story world for longer to improve their reading confidence. For Clock Tower, we’re looking for quality trade fiction from authentic authors who understand and represent the diverse and wonderful world we live in.’

To submit, send the first two chapters or 3,000 words of a manuscript plus a synopsis, author biography and cover letter. Sweet Cherry specialises in middle grade and picture book series, which they are more interested in publishing than stand-alone titles.

Sweet Cherry publishes in a range of formats, including paperback, hardback, picture book, box sets, annuals, novelty and more. ‘We love to take creative risks and reinvest in new formats year-on-year.’ Authors are paid either a flat fee or a royalty structure, depending on the project.

Details: email: submissions@ sweetcherrypublishing.com; website: https://sweetcherrypublishing.com