Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books


Help Spotlight

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I write for a newspaper, magazine, or on-line publication, and I'd like to request a review copy of a book. How can I do that?

Please fax your request on your company's letterhead to 212-420-5850 or 617-351-1109.
You can address requests to "Publicity Department."
Please include contact information for yourself (full name and title, mailing address, phone number, fax number, beat, if applicable, etc.). Please include the full title, the author, and the ISBN (you can find out the ISBN by using our On-line Catalog) of the book you are requesting.
If you work as a freelance reviewer, please include a brief description of the names of the publications you frequently write for. We love to receive tearsheets! Please send them to:
Publicity Department
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company
215 Park Ave. South
New York, NY 10003


If you have additional questions, you may contact the Trade Publicity Department by e-mail at Trade_Publicity@hmhpub.com.

I am a college professor using a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade title in one of my classes. How do I request a desk copy?

Complimentary desk copies are available for instructors who adopt a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt title for course use. One free desk copy is available per college/university. If you are interested in examination copies of our titles, fax your request on university/college letterhead to 1-800-634-7568. (Desk copies cannot be requested via email or by calling customer service.) 

Desk copies are shipped care of your institution. Desk copies cannot be sent to residences. Please allow four to six weeks for delivery. 

To expedite your order, supply your contact information: your full name and title, mailing address, phone number, and fax number, if applicable. Please include the full title, the author's name, and the ISBN (you can find the ISBN by using our Online Catalog) of the book you are requesting.

How do I submit my manuscript to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt?

General Interest Fiction and Nonfiction Books:
Unfortunately, we are unable to accept unsolicited manuscript submissions. If you want to publish a manuscript, a good way to start is by looking for a literary agent in the Literary Marketplace. This is a reference book that can be found in most public libraries. The book lists literary agents around the country, their addresses and phone numbers, and the types of books that they specialize in handling. You might also want to pick up a copy of the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade Division book How to Be Your Own Literary Agent by Richard Curtis.
This information can also be heard at 617-351-5914.

Poetry:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt regrets that we can no longer consider unsolicited poetry. Since our poetry publishing program is quite small, we have decided to reserve it for the authors to whom Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has already made a commitment. Please seek out resources likePoet's Market if you want to pursue publication.

Children's Books:
This information can also be heard at 617-351-5959.

IMPORTANT:

As of January 1, 2004, we are no longer responding to your unsolicited submission unless we are interested in publishing it. Please do not include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Submissions postmarked January 1, 2004, or later will be recycled, and you will not hear from us regarding the status of your submission unless we are interested, in which case you can expect to hear back from us within twelve weeks. We regret that we cannot respond personally to each submission, but we do consider each and every submission we receive.


The Children's Book Division will read unsolicited manuscripts. Please send them to us by conventional mail only. We do not accept e-mailed or faxed manuscripts. Because confirmation postcards are easily separated from the manuscript or hidden, we do not encourage you to include them with your submission.

We prefer a typed (letter-quality), double-spaced manuscript on unfolded plain white paper in a 9 x 12 envelope. We do not accept manuscripts that are handwritten or submitted on computer disk.

You do not have to furnish illustrations, but if you wish, copies of a few comprehensive sketches or duplicate copies of original art will suffice. For fiction we prefer to see the entire manuscript, and for nonfiction a synopsis and sample chapters.

Please keep a copy of the manuscript for your files. Because of the volume of manuscripts we receive each day, submissions are virtually impossible to track, and it may take up to twelve weeks before we reach a decision.

When submitting your work to any publishing house, it is always a good idea to check your local bookstore or library to get a sense of what kinds of books the company publishes.

Please send your submission(s) to:

Submissions
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Books
222 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116-3764


Children's Books Art:

  • Do not send original artwork or slides
  • Send color photocopies, tearsheets, or photos
  • Send a SASE if you would like your samples returned to you

Please submit only your strongest work. As to subject matter, illustrations that feature children or animals are always welcome, but feel free to submit other subjects as well. It is also a good idea to look at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt books in your local bookstore or library to get a sense of what kinds of books we publish.

Please send art submissions to

Art Department
Children's Trade Books
222 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116-3764

Harcourt Children's Books
Harcourt Children's Books does not accept unsolicited query letters, e-mails, manuscripts, or illustrations, and we regret that we cannot return any unsolicited material. We require all such materials to come to us through a literary agent, and encourage aspiring writers and illustrators to submit work to an agent who specializes in their area of creativity. A listing of agents may be found in The Literary Marketplace (LMP), an annual reference guide available at most public libraries.

Clarion Books:

Effective immediately, we are no longer responding to your unsolicited submission unless we are interested in publishing it. Please do not include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Submissions will be recycled, and you will not hear from us regarding the status of your submission unless we are interested. We regret that we cannot respond personally to each submission, but we do consider each and every submission we receive.

Clarion Books will read unsolicited manuscripts. Please send them to us by conventional mail only. We do not accept e-mailed or faxed manuscripts. Because confirmation postcards are easily separated from the manuscript or hidden, we encourage you not to include them with your submission.

We prefer a typed (letter-quality), double-spaced manuscript on unfolded plain white paper in a 9 x 12 envelope. We do not accept manuscripts that are handwritten or submitted on computer disk.
You do not have to furnish illustrations, but if you wish, copies of a few comprehensive sketches or duplicate copies of original art will suffice. For fiction we prefer to see the entire manuscript, and for nonfiction a synopsis and sample chapters.
Please keep a copy of the manuscript for your files. Because of the volume of manuscripts we receive each day, submissions are virtually impossible to track.
When submitting your work to any publishing house, it is always a good idea to check your local bookstore or library to get a sense of what kinds of books the company publishes.
Please send your submission(s) to:
Submissions
Clarion Books
215 Park Avenue South 
New York, NY 10003


Dictionaries:
Please send lexical submissions to our Dictionary Department at:

Dictionary Department
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company
222 Berkeley Street, 8th Floor
Boston, MA 02116-3764

How do I contact a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt author?

If you would like to write a letter to an author of a general interest fiction or nonfiction book, you can send it to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and we will forward it to him/her. Our policy is not to give out authors' addresses to protect their privacy. Please address the letter as follows:
Author's Name
c/o Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Trade Division,
Adult Editorial,
222 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116-3764

If you would like to write a letter to a children's book author, you can send it to Houghton Mifflin and we will forward it to him/her. Our policy is not to give out authors' addresses to protect their privacy. Please address the letter as follows:
Author's Name
c/o Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Books,
222 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116-3764


You can get more information from the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt faq page, or from our bookseller/media faq.

Need to track your order?

You can check the status of your order by choosing an identification type, zip code, SAN (Standard Address Number for pubnet customers), or international and then enter your matching identification information.

Still need help...

Use our contact form.



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