Stacy Whitman is the founder and publisher of Tu Books, an imprint of Lee & Low Books that publishes diverse middle grade and young adult fiction. Books she has edited include Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh and Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar, both of which have received multiple starred reviews, and her first graphic novel, I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina, illustrated by Stacey Robinson and John Jennings, a Top Ten Great Graphic Novels pick and an NYPL Best Book for Teens. New books in 2018 include two-time Olympic medalist Jessica Mendoza’s There’s No Base Like Home, cowritten with her sister Alana Mendoza Dusan and illustrated by Ruth McNally Barshaw, All the Stars Denied by Guadalupe Garcia McCall—about the first major deportation event in US history—and Grand Theft Horse, a graphic novel by G. Neri, illustrated by Corban Wilkin, about a horse trainer who rescued her own racehorse from its co-owners to save its life. Other titles on her list include American Indian Youth Literature YA Award and Top Ten Quick Picks title Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac, and the award-winning Summer of the Mariposas and Shame the Stars by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. In 2013, Stacy founded the New Visions Award, which honors a new unpublished writer of color.
Stacy is a founding member of the CBC Diversity Committee and currently serves as a Publisher Liaison to We Need Diverse Books. She holds a master’s degree in children’s literature from Simmons College. You can find her on Twitter at @stacylwhitman.
Prior to launching Tu Books, she was an editor for Mirrorstone, the children’s and young adult fantasy/SF imprint of Wizards of the Coast. She has edited elementary school textbooks at Houghton Mifflin, interned at the Horn Book Magazine and Guide, and spent a brief stint in grad school working as a bookseller.
See the submission guidelines for Tu Books for more information on submissions. The submission guidelines may occasionally be closed, so be sure to check the page before submitting. (Also note: no picture books, and no email submissions.)
DO NOT EMAIL ME YOUR MANUSCRIPT. I DO NOT TAKE EMAILED SUBMISSIONS.
Here is our Submittable site:
NOTE: Please do not email me to review your book on my website. I AM NOT A REVIEWER or a journalist. If you are a writer, please do check out my submission guidelines and the archives of this site before emailing me to ask about word counts, the difference between YA and middle grade, what I’m looking for, etc. I am glad to answer general questions on this blog, but due to time constraints, cannot answer every question specific to a particular book.