​Promoting kindness through children's literacy
​


​The Ella's Way Children's Book Awards celebrate the finest children's book titles
from independent as well as traditional authors that have a mission of spreading kindness!

Entering the awards program is a wonderful opportunity to gain recognition for all of the
hard work, passion and creativity that you have contributed throughout your author's journey.

An Ella's Way Children's Book Award offers numerous benefits, including increased visibility and credibility within the children’s publishing community.  We invite you to seize this chance to showcase your talent and inspire young readers with your remarkable contributions!

​Thank you for all that you do to make our world just a bit more kind.
​
Please review the submission guidelines below and follow these 3 steps when you're ready!
​

Step 1:

Step 2:


​You're almost done!  

Step 3:

Follow the "What To Send" instructions in the Submission Guidelines below:

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Authors, illustrators and publishers of
​children's picture books that are written in​
English and reside in​ the United States. 


Complete and submit the online application. Submit only ONE book per application. 

​An entry fee is required for each
application that is submitted.  

Once your application has been submitted,
return to this page to submit your entry
​fee payment (Step 2). Credit cards, Paypal
​and Venmo accepted.  

The entry fee for each application is
$35.00 (USD)

The deadline for the application and
payment of entry fee is August 1, 2025.
​​
Entry fees are nonrefundable if an 
award is ​not granted. 

After the entry fee is paid:

1.  Print the receipt as it will be required
​in the "What To Send" category.

2.  Follow the instructions in the
​"What To Send" category.

​

Judging will be based on creativity, content, originality, design, quality ​and theme.

Our panel of judges includes experts from education, publishing, editing, design,
parents of special needs children and
​other peer authors. 

Judging will be based on a specific scoring methodology. There is no maximum number
​of award winners. Ella's Way will be celebrating MANY ​award winning books!

​

Gold seals will be awarded to each winning
children's book, along with a personalized certificate, a digital gold seal, inclusion in our
Ella's Way newsletter, recognition in our Ella's
​Way bookstore and a one-time promotion along with other award winners on our social media. 

Additional gold seals will be available for
​purchase by award winners on our website. 

​

Do you have further questions about any of the guidelines?  We're happy to help. Email Ella's Way Founder, Sherry Cerino HERE.

Books may be in hardcover or softcover
format. We are not accepting E-books at this
time. An ISBN is preferred but not required. 

​We are currently not accepting
​chapter books.

​All books must have themes that support
the ​Ella's Way ​mission (see below).

​​

All books must have, at a minimum, one
of ​the following themes:
​
Kindness
​Diversity Awareness
Disability Awareness
Bullying Prevention
​​Acceptance & Inclusion
Social-Emotional Learning
Children's Health & Wellness
​
​

Once your application has been submitted, your entry fee has been paid AND you have printed your receipt, there are 2 last steps:

1.  ​Email a full PDF of your book or a viable link where your book can be read in full. The
PDF (or link) should include both front
 and back covers and the full interior text.

We are not able to accept jpg, psd,
pptx, ​doc or video files. 

Email to:
​
2025bookawards@ellasway.com
​
2.  Mail a physical copy of your book along
​with a copy of your receipt to:

Ella's Way
45 Colgate Drive
North Andover, MA  01845

Books are nonreturnable and will be
donated to one of the many organizations
​that we support. A sample of those organizations ​​can be viewed here. 

​All physical book submissions must be postmarked by August 1, 2025. 

​We understand that there can occasionally
be unexpected delays in postal service deliveries. To plan for the unexpected, we allow for a 10-day grace period for receiving your physical, however your book MUST be postmarked by August 1st.

The judging process will begin 10 days 
after the August 1st deadline.   

If any book is not postmarked by August 1st and or not received within 10 days of
August 1st, it will be held for next
year's ​awards program.

​
​
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Award winners will be notified by email on or about October 15, 2025.
​

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​What if I don't have the PDF of my book?

​No worries! PDF's are preferred but we will accept just a physical copy of your book.  After completing
the application, paying the entry fee and printing your receipt, simply mail your book with the
printed receipt along with a note explaining that you do not have a PDF version. Mailing of
your book must be postmarked by August 1st. ​​


​Will you accept books written in languages other than English?

  • At this time, Ella's Way is only accepting books that are written in English.


​Can I submit my E-book for an award?

  • Unfortunately no, we are only accepting physical books for submission at this time. 


​I live outside of the United States. Can I still submit my book?

  • We are only accepting book submissions from the United States at this time. 


​I have more questions. Is there anyone that can help me?

  • Certainly, we are happy to help.  Please direct your questions to Ella's Way Founder, Sherry Cerino HERE.
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Ella's Way, where kindness starts early.