Guidelines for Authors & Publishers
We are happy to consider recently published books and other items for our collection. We receive many inquiries from authors, publishers, and publisher's representatives and have created these guidelines to help you.
We routinely acquire books published by commercial publishers that fit our collection development plan and meet our selection criteria. We may also acquire self-published books when they include unique local content, fit the scope of our collection plan and meet our selection criteria.
Guidelines for Authors & Publishers
Having your book receive an independent, positive review in one or more the of the major review journals (such as Library Journal, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist and Publisher's Weekly) is the best way to bring a title to our attention. We are more likely to consider adding a self-published book to our collection if it has been reviewed in a major review journal. Paid reviews are not considered.
How to contact us:
Ask Us - In your message, please include:
- Basic bibliographic information about your book (title, author, ISBN, publisher, date of publication, number of pages, price)
- A link to your book's website and links to reviews or other coverage in the news media (if available)
- A brief description of your book and its intended audience and information about how or where to buy it
We do not accept review copies.
Unfortunately, we cannot notify you if your book is not selected because of the number of submissions we receive.
Donating a book
Donated books are subject to the same selection criteria as other books we buy. Materials not added to our collection are sent to the Friends of The Seattle Public Library for its semiannual book sales.
See the Library's Materials Donation Policy for more information.