Membership Benefits

The Children's Book Council (CBC) is the only national trade organization exclusively dedicated to children's book publishers. Our goal is to serve the needs and promote the interests of our members. We do this by providing professional development, marketing, and networking opportunities; by advocating for the industry at large; and by positioning our organization as a valued, critical, and relevant resource for and on behalf of the industry.

Membership in the Council allows you to:

  • Participate in the CBC's annual bibliographies, co-sponsored by national teachers' associations: Children's Choices, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, and Outstanding Science Books for Students K-12. After review either by children (Children's Choices) or by review teams of teachers (the latter two), the resulting lists of recommended titles are promoted and distributed by the CBC and the co-sponsoring association. These bibliographies are used by teachers, librarians, and booksellers across the country. CBC Regular Members do not pay a fee to submit to these bibliographies. Associate Members pay a highly-discounted submissions fee. Submissions to the Children's Choices program may become finalists for the Children's Choice Book Awards, the only national child-selected awards program. Winners are celebrated at a gala event during Children's Book Week.
  • Feature your new books in the popular Hot Off the Press list, or promote your backlist titles in the seasonal Showcase on the CBC website, a regular destination for teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents.
  • Participate in programs and promotions with CBC partners like Build-a-Bear Workshop, whose online Bearemy's Bookclub reading lists recommend CBC member publishers' titles.
  • Participate in professional development programs sponsored by the CBC Forum Committee, dedicated to bringing you information and discussion on current trends and issues facing the industry.
  • Participate in professional programs sponsored by the Early Career Committee, including the Publishing Luminaries speaker series. Give your junior personnel the opportunity to learn about the industry and network with their colleagues, as only employees of CBC member publishers may attend these programs.
  • Meet and network with your colleagues at events such as the CBC Annual Meeting, CBC Forums, and the Early Career Committee's annual Extreme Trivia Challenge.
  • Stay up to date with news, events, and deadlines with the monthly CBC Update e-newsletter. CBC Special Legislative Updates are also published on an as-needed basis to bring you the latest information about governmental issues of interest to publishers.
  • Submit your authors and illustrators for consideration to be featured as speakers in CBC-sponsored programs at national conventions and conferences of teachers' and librarians' associations.
  • List your company's job and internship opportunities on the CBC website, the children's publishing industry's one-stop job board.
  • Provide submission information to authors and illustrators in one central location. Members’ basic submission guidelines are included in our Members List, which is available online.

Membership in the Council also connects you with the work of the CBC Foundation, Every Child a Reader, Inc.

Children's Book Week, the longest-running national literacy celebration, is co-sponsored by the CBC and administered by the CBC Foundation. Highlighting authors and illustrators at official Children's Book Week events is exclusively reserved for CBC members. In past years, official events have included readings in Bryant Park in Manhattan, joint events with the Women's National Basketball Association, and other literacy events in coordination with local and national groups.

The annual Children's Book Week bookmark is created by a CBC member's illustrator. Distributed on the CBW website, the bookmark is downloaded by teachers, librarians, parents, and kids across the country.

The CBC is a founder of the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature program. This program is also administered by the CBC Foundation. Among publishers, only those who are CBC members may sponsor this joint effort with the Library of Congress and have the chance to associate their name with this worthy and highly-visible literacy effort.

If you are interested in joining the CBC, please email rachel.hoban [at] cbcbooks.org for more information.