get published

We have seen an alarming rise in scam attempts in which hackers impersonate Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand employees, authors, and agents in an attempt to attain unpublished manuscripts or personal information.

Some of these scams are quite sophisticated. The hackers are adept impersonators, comfortable with “editorial” speak, and may refer to recent events in the industry to legitimise their requests. Hackers can easily simulate staff with impersonated domain emails. Sometimes the difference in a hacker’s email address is so subtle that it is easy to miss.

It is easy to fall victim to hackers if you are not vigilant. The following cybersecurity awareness tips and reminders are intended to protect you against these attacks.

Be aware of phishing attacks by email:

• Be aware of typos in domain names on received emails
• Do not click links if you are not sure of the source
• Do not reply directly back to original email requests for documents or information.
• Call the source directly or start a separate email with the known email address
• Hover over the email address to be sure it matches the displayed email address
• Be cautious of urgent requests for sensitive information and documents (e.g., draft manuscripts, royalty statements, tax information) and follow the guidelines for sharing those documents below

Be aware of other social engineering attacks (i.e., by phone, on social media):

• Do not share information over the phone if you are not confident of the source on the other end
• Verify the phone number you are speaking to, call back if needed
• Never share credentials or personal information
• Do not click links in social media posts or messages if you are not sure of the source

Sharing documents:

• Call the person you are sending the file to and confirm they are expecting it
• Consider if there is a portal you can access that has the document instead of emailing a copy

We will never ask prospective authors for any form of payment (such as a contribution to print costs) as part of an offer of publication. We will never request bank account information as part of the manuscript submission process. If you have any concerns about the legitimacy of an agreement or an email purporting to be from an Hachette employee or claiming a connection to Hachette, email us at [email protected]. If you’ve been a victim of a scam, we encourage you to contact law enforcement right away.

Moa Press is currently closed for submissions. Keep an eye on our social media for when we will open again.

Little Moa submissions are now closed.

Only submissions received digitally when we are open will be read and no hard-copy submissions will be accepted. We cannot give feedback or answer questions or phone calls about the submission process.

Due to the number of submissions we receive, we can only accept one submission per person – if more than one manuscript is submitted, we will only look at the first one.

Keep an eye on @LittleMoaBooks on Facebook and Instagram for a reminder.

Get your manuscript ready

When we reopen, we will be looking for books that:

• are about New Zealand children’s experience
• are targeted at children from newborns to those finishing primary school
• have less than 3000 words

You will also need to provide a brief 100 word synopsis and brief biography, including any previous publishing history, writing experience or awards.

If your work is a picture book, unless you are an illustrator, or wish to illustrate the story yourself, please only send text. If you are plan on doing your own illustrations, you will also need to upload a copy of sample artwork (not original artwork).

We are always interested in hearing from new illustrators who are based in New Zealand. We run the Margaret Mahy Illustration Prize annually, otherwise if you would like to submit your illustration portfolio, please send a link to your website or a PDF of up to 10MB to:

Please note that we will only contact you should we have a suitable project for you at some time in the future.